missy sudden behavior change: no longer eating breakfast, just hides

[louisstools]

since the last update, she’s been eating less. She’s at about 120 cal a day now she’s eating about half of what she was back in August. I just keep loading her up with appetite stimulant because it's the only thing I can do to get her to eat. she has lost a little more than half a pound. I can also tell she’s dehydrated from her not drinking. her bowel movements are also no longer consistent. but if she’s not eating, she’s not drinking...nothing we can do.

we have an appointment with our normal vet this Friday to just randomly try drugs to see if anything helps her. We’re trying something for her arthritis, solensia I think it’s called. this plan was what our normal vet had before the internal specialist and this plan is what the internal specialist suggested. They phrased it more polite than I did, but this is what we’re doing.

 

[Robyn5678]

since the last update, she’s been eating less. She’s at about 120 cal a day now she’s eating about half of what she was back in August. I just keep loading her up with appetite stimulant because it's the only thing I can do to get her to eat. she has lost a little more than half a pound. I can also tell she’s dehydrated from her not drinking. her bowel movements are also no longer consistent. but if she’s not eating, she’s not drinking...nothing we can do.

we have an appointment with our normal vet this Friday to just randomly try drugs to see if anything helps her. We’re trying something for her arthritis, solensia I think it’s called. this plan was what our normal vet had before the internal specialist and this plan is what the internal specialist suggested. They phrased it more polite than I did, but this is what we’re doing.

How’d it go?

 

[louisstools]

How’d it go?

The doc and I talked about the drug and how it may help but when it does it's usually subtle. That's fine I'm just looking for anything to help. The doc didn't like the cat is consistently eating 1/3 less since the last time she saw the cat (3-4 weeks). She also didn't like hearing the cat goes on hunger strikes daily now for 5-10 hours where she won't eat or drink. The cat had one of those yesterday, she ate at 9am and then didn't eat again until 11:30 pm...and when she's not eating she isn't drinking. And she never "makes it up" ... you would have thought at 11:30 that she had just eaten an hour ago based on how little enthusiasm she had and how little she ate. The doc was alarmed at how little calories she is eating compared to what the specialist said the cat should eat but said her weight is only dropping a little so its too early to do anything else. She also thought the calorie requirement provided by the specialist seemed reasonable.

So far today she won't eat or drink. I'll just keep drugging her up and hopefully she breaks. That didn't work the other day and she ended up getting 2-3 days worth of stimulant. She just smacks her lips but won't look at the food or water. It's not nausea b/c we tried nausea meds and there was no difference. If she eats she eats...if she starves then so be it. I almost rather she starves and gets it over with because that at least opens up options with the vet for a tube and we can just force calories into the cat against her will.

edit: I just tried to get the cat to eat and she won't. i did manage half a teaspoon of wet food with more miralax in her (since she's not drinking I figure she can get a little more miralax b/c she's going to be backe dup). I did call the vet's office and they're highly concerned and the vet will give me a ring when she gets into the office. Cat may get force fed and iv'd today if she doesn't start eating on her own. I did give her a full insulin shot last night and she ended up not eating and she got a full insulin shot today and she's not eaten. (I have to give her insulin shots "blindly" because I never know when she is going to eat but until recently she always has eaten)

 

[FeebysOwner]

I don't know how many days of anti-nausea meds you tried, or the dosage, but it doesn't necessarily generate an automatic result. Cerenia shots only last about 24 hours, and pills/liquids likely less than 8-12 hours. Both may require more than just one dose to reap any result, and may not just 'turn off' nausea if not given routinely. They also generally don't work as fast as something like Mirataz, IMO. Considering Missy's apparent slow metabolism, who knows how long any meds take to produce an outcome with her.

Many vets are also off the mark with caloric recommendations. They, just like most pet food companies, seem to suggest higher amounts than are typically needed. If you've read any of the posts on this site about calories, pretty much everyone says the same thing. Not saying she is eating enough at this point, but between that and her metabolic rate, it could partially explain why she isn't losing a whole lot of weight in a quicker manner.

Good luck with your talk with the vet today.

 

[southbound]

Can you post a picture of your problem kitty?

 

[louisstools]

I don't know how many days of anti-nausea meds you tried, or the dosage, but it doesn't necessarily generate an automatic result. Cerenia shots only last about 24 hours, and pills/liquids likely less than 8-12 hours. Both may require more than just one dose to reap any result, and may not just 'turn off' nausea if not given routinely. They also generally don't work as fast as something like Mirataz, IMO. Considering Missy's apparent slow metabolism, who knows how long any meds take to produce an outcome with her.

