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

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louisstools

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So, you did try an anti-nausea med? Sorry, if you did, I missed that.
Yes! We did. Did a shot with two weeks of pills (crushed into wet food). No noticeable difference.
 

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I presume the shot was Cerenia, and perhaps the pills as well. Did the vet tell you some cats don't respond to Cerenia, since it is more for vomiting and not just nausea? Did the vet suggest to try something else that is usually more for nausea, like ondansetron, as an example? There are also different kinds of GI/stomach aids that are not all labeled anti-nausea, such as famotidine. And, was there ever any discussion with the vet about motility meds? There are meds for that too, like Metoclopramide.
 
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louisstools

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I presume the shot was Cerenia, and perhaps the pills as well. Did the vet tell you some cats don't respond to Cerenia, since it is more for vomiting and not just nausea? Did the vet suggest to try something else that is usually more for nausea, like ondansetron, as an example? There are also different kinds of GI/stomach aids that are not all labeled anti-nausea, such as famotidine. And, was there ever any discussion with the vet about motility meds? There are meds for that too, like Metoclopramide.
It was that drug and it’s been a while so I don’t remember. I know that when we think about drugs with the cat, we try and exclude anything that’s pill unless it’s absolutely necessary. That might’ve been why we went with cerenia because they had a shot and we weren’t sure if I could get the pill into her.

we did not discuss anything about motility because she doesn’t throw up nor does she really have any classic signs of nausea. We were more focused on, making sure she wasn’t constipated and leaning towards that.

And I’m just saying this again, but we were really really really really (catch my drift) hoping that simply changing the food would’ve just been like a light switch and gotten her to eat. The fact that it changed nothing we really don’t know what to try.

All I can tell you is that she is eating, not exaggerating, 50% less than what she was a year ago.

Edit: I suspect there’s a lot of drugs at the vet doesn’t even bring up with me because they are pill only and those are a complete no go. I cannot properly pill the cat. The best I can do is hope the pill is relatively odorless and sneaking in some wet food. but I really don’t like doing that because that’s how I get the MiraLAX into her. she doesn’t like treets of any kind or people food so that one specific brand is my only way to get that into her.
 

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we did not discuss anything about motility because she doesn’t throw up nor does she really have any classic signs of nausea.
To the best of my knowledge motility issues do not necessarily have to present with throwing up or nausea. It is a condition in which food does not move at an appropriate pace through a cat’s digestive tract - in other words, it moves through too slowly. There is no universal way cats demonstrate nausea, some just plain don't want to eat.

As far as pills go, there are a ton of ways to compound them so they taste differently, can be crushed, are in liquid form, are transdermal, and some can likely even be done via sub-Q injection. Your vet surely knows this, so there is not really a reason I can come up with that she wouldn't discuss all of this with you if she thought you were amenable - perhaps she is concerned about what you would think of the expense, as compounding can increase the price of most any drug, especially if you would have to trial a number of them in the hope one would be successful.
 
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louisstools

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Thanks for the explanation FeebysOwner FeebysOwner . Now that I think about it a bit more, that was something the vet was mulling over. That's partly why she suggested we change the food. The cat is on Royal Canin's Feline Gastrointestinal Fiber Response. The hypothesis is this food would help move through her faster, help with the constipation with the fiber, and it has something for urinary problems (S/O index). It's also a new flavor to the cat which, again, we were expecting her to gobble up. Between the new flavor and this being formulated with fiber to help her constipation that's why this got priority. It is working nicely for the constipation, between the fiber and the miralax she is going nicely.
 

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I am just going to put a quick reminder here about motility medications. Cisapride cannot be used with Mirataz and there is a fairly substantial "wash out" period depending on doses, cat's conditions, etc. Use at the same time creates serotonin syndrome. Mirataz is technically a tricyclic antidepressant and creates an interaction with Cisapride.
 

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Yes! We did. Did a shot with two weeks of pills (crushed into wet food). No noticeable difference.
Cerenia in pill form tastes terrible so it could turn a cat away from their food if crushed into it. I always gave it in a gel cap, but my cat was easy to pill.
 

