running out of time w/ senior foster cat, won't eat

tutubean

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On Sunday the 12th we took in a sweet, 17 y/o senior lady whose owner died. She's deaf (does not react to footsteps or loud noises at all), and has barely any teeth left with some signs of gingivitis.

Naturally we expected her to be confused/anxious/depressed, and so far she's spending her days in "her" room (the spare bathroom) behind the toilet. She comes out once in a while to roam, acting like she's looking for something/someone and upon not finding it, goes back to her sanctuary. Every day we see some social improvement as she has become incredibly loving in just a couple days, purring and loving pets and brushings and even belly rubs. But she still always returns to the toilet.

The biggest problem is that she isn't eating much at all. Just a few ounces of food over the course of 4 days. (We've tried various foods/treats, including the water from a tuna can).

We just had her checked out by the vet, who took blood, gave her some fluids, and gave her antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection (her lungs are clear but she's sneezing and has eye and nose discharge, was like that when she came to us). She also has an outer ear infection which we're treating. We'll see what her blood tells us soon. Urine will be checked once I can get a sample.
Today she let me give her a sponge bath and I was even able to wash most of the old crusties from her eyes and nose.

The vet gave me a can of Hill's urgent care canned food, which she ate straight after coming home from the vet, but only about a teaspoon's worth. She ate a tiny bit later that evening, and a few licks this morning. Her stuffy nose was no match for this stinky food, but she is still barely eating any (which it's made for as it's high calorie).
This morning I found some fresh poop and pee in the litter box, much less than when she first arrived but I was still happy to see it.
Her water intake is low but she drinks from the running tap so I've ordered her a fountain which will arrive tomorrow.

Is there anything I haven't done?

How much longer can I give her until we consult the vet again? I know rehoming adjustments can take weeks, but she doesn't have that kind of time if she isn't eating.

Should I retrain her to AVOID this bathroom sanctuary? We have a second litter box set up in the downstairs powder room, so technically we could keep her out of this bathroom.... I only think of this because the downstairs powder room is adjacent to the kitchen where we would have easier access to her food. And there is a lovely living room where she could lounge and window to nature watch. Also she keeps trying to drink from the shower drain (thankfully I've cleaned it).
 
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ArtNJ

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Do you know or can you find out what food the cat was fed by the senior lady?

Definitely let her keep whatever sanctuary is making her feel safe until she is fully adjusted.
 

ArtNJ

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I will try to find out.
Great. Between the stress of changing homes and humans, being sick, and changing foods, its really no wonder she isn't eating much. As long as she is reasonably healthy for a 17 y.o. apart from these temporary illnesses this should be a blip.

If you are able to get the original food and think its something unsuitable for a sick senior cat, you know about mixing foods to transition to a new food? This is where you do like 70% old type of food and 30% new food the first day, and gradually change the mix, that kind of thing. Its said to help with the transition. I've never fussed with it, but with a sick 17 y.o. it surely makes sense.
 

susanm9006

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She is doing great for being a 17 year old senior cat and only five days in. As long as she is eating at all she is doing okay. You can try enticing her to eat with some pure chicken meat baby food mixed into her wet food and also she may like those thick paste cat treats like Inaba churro. Just squeeze it out onto a plate for her. Also, I don’t know if it is possible but if there is anything with her former owners scent on it - a piece of clothing or a blanket, it would be a great comfort to her.
 

verna davies

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I second trying baby food with no additives, stage 2 members seem to recommend. You could also try kitten food, its higher in calories which she needs right now. She must be so confused at the moment.
 
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tutubean

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She is doing great for being a 17 year old senior cat and only five days in. As long as she is eating at all she is doing okay.
She trusts us, it seems, which I think is step 1 of being comfortable.

I think I forgot to mention she used to live with over 10 other cats!!! 😩 we think she might have hid behind a toilet because of that. who knows. but certainly per her health status upon arrival she was not getting the attention she deserved. We have no other pets or kids in the house so she is definitely getting a relaxing spa vacation (literally! ha)

You can try enticing her to eat with some pure chicken meat baby food mixed into her wet food and also she may like those thick paste cat treats like Inaba churro. Just squeeze it out onto a plate for her. Also, I don’t know if it is possible but if there is anything with her former owners scent on it - a piece of clothing or a blanket, it would be a great comfort to her.
I didn't think about the baby food option. If the Hill's can doesn't help transition her to the canned food we have for our TNRd cats, then I'll look into baby food. I'm pretty sure we can find healthy options in our local supermarket. Will also look into the treat paste which I do recall using with my old cat years ago.
I don't know if I can get something from her old home. The situation is more than just her owner died. The owner's family inherited the cat, then surrendered her asking her to be euthanized for "biting" them. They even drugged her on an anti-anxiety medication. This cat is the sweetest bug ever and doesn't have many teeth left, AND she's declawed, so honestly I don't know what the heck that family did to this poor cat. Sooo I'm not entirely sure old clothing etc will help, esp considering she lived with a herd of cats, I worry it would do more harm than good.

You could also try kitten food, its higher in calories which she needs right now.
KITTEN FOOD!!! omigosh I didn't think of that. must be much cheaper than Hill's urgent care lol.
 
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tutubean

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Here she is just yesterday, 4 days after arrival. I took her downstairs to introduce her to the living room with the big glass doors, which she enjoyed for a moment. She then did THIS while we all watched. She relaxed for another couple of minutes before retreating into her upstairs bathroom sanctuary.

I know it's going to take a week or two or three, but we're getting there. I just got really concerned about the not eating. But if you think even eating a small amount is a good sign, I'm happy.

1594997586906.png
 

verna davies

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She is lovely, looks quite content . Glad to hear you are heading in the right direction. Please let us know how she is doing.
 