Many vets are also off the mark with caloric recommendations. They, just like most pet food companies, seem to suggest higher amounts than are typically needed. If you've read any of the posts on this site about calories, pretty much everyone says the same thing. Not saying she is eating enough at this point, but between that and her metabolic rate, it could partially explain why she isn't losing a whole lot of weight in a quicker manner.

Good luck with your talk with the vet today.

Yeah, we tried the nausea medicine for 10 days I think. Started out with a shot and then did crushed pills for 10 days. I don’t remember the dose, but it was considered the full dose for her.

The cat did eventually eat once today. So it was a full 12 hours since her last meal when she ate. And now it’s been five hours since she ate and she hasn’t eaten since. The vet is really concerned about that. She’s leaning towards trying a different food that’s for G.I. problems because maybe she’s having trouble digesting the food and that’s the problem. It just sits in her stomach a little bit longer, and it causes discomfort.

 

[FeebysOwner]

There are motility meds that can help speed up digestion. Ask the vet about that. If you could get crushed anti-nausea meds down Missy, there's a good chance you could do the same with a motility med.

 

[louisstools]

There are motility meds that can help speed up digestion. Ask the vet about that. If you could get crushed anti-nausea meds down Missy, there's a good chance you could do the same with a motility med.

That’s a great idea. One reason we also want to try and change the food is to see if it’s a taste issue. Maybe she doesn’t like this food. she liked it the best out of all the foods a couple years ago, but that doesn’t really say much cause I couldn’t get her to eat anything more than once. We’ve just always assumed she liked this food and maybe that’s not the case.

 

[Robyn5678]

That’s a great idea. One reason we also want to try and change the food is to see if it’s a taste issue. Maybe she doesn’t like this food. she liked it the best out of all the foods a couple years ago, but that doesn’t really say much cause I couldn’t get her to eat anything more than once. We’ve just always assumed she liked this food and maybe that’s not the case.

My cat has been soooooo finicky lately it’s driving me insane. She will east fancy feast classic pate great for a few days then won’t touch it. Then she’ll eat something else a meal then won’t touch that. Worth trying other foods to see if something peaks her interest.

She likes dry food but then she ends up with UTI or constipation. I started giving her treats for both and it’s seems to have evened out.

It’s definitely frustrating. But she eats less than 200 calories a day, is 11 pounds and is pretty active.

 

[louisstools]

My cat has been soooooo finicky lately it’s driving me insane. She will east fancy feast classic pate great for a few days then won’t touch it. Then she’ll eat something else a meal then won’t touch that. Worth trying other foods to see if something peaks her interest.

She likes dry food but then she ends up with UTI or constipation. I started giving her treats for both and it’s seems to have evened out.

It’s definitely frustrating. But she eats less than 200 calories a day, is 11 pounds and is pretty active.

I understand the frustration. Cats can be silly. My girl isn't eating or drinking very much at this point. I think this past week she’s been right around 145 cal a day. if she’s drinking, maybe a third when she was drinking two months ago. I would kill for her to be eating 200 cal or more.

One plus about switching her food out is that all of the other foods that the Doctor and I talked about aren’t formulated for weight loss. For some stupid reason when Purina reformulated all or most of their prescription pet foods a couple years ago they made them all reduced calorie to help with weight loss. I need the opposite...

 

[Robyn5678]

I have noticed a lot of food has been weight loss focused. I just use an indoor food now that’s not really aimed at anything specific.

if missy is 14 pounds you don’t really want her to gain weight so not sure you need the “opposite” of weight loss. You just need to find something she’d eat.

 

[lisahe]

if missy is 14 pounds you don’t really want her to gain weight so not sure you need the “opposite” of weight loss. You just need to find something she’d eat.

I so agree with this! Even eager eating cats who don't have any dietary or health issues usually need some variety.

 

[louisstools]

I have noticed a lot of food has been weight loss focused. I just use an indoor food now that’s not really aimed at anything specific.

if missy is 14 pounds you don’t really want her to gain weight so not sure you need the “opposite” of weight loss. You just need to find something she’d eat.

I'd rather take my chances with something the opposite of weight loss. Three years ago when we did wet food, we tried close to 100 different combinations of brand, flavor, cut, and only found one that she would eat more than one time. (That one eventually reformulated, claimed they didn't, and it was totally different and she wouldn't eat it). We can't do that experiment with dry food mostly because of cost....really wish the RX varieties would do trial sizes, like 1lb.

I did pickup the new food and she will eat it but she doesn't eat it any better than the old food Or if she does like it more or less I do not see any change...she still runs away when I present her with a nice bowl of food. Maybe somehow in a few days that will change and she'll scarf this down but if it's anything like I saw in the "wet food era" how she eats something the first time is how she will eat it forever. One nice change is this food has 15% more calories per ounce by weight so that really helps. I hope this works out b/c the other food the vet was considering having us try is from the hill's brand and sadly their gi/urinary combo meal deal food is formulated for weight loss.

