My Cat Won't Drink Water After Discharged From Hospital

[TwinkleStarrr]

My cat Smokey was hospitalized because he was unable to urinate. Upon admission, the vet said he was very much dehydrated. He was catheterized and his creatinine levels was extremely high. The vet put him on antibiotics and IV fluids and after three days his Creatinine levels returned to normal.

He stayed for 5 days in the clinic and the vet made sure he can urinate on his own before discharging him.

We brought him home yesterday but up until now he isn't drinking water and has eaten very little. He's still on oral antibiotics and Nefrotec tablets but I'm worried that he's not getting enough water and he might get dehydrated again. He is sleeping so much and the only time he gets something in his mouth is when we medicate him or force him to drink water through a syringe. My cat is just 1 year old and 11 months and I felt really guilty and sad that he has experienced this already.

I hope you enlighten me with my problem.

 

[Margret]

1. You have nothing to feel guilty for. I know, you still feel guilty, because emotions don't change just because you tell them they're irrational - of course they're irrational; that's why we call them "emotions" and not "logic"! But feeling guilty is one thing, accepting that guilt as valid is something else entirely. Don't.
2. It's time to call your vet back. This is potentially a serious problem, and your vet needs to know about it. Also, your vet is the person who knows the most about Smokey's illness and is in the best position to advise you. It may be that your vet needs to teach you how to give Smokey subcutaneous fluids, as a stop-gap until Smokey's normal digestive systems are properly started up again. If the vet recommends this, don't worry about it; subcutaneous fluids may look like a painful procedure, but cats barely notice it.
3. Read the paragraph under the heading "What to Watch For" here: Cat Emergencies | Cat Dehydration | Hypothermia in Cats | Frostbite in Cats | petMD it's a good explanation of the most basic test for dehydration. If, at any time, a cat fails the Tent test, it's time to call the vet.

Margret

 

[LTS3]

Are you feeding dry food or canned food? If canned food, your cat is getting plenty of water from that and just doesn't have a need to drink from a bowl. You can add a little water to the food to ensure hydration. If you're feeding dry, try canned instead. And contact the vet for more advice.

Once your cat has recovered from the urinary issue, you should keep him on a canned food only diet to prevent possible future urinary issues.

 

[di and bob]

Encourage him to drink by enticing him with a cat fountain or even running water from the faucet. I set small bowls of water around the house because I know they always check bowls out and usually will drink once there. Offer him tuna juice, broth, maybe some liquid kitten formula found in pet sections. They also have senior supplements in cans I found on Amazon that enticed my senior to drink.
Ask about a steroid injection. I have had several cats that quit eating/drinking and after receiving antibiotics and a steroid injection, they bounced back after I thought it was hopeless. I wish you well, and will pray for your sweet boy!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My cat Smokey was hospitalized because he was unable to urinate. Upon admission, the vet said he was very much dehydrated. He was catheterized and his creatinine levels was extremely high. The vet put him on antibiotics and IV fluids and after three days his Creatinine levels returned to normal.

He stayed for 5 days in the clinic and the vet made sure he can urinate on his own before discharging him.

We brought him home yesterday but up until now he isn't drinking water and has eaten very little. He's still on oral antibiotics and Nefrotec tablets but I'm worried that he's not getting enough water and he might get dehydrated again. He is sleeping so much and the only time he gets something in his mouth is when we medicate him or force him to drink water through a syringe. My cat is just 1 year old and 11 months and I felt really guilty and sad that he has experienced this already.

I hope you enlighten me with my problem.

Hi TwinkleStarrr - Does your itemized bill show that Smokey had IV fluids for at least 3-5 days of his 5-day stay at the hospital? If so, he's probably very well hydrated right now and will likely not drink much water for a while. You can check with the vet. I would be more worried if Smokey continues to not eat much or at all, and that is definitely something to let your vet know about. It could be that the oral antibiotics might be causing some nausea, which may lead to Smokey not feeling like eating. Sometimes vets prescribe an anti-nausea med to go along with an antibiotic, if not eating (from nausea) becomes an issue. I think it would be a great idea for you to check in with the vet, give him or her an update, and ask what to do for Smokey. It is so very important that they eat every day, and eat enough food so that their liver doesn't go into hepatic lipidosis.

