My Cat Won't Eat

daftcat75

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Wild cats fast. House cats should not fast. There’s a devil in the difference that makes it more dangerous for house cats to go without eating. Their bodies aren’t as adept to using body fat for energy and can easily overwhelm the liver’s ability to handle those byproducts. A month without eating is way too long! Especially because cats have a low thirst drive and get most of their hydration from food. Another reason why wet food is so much better than dry. A better rule of thumb is that a cat is in danger of fatty liver if she has been eating less than half her regular calories for more than two weeks. But...fatty liver can set in much quicker than that for some cats—as little as a couple of days. The longer a cat goes without eating, the sicker it may feel from the byproducts making it that much less likely the cat will restart eating on its own. You must step in now and help her eat until she can eat again on her own. Poor nutrition = poor prognosis no matter what she might be working through.
 

KittyCatCove

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Still, don't know if you have to tag everyone for them to get an alert or not or if there's a general tag?

But update: I reasoned with my parents and we're taking her to another vet to get her x-rays. I believe the issue was that our vet didn't have the right tech but this one can do one without harming her. I'll tell you how it goes afterward!
X-rays are a must. Could be an obstruction. Good luck.
 
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timberdarkhorse

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We're back from the vet... Just going to tag everyone and hope it's not annoying. KittyCatCove KittyCatCove daftcat75 daftcat75 @LTS3 @EmersonandEvie NewKitty2019 NewKitty2019

First of all, thank you so much for going strong on getting a second opinion, made me able to get my family to drive her out to a vet with more tech. We found out the cause. Pancreatitis... I don't know much about it with felines so any info will be super helpful. I know it's not a good thing though.

Fiona's being kept at the vet overnight, her vitals were all low but her potassium was at dangerous levels. I'm assuming they'll use feeding tubes, fluids, and all that? She's now at 7.3 pounds and before was 8, close to 9.

From the little I've read about it, this doesn't seem like something that's going to be easy for any of us. Really just looking for any advice and info at this point. Thank you for your help during this.
 

daftcat75

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I have experience with and thoughts on pancreatitis. But I’m also on my phone right now. A full reply will have to wait. For now, ask the vet what he thinks brought this on. Pancreatitis doesn’t often happen on its own. It usually has an underlying cause. Since she hasn’t been symptomatic before last week (unless you’ve been ignoring the vomiting for awhile), it could be acute pancreatitis brought about by a poisoning event (ate or was exposed to something she shouldn’t have been) vs chronic pancreatitis caused by a preexisting/developing gut issue like IBD. Pancreatitis can be treated. But you have to understand if there is something causing it that needs to be treated as well so it doesn’t come back. Acute pancreatitis can be a more serious event requiring hospitalization and a feeding tube. But if she gets through it, it’s not likely to reoccur (unless exposed to the same toxin again.) Chronic pancreatitis can have a better outlook in the short term (outpatient vs hospitalization) but it is more likely to reoccur because the underlying cause is also likely to be chronic in nature and have its own flare ups.

So ask the vet:

1. Is this chronic or acute pancreatitis?
2. What brought it on? You may need an ultrasound for this to understand what’s going on in her gut.
3. If chronic, what’s the treatment plan for the underlying condition as well?
 

KittyCatCove

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She's a very beautiful girl!

I had a feeling it was something fairly serious. When they stop eating and drinking... that is SERIOUS! Hopefully you caught it in time for her to receive adequate treatment and recovery. God speed to you and Fiona! :heartshape:

Keep us posted.
 
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timberdarkhorse

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daftcat75 daftcat75 Those questions help! I'll make sure to ask them next time I call up. I believe any kind of poisoning was ruled out but she does like to eat random string-like materials. Not sure if that could be affiliated? In terms of previous symptoms, although the vomiting hasn't been this intense, it technically isn't a newer development. She started throwing up some months ago which was unlike her but without any other symptoms, and with it being spread out and small, we dismissed it. Likely related, if pancreatitis goes through a long period similar to that.

KittyCatCove KittyCatCove Yes, thank you for pushing me getting her to a vet! Very nice to know what's causing this. Would have been sad for her to die and for us to wonder if the other cats were next or if it was something we did...
 