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You are so kind to have taken her and I think that there is a lot of good advice already given. She is in a huge adjustment period; at first I pictured that it had just been her and her owner, bonded together, but now we have a different view of a life that might not have been that great, along with creepy family members. I hesitate to think what they did with the other 9 cats.

In her little cat mind, she may be beyond thrilled to be in a quiet, loving house and is just starting to get a picture of her new life.
 

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Fancy Feast Classic pates. Fancy Feast gets a bum rap but it's actually a decent recipe and extremely popular with picky cats. My Krista had issues with her teeth (resorptive lesions) for the last two years (until I finally had her remaining teeth and tooth roots extracted by a veterinary dentist last fall.) We would go through this pattern of her eating slowing or stopping. Then I would bust out the FF Classic to get her eating again until I could convince her vet to take new mouth films and perform the necessary extractions. It's a shame that it would flare her IBD every time. But I'm grateful that she liked it well enough to keep eating when I needed her to keep eating. Now my toothless wonder is on steroids for her IBD and needs no such encouragement or enticements to keep eating. 😹
 
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tutubean

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Fancy Feast Classic pates.
YUP!!! she really liked the seafood platter pate, at least at first. My previous cat wouldn't eat anything other than FF. I bought several flavors and will be introducing them to her as time goes.

For now, we seem to be doing well with Hill's urgent care (she ate more yesterday than she did in the 3 previous days), and she also seems to like Friskie's turkey and giblets which we had in our mixed box for our TNR kiddos. I've started to mix the Hill's with Friskies and FF and it seems to be working, as already this morning in the last 2 hours she's eaten a few teaspoons worth. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it's already more than she had during her second, third, and fourth day with us combined. What's more, this morning she ate her breakfast in the kitchen (I carried her down), though last night she had her dinner in the bathroom.

All in all I'm seeing a definite positive evolution. She still retreats to the bathroom, but last night and this morning she came out from behind the toilet, lay on the rug, and we had the best scritches session ever. She's also starting to come out from behind the toilet to just greet me. Also, since day 2, her tail has gone straight up when she sees us, which made me so happy.

I'm not pleased that she seems to ignore every single treat I give her, especially since her carer that had her for 1 night said she liked soft treats, but I'll keep trying. What she doesn't eat, the TNR kiddos will.
 
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tutubean

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Hi. Just came across this thread. She seems like she is adapting pretty well for just a short period of time. Did you try the kitten food?
How much is she eating in a day?

Here is a TCS article with some ideas on what you might try to feed her to get her interested in eating more.
How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again
Thanks for this. I'm glad to know I'm already doing everything it says to do, right down to putting a little bit of food in her mouth with a finger (she hated this of course, but still licked her lips). I think we have needle-less syringes I could use if she continues to not eat enough, but I like where things are headed at the moment.
 
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tutubean

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Still on an upward trend here: she cleaned her food bowl for the first time in a week. I set out food for her last night, about 2 tbps worth (mix of Hill's UC, Friskie's, and a bit of tuna juice). She ate it in 3 sessions, finishing it this morning. We're almost out of Hill's so I'm going to try to get her fully onto Friskie's or Fancy Feast.

Her tummy is actually firm now (it wasn't before) and she even looks a bit wide in the abdomen. She had a bowel movement this morning that looked good.

I really think that one can of Hill's might have helped so much just to get her interested in eating again. She STILL ignores treats though, we've tried 3 kinds! :lol:

Some other good news: we got a Catit drinking fountain for her and she's already using it. Last night she must have sat there drinking on and off a total of 10 minutes. Catit actually sent a sample of their treat paste (300 kcal per tube!) which she really likes. So if she continues being a picky eater I may buy more treat paste.

Bloodwork results still forthcoming. I think she'll be fine, but at her age I'm worried about her kidneys. The vet said we will talk about dietary needs if her kidneys need help.

If anyone has experience with kidney issues and a vet recommending Hill's kidney health formulas, please let me know what alternatives you've used. I can't really afford Hill's special diet foods.
 
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ArtNJ

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Not sure why the vet is recommending kidney food prior to seeing the levels. The cat was sick, so its not like spotting some dehydration would necessarily mean kidney. I'd wait and see what you are dealing with.
 
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tutubean

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Not sure why the vet is recommending kidney food prior to seeing the levels. The cat was sick, so its not like spotting some dehydration would necessarily mean kidney. I'd wait and see what you are dealing with.
sorry for the confusion. the vet said IF her kidneys require help, we'd consider special food.
 
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tutubean

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Update: socially, she is doing so well. for the first time last night, she asked to sit on my lap (reached up to it but couldn't jump). she did the same thing this morning. she's also started trilling greetings at me.

health wise, she's about the same. She did okay with Hill's urgent care canned food, but when her persistent mild anal leakage wouldn't stop (it started BEFORE seeing the vet), we decided to get her eating the same Rx fiber kibble she ate for years with her previous owner. As soon as I put that kibble in front of her face, she dove in. But she only ate a tiny amount over the course of the day. It was the same with any other food. Just tiny nibbles throughout the day. We're hoping the fiber regulates her digestion which might help her appetite.

Her bloodwork unfortunately shows that she is in late, but not final, stage kidney disease. Her poor appetite could easily be linked to that, and the vet says she could start to decline anywhere from weeks to months from now. But her social behavior, pets and scritches and lap sitting etc, told the vet she isn't quite done living yet.

The vet wants to get her on a renal health diet, but only after we get her digestion regulated. We just want her eating.

For now she stays confined to the bathroom despite the door being open, but she has started to venture out more often, and she even PLAYED with a feather toy. I was amazed.
 
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