I had a cat who was hospitalized for 5 days once too, and it was really scary and stressful for her. The stress can raise their blood sugar and can also make them feel like sleeping a lot when they arrive home, probably to recuperate. We found that she wasn't inclined to eat, drink or use her litter box for a day or two, and it became really worrisome. We took her back to the vet and he was able to help her, which resulted in her peeing really big while at the vet, and then finally eating some food. She immediately began feeling a lot better, and things looked up from there. I talk a little about that here, when I answered someone in another thread,
My Cat Hasn't Eaten For 5 Days

I hope Smokey improves! Let us know what your vet said!

 

[TwinkleStarrr]

Hi TwinkleStarrr - Does your itemized bill show that Smokey had IV fluids for at least 3-5 days of his 5-day stay at the hospital? If so, he's probably very well hydrated right now and will likely not drink much water for a while. You can check with the vet. I would be more worried if Smokey continues to not eat much or at all, and that is definitely something to let your vet know about. It could be that the oral antibiotics might be causing some nausea, which may lead to Smokey not feeling like eating. Sometimes vets prescribe an anti-nausea med to go along with an antibiotic, if not eating (from nausea) becomes an issue. I think it would be a great idea for you to check in with the vet, give him or her an update, and ask what to do for Smokey. It is so very important that they eat every day, and eat enough food so that their liver doesn't go into hepatic lipidosis.

I had a cat who was hospitalized for 5 days once too, and it was really scary and stressful for her. The stress can raise their blood sugar and can also make them feel like sleeping a lot when they arrive home, probably to recuperate. We found that she wasn't inclined to eat, drink or use her litter box for a day or two, and it became really worrisome. We took her back to the vet and he was able to help her, which resulted in her peeing really big while at the vet, and then finally eating some food. She immediately began feeling a lot better, and things looked up from there. I talk a little about that here, when I answered someone in another thread,
My Cat Hasn't Eaten For 5 Days

I hope Smokey improves! Let us know what your vet said!

Hello PushPurrCatPaws , thank you for sharing your personal experience, I appreciate it a lot. My bill in fact does have a lot of IV bottles reflected in it. Apparently, Smokey was hydrated a lot in the hospital since they charged a bottle of IV fluid each day for 5 days. After reading your reply, it makes sense why Smokey doesn't want to drink water.

With regard to his appetite, we tried giving Smokey dry food although we really wanted him to switch now to wet food, just to have him eat something. Suprisingly he ate the dry food with enthusiasm as compared to the wet food which he just tasted and ignored. Figures he really just hates the wet food which was recommended to him. Nevertheless, I know that he still very much needed to drink water. Those dry foods were the culprit of his UTI as my vet explained to me. But based on your experience, perhaps I just needed to give Smokey some time to adjust.
But still I'm getting in touch with my vet now. At least I worry less now, I have been bringing Smokey to the Vet for a couple of times already and I know the travel, Vet visits and hospitalization has been very stressful to him since he hate other people and kind of not sociable cat.

Thank you PushPurrCatPaws . :-) I'll be reading more on the thread that you shared.

We will be having our follow-up check with our vet in less than a week. Thank you everyone.

 

[TwinkleStarrr]

Thank you Margret , LTS3 , di and bob , I appreciate your insights and suggestions. I will definitely keep them in mind.

 

[TwinkleStarrr]

Hello PushPurrCatPaws , thank you for sharing your personal experience, I appreciate it a lot. My bill in fact does have a lot of IV bottles reflected in it. Apparently, Smokey was hydrated a lot in the hospital since they charged a bottle of IV fluid each day for 5 days. After reading your reply, it makes sense why Smokey doesn't want to drink water.

With regard to his appetite, we tried giving Smokey dry food although we really wanted him to switch now to wet food, just to have him eat something. Suprisingly he ate the dry food with enthusiasm as compared to the wet food which he just tasted and ignored. Figures he really just hates the wet food which was recommended to him. Nevertheless, I know that he still very much needed to drink water. Those dry foods were the culprit of his UTI as my vet explained to me. But based on your experience, perhaps I just needed to give Smokey some time to adjust.
But still I'm getting in touch with my vet now. At least I worry less now, I have been bringing Smokey to the Vet for a couple of times already and I know the travel, Vet visits and hospitalization has been very stressful to him since he hate other people and kind of not sociable cat.

Thank you PushPurrCatPaws . :-) I'll be reading more on the thread that you shared.

We will be having our follow-up check with our vet in less than a week. Thank you everyone.