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zed xyzed zed xyzed thank you for the support <3 I really hope she gets better too and it makes me feel like people care by posting on here c;
More Fiona pictures for you to see how lovely she isView attachment 285849
View attachment 285846 View attachment 285847
Wow! She is beautiful! I hope she gets through this! It's good that you know what is wrong, at least. I found this article explaining a bit: Pancreatitis in the Cat | Manhattan Cat Specialists
Sending you both love and good luck!
 

daftcat75

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There's a lot to cover about pancreatitis. I'll try to be concise and let you research the rest.

1. Food. Food is key here. Drugs will also be key but no amount of drugs will fix a poor diet. If you were looking for a reason to switch her to all wet food, none more dramatic than pancreatitis. Pancreatitis and dry food are pretty much incompatible. Look for a wet food that is meat, moisture, organs (or byproducts which are simply unnamed organs and not a bad thing), and supplements. Avoid non-animal ingredients like grains, starches, vegetables, and fruits. Look for as few (or no) gums as you can. This makes avoiding or working out food sensitivities a lot easier.

2. Pancreatitis will digest the pancreas impairing her ability to digest her food and also to regulate insulin if pancreatitis is allowed to go on for too long. It is a challenging disease to treat. You have to nip it as fast as you can because it can create a lot of long-term problems if you don't.

3. To that end, you need to get her nutrition back up and keep it up. Fasting will not do here. Figure on 30 calories per lbs to give her enough nutrition to help her through this. You can try drugs, treats, bribes, and even syringe feeding by mouth. But please don't be too stubborn here. If you don't think you'll be able to get her to this amount of nutrition on her own, please talk to the vet about a feeding tube. It's not that scary. Most cats don't mind once you figure out how fast and how warm to feed the food. Fiona can and may still eat on her own with the tube in place. Many cats feel more like eating once they've had a little food injected into their stomach. And the tube is reversible. Once she no longer needs it, she can have it removed and it will heal up in a week like it was never there.
Feeding Tubes For Cats

4. Drugs. She'll need them. At a minimum, figure on pain control, anti-nausea, possibly/probably anti-vomiting, and an appetite stimulant (because in addition to being nauseated with a poor appetite already, some of these drugs can suppress her appetite as a side effect.)

5. Supplements. If she has pancreatitis because of an underlying gut condition, that gut condition will also need to be treated. You may not see much progress or it may even get worse if the gut isn't given a chance to heal. Except you can't fast her. So you have to fix the car while you're driving. And that's where supplements can be helpful. Vitality Science has supplements that helped my Krista heal and seal her gut and butt. They have excellent and prompt customer service that can help you with product selection and how to use it. I would recommend Luxolite for acute vomiting and diarrhea and either Feline Comfort or Feline Comfort Plus and Pet Flora as every meal healing. You may have to mix these into a very small amount of tuna to make sure she eats all her "medicine" without making her meals less palatable. Because she still needs to eat more than she needs any of these supplements.
Vitality Science | Natural Remedies For Dogs And Cats

6. No more dismissing her vomiting. The absence of vomiting, her appetite returning, the absence of lethargy, and regaining weight are your measuring sticks for her recovery.

7. B-12 shots. She won't get through this recovery without them. Buy a bottle of B-12 and the supplies (syringes, needles, and disposal) and ask a vet or vet tech (or watch a youtube) to show you how to do these. The bottle and supplies will cost you less than $100. They aren't that scary to give as you inject them beneath her skin, not into a vein. If you do them right, she won't even notice. These will have to be given weekly to start so it's going to save everyone time, money, and stress to do them at home.

That's probably enough for tonight.

To sum up:

You need to get serious, and make serious decisions, sooner than later, including highly palatable wet food only, a lot of it, and if she won't eat enough on her own, get her a feeding tube placed. She will need supporting medicine to help her through a good deal of pain and discomfort. She will be served well by certain supplements to soothe and heal any underlying gut and butt disease or distress. Finally, B-12 is essential. Insist upon it. Buy it yourself. Learn how to give it. Do it weekly until the pancreatitis has cleared up. Check with your vet on that but I'm sure he'll say the same.
 
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timberdarkhorse

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daftcat75 daftcat75 Woofff, that's a lot. It seems stressful now but I'm going to research all of that until I have it down! Thank you for your help, ahh.
 
