My cat is hungry but can't eat

[nati85]

I'm having this problem.
I'd appreciate recommendations as to where to start with the tests. What about ultrasound? Or T4 test?
Thanks

 

[miagi's_mommy]

I'm having this problem.
I'd appreciate recommendations as to where to start with the tests. What about ultrasound? Or T4 test?
Thanks

You might want to make your own thread since this is a long thread

 

[Kibblesnbits148]

I know this has been posted elsewhere at this point, but whenever I looked up my cats' symptoms, this thread comes up and I think it's important for those happening in on this thread like I had to see the different conclusions people have come to with their cats. There were many people who had different diagnoses, so it is hard to narrow it down to what can be wrong, but I wanted to post my story so people know it isn't all hopeless like the different outcomes described in this post.
My cat had these same symptoms back in January-February, and I happened upon this thread and panicked thinking my cat had cancer. I tried a dental, x-rays, extensive blood work, an exploratory surgery, anything and everything I could think of to do to her to make her better, I did. One day, she just started eating on her own again. Hesitantly at first, but as she ate over the next few days, she stopped acting like it hurt to eat and ate like normal. I still have no idea what was wrong. Not a freaking clue. But it wasn't cancer, or anything of the sort, because she got better.
I'm NOT saying to wait out the storm and see what happens. PLEASE take your kitty to the vet if they show any signs of something being wrong, because if I hadn't taken her to the vet, she would have died from lack of food. Cats can't handle not eating. After 3 days without any food, their body will start to shut down and it is irreversible!
I just wanted people to know not all hope is lost, like I thought when I originally read this post.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I know this has been posted elsewhere at this point, but whenever I looked up my cats' symptoms, this thread comes up and I think it's important for those happening in on this thread like I had to see the different conclusions people have come to with their cats. There were many people who had different diagnoses, so it is hard to narrow it down to what can be wrong, but I wanted to post my story so people know it isn't all hopeless like the different outcomes described in this post.
My cat had these same symptoms back in January-February, and I happened upon this thread and panicked thinking my cat had cancer. I tried a dental, x-rays, extensive blood work, an exploratory surgery, anything and everything I could think of to do to her to make her better, I did. One day, she just started eating on her own again. Hesitantly at first, but as she ate over the next few days, she stopped acting like it hurt to eat and ate like normal. I still have no idea what was wrong. Not a freaking clue. But it wasn't cancer, or anything of the sort, because she got better.
I'm NOT saying to wait out the storm and see what happens. PLEASE take your kitty to the vet if they show any signs of something being wrong, because if I hadn't taken her to the vet, she would have died from lack of food. Cats can't handle not eating. After 3 days without any food, their body will start to shut down and it is irreversible!
I just wanted people to know not all hope is lost, like I thought when I originally read this post.

Thank you for posting this update. I'm so glad your little one started eating again and didn't end up having cancer. Yes, it's true that sometimes even when they appear to be starving they simply won't eat, and then out of nowhere they will start eating again and we never, ever know why. If only they could talk

 

[Krisztinastar]

I am having the same problem with my 19 year old Russian blue but he is also pawing at the right side of his face. Youtube:
He went to the vet already but they weren't able to sedate him becuase he "ate too much" while waiting for his exam -I dont know why they fed him FIRST instead of sedating him before feeding, but im bringing him back on Monday to be sedated. They gave me an antibiotic and pain meds for the weekend. Im hoping the antibiotic will fix it.

 

[catwoman707]

Meanwhile please feed him chicken or turkey baby food and/or canned pate food. Pate is also grain free which is good.
One little trick is to sprinkle some Forti-Flora on the food. Hard to resist that.
He clearly has pain when trying to chew the hard bites, and notice he goes for the tiny floor crumbs to eat rather than the bigger bites.
The most common reason for pain while chewing is a bad tooth/teeth, at his age may very well be the cause.
Try not to get ahead of yourself and think cancer etc. It's far more likely an aching tooth.
You don't need a ton of tests at vet either, just sedation for a good thorough look over.
At his age, the fewer meds the better too, just get to the root of the problem so he can get back to his good 'ol self

 

[Mmarie18]

hey friends - I’m having the same heartbreaking issue.