 

[louisstools]

A bit of an update.
She does eat the new higher calorie dry food but not any better than the old food, so no improvement there. But she does eat it, even if it's with great effort.
For awhile she would get excited when it was insulin time and come running to me but that suddenly stopped the other day.
She is still eating the miralax in wetfood though recently she has become fussy I have to chase her down and force her to finish the wet food b/c after a few licks she'll bolt away and go hide after a few licks.
She is still getting the full 1.5 inches of mirataz a day as well. She started FIGHTING against getting her ears cleaned and against applying the mirataz to the ear. She HATES this.
The only good news is between the miralax and new food she is pooping a lot better.
She's eating about 2/3 of what the vet calculated and that's with everything above and me putting extra time to get calories into her as I'm coming off 4 weeks of time off work. I think we're averaging around 150 calories a day. She's lost a bit more than half a pound.

 

[FeebysOwner]

While not a miraculous update, it isn't horrible either. Given that the only change made was offering a new higher calorie food, one can't expect a lot of improvement. Everything else is pretty status quo in terms of her treatments, so why would anyone have expected some kind of turn around in her? Although, I am glad to hear that she is pooping better.

I am sure there are cats who don't mind their ears being cleaned, but I imagine many don't particularly care for it. I know Feeby wasn't impressed with it, but she would tolerate it. All I did was take an un-treated make up pad, wet it down with warm water (and squeeze it out), and the gently rub the inner portion of her ear - maybe 2-3 swipes, just enough not to get any debris on the pad anymore. Some days she had debris, others she did not, so I only did enough swipes to ensure if there was any that I got it all.

As far as her weight, it is disappointing, but it seems that is what your vet needs to see to bother to do any more at all for her.

 

[lisahe]

Getting the constipation under control is a big thing. Maybe with time she'll start feeling a bit better and be willing to eat a bit more, too. I'm figuring you'll be leaving food out for her when you return to work? For some reason, this reminds me that when our cats are being at their most exasperating they like to be fed in certain favorite places. Sometimes location is more important than what's on the plate. And sometimes they lead me around until we reach some strange spot (and angle) where they want to eat...

As for ear cleaning, oddly, Ireland doesn't mind it at all. Edwina, though, dislikes it. ("Hates" is a bit too strong but not far off.) Everything FeebysOwner writes about that rings true! I do, though, often use a plain old tissue, dry, to clear out the cats' ears. That seems to bug them less than a cotton pad or small piece of a soft rag. I seem to do better if it's dry. Particularly odd: Ireland seems to accumulate more gunk in her ears than Edwina.

 

[fionasmom]

I have Graycie on Mirataz right now and she hates it, and hates having her ear cleaned although I only do what FeebysOwner does. However, she hated Elura even more.....

 

[louisstools]

While not a miraculous update, it isn't horrible either. Given that the only change made was offering a new higher calorie food, one can't expect a lot of improvement. Everything else is pretty status quo in terms of her treatments, so why would anyone have expected some kind of turn around in her? Although, I am glad to hear that she is pooping better.

I am sure there are cats who don't mind their ears being cleaned, but I imagine many don't particularly care for it. I know Feeby wasn't impressed with it, but she would tolerate it. All I did was take an un-treated make up pad, wet it down with warm water (and squeeze it out), and the gently rub the inner portion of her ear - maybe 2-3 swipes, just enough not to get any debris on the pad anymore. Some days she had debris, others she did not, so I only did enough swipes to ensure if there was any that I got it all.

As far as her weight, it is disappointing, but it seems that is what your vet needs to see to bother to do any more at all for her.

yeah, it’s not really a good or bad update. All of us were really hoping that this food change was gonna be the trick that just gets her back to normal. We figured a fresh new food and then something that helps her with her constipation was surely going to get this cat eating.

Unfortunately, the vet is not really sure what the next steps are because we’ve exhausted everything. We’ll do another solensia shot just to see how that goes. I think it helped a little bit and it’s been about a month.

The only thing we haven’t done is a feeding tube and I think we have to let her wait yet actually dangerous lay down before doing that. I have a suspicion that if we did that she would never go off of it.

 

[louisstools]

I have Graycie on Mirataz right now and she hates it, and hates having her ear cleaned although I only do what FeebysOwner does. However, she hated Elura even more.....

yeah, I use a nice soft rag with warm water on it. I don’t know how much you’re given your kitty but my kitty gets at the minimum 1.5 inches. Some days she ends up getting a bit more if she’s really bad .And I have to use both there is in order to get that amount of stimulant to stay.

 

[FeebysOwner]

The only thing we haven’t done is a feeding tube

So, you did try an anti-nausea med? Sorry, if you did, I missed that.