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timberdarkhorse

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Bad news. I got a call from the vet and she wants us to come in to say goodbye as she doesn’t think she’ll make it through another night... her pancreas is so bad that she couldn’t absorb the vitamins they gave her. The vet doesn’t know how this bad of an attack came about but yeah, it’s not looking too good.
 

daftcat75

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I’m so sorry to hear this. This sounds like acute pancreatitis which can be tougher to get a cat through. Food can be predigested with pancreatic enzyme supplements. But she may also be diabetic now depending on how bad the pancreas is damaged. It’s possible you can manage her conditions if she can get through this in the short-term. But it’s also possible this may be too much for her. I’m sure the vet knows about digestive enzyme supplements and feeding tubes. But maybe run that past her anyway if you or Fiona still have fight left in you.
 
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timberdarkhorse

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daftcat75 daftcat75 The vet sounded pretty confident and sad when she said she wouldn't make it... Although I'm still giving her the last fighting chance with tonight, the vet also mentioned that Fiona would probably keep flaring up after this as I told her about some stuff she'd try and eat and she thinks they're partially at fault.

I don't know if this will be controversial but I'm not going to go see her today. I pushed the selfish reasons such as being tired and devasted aside and I feel like it won't do her any good. If she was being euthanized, I would. But if she dies tonight, it could be at any time. I don't want to give Fiona false hope when she sees me and thinks, "am I going home now?" I'd also be crying and I don't want to stress her... It'd kill me if I never got a proper goodbye but maybe it'd be better off if she gets to think I'll be seeing her soon.

If she survives, I hope we can get passed this painlessly and if she doesn't, then I hope she knew she was loved.
 

zed xyzed

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I would consider getting another opinion, this is a final type of decision and too important to not explore all options. I pray that your beautiful girl can bounce back.
 

amandag1

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daftcat75 daftcat75 The vet sounded pretty confident and sad when she said she wouldn't make it... Although I'm still giving her the last fighting chance with tonight, the vet also mentioned that Fiona would probably keep flaring up after this as I told her about some stuff she'd try and eat and she thinks they're partially at fault.

I don't know if this will be controversial but I'm not going to go see her today. I pushed the selfish reasons such as being tired and devasted aside and I feel like it won't do her any good. If she was being euthanized, I would. But if she dies tonight, it could be at any time. I don't want to give Fiona false hope when she sees me and thinks, "am I going home now?" I'd also be crying and I don't want to stress her... It'd kill me if I never got a proper goodbye but maybe it'd be better off if she gets to think I'll be seeing her soon.

If she survives, I hope we can get passed this painlessly and if she doesn't, then I hope she knew she was loved.
Go see your cat. Shes in an unfamiliar place and doesnt feel well. Of course seeing you and remembering you would be better for her.
Wouldnt you think so? I dont want to sound rude but if she is there and doesnt do well over the night at least she knows you didnt just drop her off somewhere....
When my boy was in the hospital
He wouldnt eat for them but I came and visited and fed him and he licked up some. He definitely recognized me even he wasnt feeling good.
 

zed xyzed

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Go see your cat. Shes in an unfamiliar place and doesnt feel well. Of course seeing you and remembering you would be better for her.
Wouldnt you think so? I dont want to sound rude but if she is there and doesnt do well over the night at least she knows you didnt just drop her off somewhere....
When my boy was in the hospital
He wouldnt eat for them but I came and visited and fed him and he licked up some. He definitely recognized me even he wasnt feeling good.
I have to agree, when Midi was at the animal hospital he was depressed they couldn't get him to eat, but when I visited him and offered him food he did eat.
 

daftcat75

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Go visit Fiona. It will perk her up, and it may keep her going knowing that you haven't abandoned her. She's probably pretty frightened right now, and a familiar face could do a lot of good. If you have a blanket she sleeps on or one of your shirts that you've worn (not a freshly laundered shirt) that you can leave in the cage with her, that would also bring her some comfort.
 
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timberdarkhorse

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I’m not really sure what to do... I have a feeling that visiting her won’t do any good and will only stress her out and make her feel worse. I haven’t been able to help her yet and I don’t think I could control my emotions if I saw how she’s looking. I just don’t know if it’s worth it.
 
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