My Cat Is Won’t Eat And Gags When She Smells Food

zoerain

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Messages
6
Purraise
0
My 1-year-old cat started vomiting a couple days ago. I think she possibly ate spoiled food due to our refrigerator that stopped cooling, and we fed her some food before we realized it. She started acting slightly lethargic, but started to perk up yesterday morning. However, last night she took a sharp decline, and she vomited again, and became very vocal. We took her to the emergency vet, and they did blood work and gave her fluids and anti-nausea meds. The blood work was normal, and her organs were functioning properly. Today there has been little improvement, and she has become very lethargic. When I try to feed her the bland food we got from the vet she gags when she smells it. I am going to try to bring her back to the vet tomorrow, but does anyone know what these symptoms point to? I feel like if it was just spoiled food she wouldn’t be in this bad of shape. Please share any insight you might have!
 

Margret

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
6,497
Purraise
8,927
Location
Littleton, CO
That's very worrisome; you definitely need to get her to the vet tomorrow!

The thing is that when a cat doesn't eat for 48 hours it can lead to hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease), which is extremely dangerous, so any upset in eating habits is potentially a serious problem.

One thing that she might be willing to "eat" (i.e. drink) is KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer). While it isn't intended for adult cats it is safe for them, and it's extremely high in calories because kittens are growing so fast, so even a little bit will stave off hepatic lipidosis.

If she's still grooming herself you can try smearing some paté style food on a paw, and she'll ingest it as a side effect of grooming. If the bland food the vet gave you isn't paté style, try grinding or smashing it and putting some on her paw.

Margret
 

Mamanyt1953

Rules my home with an iron paw
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
31,173
Purraise
67,765
Location
North Carolina
By all means, get her to her regualar vet tomorrow. And keep us posted.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,435
Purraise
33,197
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Hi! It sounds like something more going on than just spoiled food - but, that food could have triggered something else. Have you tried some other sorts of food, and if so, does it trigger the gagging as well? I am not trying to make her vomit again, just curious if the gagging is isolated to the bland food the vet recommended. I suspect not, hence the need for a trip to the vet, soon.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

zoerain

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Messages
6
Purraise
0
We took her to the vet today, and they said she looks okay visually, and her organs feel okay. They gave her more fluids as well as an appetite stimulant and antibiotics. Tonight when we tried to feed her she still gagged at the smell of food, and wouldn’t eat so we gave her some of the food mixed with water through a syringe. Hopefully the antibiotics work quickly to fix whatever is wrong, but in the mean time is there anything else we can do to get her to eat?
 

MargoLane

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
192
Purraise
262
My cat has IBD and goes through boughts of pain and nausea where she just will not eat. She often holds out even after all of the pain killers, anti-nausea and appetite stimulants have had time to work. It has been about 3-4 days in the past, which is much too long. And it’s awful.

Here’s what I do; I leave food out at all times just in case, but once I notice some of her “brightness” come back and she stops licking her lips, I put out a bunch of plates of food. Wet, raw and even dry, which she never usually gets. Anything that might tempt her. If she doesn’t go for it on her own, but is interested enough to smell it, I start to syringe feed her. Not a lot, just enough to help her realize that food won’t hurt anymore. And when I wake up the next morning, all of the plates of food are usually empty.

Good luck - I know how stressful it is when they won’t eat.
 

Treapalmer

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jul 16, 2018
Messages
37
Purraise
45
I actually just went through this kind of a situation with my kitty. She stopped eating completely and gagged at even the smell/sight of ANY kind of food. We wound up having to get a feeding tube put in place because she had a very abnormal upper respiratory infection centered around her throat, making it very hard for her to eat on her own. She's all better now, and hopefully your kitty won't need it, but the feeding tube saved her life and was the best decision we ever made. Good luck <3
 
Top