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Cerenia in pill form tastes terrible so it could turn a cat away from their food if crushed into it. I always gave it in a gel cap, but my cat was easy to pill.
Yes to Cerenia tasting terrible! I've been mildly to moderately successful giving it crushed in food but I've generally only given small doses and put tons of treats on top of the food. Sometimes it took something like five or six tries to get the whole thing down.

Both our cats now get the compound in Cerenia -- maropitant citrate -- in a transdermal formulation.
 
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louisstools

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It's been awhile and there are some developments. The cat no longer eats at all in the morning. She comes out, I try and feed her, she doesn't want it. We'll play and pet and try to get her to eat but she won't do it. I'll start doping her up with stimulant and just go on with my day and try again an hour later. By that point she usually will eat but some days it's not until well into the afternoon. Some days she won't take her wet food treat in the morning. She just will not eat. I normally keep doping her up until she starts to eat and as long as she maintains a pace I let her be otherwise I start doping her up again. She's normally fine in the afternoon/evening with eating. I try and keep morning as stress free for her as possible but maybe it's not enough. I can't relax or let up anymore than I have. We fight a lot less but there are times when she is really uncooperative and I can't help it.

Our behaviorist suspended her practice due to an automobile accident so we're having to find a new one. Thankfully she is ok but her passengers are not as lucky and they will require ongoing care. (please keep them in your thoughts). I'm hoping a change of perspective will help us figure out why the cat refuses to eat otherwise I don't know what we will do.
 

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Sorry that nothing has changed for the better for Molly, although I guess you are reaping some benefits by not having to deal with her as much. And, sorry about your behaviorist. Although, I got the impression that she had pretty much 'jumped ship' in terms of providing help. Perhaps, a new one can provide some fresh thoughts.

You know me by now, I don't mince words, so I'll just ask - did the behaviorist work with you to adjust the way you handle Missy, or did she try to change her to accommodate you? Usually it is some of both, but it is primarily, and first and foremost, driven by the owner in order for the cat to follow. Aside from health issues, most cat behavior is a reaction, or series of them, in response to their owner's actions/behavior.

I have nothing new to offer. I suggested all I know to suggest, and they either are things that haven't worked or things you and/or the vet don't believe will.

I hope Missy's weight is holding up.
 
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louisstools

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Sorry that nothing has changed for the better for Molly, although I guess you are reaping some benefits by not having to deal with her as much. And, sorry about your behaviorist. Although, I got the impression that she had pretty much 'jumped ship' in terms of providing help. Perhaps, a new one can provide some fresh thoughts.

You know me by now, I don't mince words, so I'll just ask - did the behaviorist work with you to adjust the way you handle Missy, or did she try to change her to accommodate you? Usually it is some of both, but it is primarily, and first and foremost, driven by the owner in order for the cat to follow. Aside from health issues, most cat behavior is a reaction, or series of them, in response to their owner's actions/behavior.

I have nothing new to offer. I suggested all I know to suggest, and they either are things that haven't worked or things you and/or the vet don't believe will.

I hope Missy's weight is holding up.
yeah, at the end of 2023 we tried an automatic feeder, and that was kind of the last big suggestion that behaviorist had. it had a lot of promise, but the cat wouldn’t even look at it. I don’t think she even sniffed at it even when it had food in it. and when it would dispense, she didn’t care. To be fair to the behaviorist that was shortly after that the diabetes became something to mess with, and that took a while to get under control.

I would say it was pretty evenly split between things we would do to correct her behavior, things to correct my behavior and things to correct both of our behavior. The stuff that we did just for the cat involved, some stuff with the litter box and the automatic feeder. The bulk of the stuff was trying to get me to step back and allow the cat to rise to the occasion and eat on her own, but she never did and so I could never really step back very far. she just didn’t respond to anything involving food. everything else she responded to quickly, but if it involved food, she would not respond.

but yeah, you’ve provided a lot of good suggestions although at this point, I can’t remember, but I know they were good. I just try and get through a day without fighting with the cat and burning through appetite stimulant trying to keep her going because she just won’t eat on her own.

it’s hard to even describe because so many cats are so food crazy and want their breakfast or their dinner and mine really doesn’t. and even when she was boarded at the vet, they had never seen a cat go that long without eating there’s definitely something unique about this girl around food with she just doesn’t want it.

anyway, thanks for listening
 
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