8 months ago I rescued stray kittens from under a porch, syringe fed them KMR and got them up to date with all their vaccinations/fixings. All 4 kittens were adopted out. 2 I kept (bonded boy and girl), 1 went to my best friend and 1 went to my brother.

2 months ago my baby pepper became extremely ill. She was vomiting a yellowish bile/half digested food and her stools were a flubbery diarrhea. Similar to most on this post, we had numerous visits to the vet, X-rays, blood work, etc. and everything came back normal.

she was losing weight at a quick speed because it was difficult for her to chew. She had an appetite but had difficult eating the easiest things. She would toss her head Back and forth trying to chew and food would fall out of her mouth.After a month of this she was put on steroids as a last hope. She did okay on steroids but I had to think of her quality of life. She was just sleeping and using the litter box all the time. She was dropping more than a pound a month and got to only 3 pounds. I had to put her down but wondered what it was.

2 months later, current. My posty (her sibling) is starting to show signs of the same. Rubbery stool, vomiting, trouble chewing. He was a very healthy cat prior (9 pounds). Took him to the vet same thing X-ray blood work all normal. After finding this post I’m going to schedule an ultrasound for him. I will keep you all updated but I am almost positive he has lymphoma.

it was hard enough saying goodbye to my one 8 month old baby and now I’m preparing myself for the worst. This sucks

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

hey friends - I’m having the same heartbreaking issue.

8 months ago I rescued stray kittens from under a porch, syringe fed them KMR and got them up to date with all their vaccinations/fixings. All 4 kittens were adopted out. 2 I kept (bonded boy and girl), 1 went to my best friend and 1 went to my brother.

2 months ago my baby pepper became extremely ill. She was vomiting a yellowish bile/half digested food and her stools were a flubbery diarrhea. Similar to most on this post, we had numerous visits to the vet, X-rays, blood work, etc. and everything came back normal.

she was losing weight at a quick speed because it was difficult for her to chew. She had an appetite but had difficult eating the easiest things. She would toss her head Back and forth trying to chew and food would fall out of her mouth.After a month of this she was put on steroids as a last hope. She did okay on steroids but I had to think of her quality of life. She was just sleeping and using the litter box all the time. She was dropping more than a pound a month and got to only 3 pounds. I had to put her down but wondered what it was.

2 months later, current. My posty (her sibling) is starting to show signs of the same. Rubbery stool, vomiting, trouble chewing. He was a very healthy cat prior (9 pounds). Took him to the vet same thing X-ray blood work all normal. After finding this post I’m going to schedule an ultrasound for him. I will keep you all updated but I am almost positive he has lymphoma.

it was hard enough saying goodbye to my one 8 month old baby and now I’m preparing myself for the worst. This sucks

I'm so sorry to hear you lost one of your furbabies and now the other is having similar issues. Have you talked to the adopters of their siblings to see how the other two are fairing?

In the meantime, have you tried feeding him a slurry of wet food with some water or KMR added to make it fairly thin so he can just lap it up and not need to chew at all? Or just feed wet food in general?

I'm not sure there is any reason to automatically jump to lymphoma. It could be IBD, or food sensitivities or possible something else entirely. Has he been tested for FIV and FeLV? Just asking, not thinking that's what it is, but better to rule out everything possible. Even it if turns out to be lymphoma, there are two different kinds, one being small cell, which can be treated fairly easily. The other, large cell, is more difficult to treat, and often requires surgery and chemo, but cats can usually handle chemo much better than humans.
Please keep us posted on what the ultrasound reveals. As it happens, I have a cat who often stops eating and the only way to get him to start up again is with an appetite enhancer. I had an ultrasound done on him and it came back with no abnormalities. He has been this way his entire life and now he's 13! We just keep Mirataz on hand and dose it as necessary. Plus take him in twice a year for an exam with full blood work up. It's a worry we just live with since he gets a clean bill of health at every Vet visit. (he does NOT, however, have much in the way of digesting issues)