Stressed Induced Anorexia??

[chloechance]

My cats been in and out of the hospital all week. Blood work, ultrasound, xrays, etc. What we know. He was refusing to eat and drink. Lost a lot of weight. Constipated. White blood count high. Treated w antibiotics - no change. Hospitalized overnight for iv nutrients. We cannot rule out cancer unless we performed surgical biopsy which is expensive and quite frankly l do not want to put him through anymore.
So the other option we are left with is to try predinisone to see if it helps. We are hesitant about using it bc he does have a heart murmur.
Dr thinks he could also have stressed induced anorexia. We recently got a kitten. He doesnt do any harm to her but he def doesnt like her. And she bugs him alot lol. So l know its stressful. For 9 yrs its been just him and his sister. He stresses over everything noises, sudden movements, storms.
Has anyone ever heard of or dealt w an anorexic cat with possibly no illness?
Also l dont want to get rid of the kitty and l try my best to keep thrm a part but what can l do to help my cat. Go calming collars and plug ins work?
I am hoping its stress bc we can work with this vs cancer.

 

[orange&white]

Yes, my senior cat went off his food for 4 days in February when I brought home a 4-month old kitten. I started syringe-feeding him the 2nd day he didn't eat and when he started eating again, he went back to perfectly normal. This is a cat who is very laid-back and nothing ever "seems" to bother him. He did not like having a new kitten join the family though.

I kept the kitten in the bedroom for weeks with very short, supervised visitations before my senior decided she could live here. He also did something that stopped her from pouncing on him non-stop and annoying him to no end.

 

[chloechance]

See l was worried more about my 10 yr old female bc she is ill with heart disease she could careless. She puts the kitten in her place. Chance he just runs from her. But he is also small in size prob why she bugs him more.
We have been syringe feeding but vet said this is not a long term option. He needs to find a way to eat again. If its stress. If its cancer he might not eat again. But tonights a goid sign he is on mertzipane and nutrical so he is liking his treats. I have to give him sub q fluids at home every 24hrs.

 

[orange&white]

How many days ago did he stop eating on his own? I tried syringing 50/50 pureed canned cat food and water at first and the second day he started refusing to swallow anything. I switched to raw egg yolk (4 per day), and on day four his appetite was back like nothing ever happened. Unorthodox perhaps, but it worked. Tangent had zero symptoms of illness...no vomiting or diarrhea...he just quit eating.

Good vibes your way that your kitty is just stressed and will return to normal soon.

 

[mewcatmew]

did the do a snap blood test for pancreatitis?

 

[BestBabyC]

did they say it wasn't cancer? I know you thought it was from your other post. I would pursue that because if it is small cell, the prognosis is much better so you don't want to wait. How did they go from cancer to stress induced anorexia, that is really bizarre and kind of a moronic thing to suggest with all her symptoms including muscle wasting, vomiting and high WBC count, I'm shocked the vet would come up with something so ridiculous and frankly, stupid. It is doubtful the cat would stop eating long enough to warrant all that testing and lose weight from stress alone, something is going on medically.

was the ultrasound completely normal? stomach, intestines etc? did they do a test for pancreatitis? there is hope with a lot of these possibilities but time is of the essence. If they can do an endoscopy and obtain biopsies of the stomach and upper and lower intestines,that would be best if they feel it can be cancer of the GI tract. She has a high WBC count, this is not stress induced anorexia, that is certain.

You have to look into cancer and then either pursue chemo or make her comfortable. If she has small cell then you have a good chance

Let us know

 

[chloechance]

did the do a snap blood test for pancreatitis?

I think they mentioned it but did not test yet.

 

[chloechance]

did they say it wasn't cancer? I know you thought it was from your other post. I would pursue that because if it is small cell, the prognosis is much better so you don't want to wait. How did they go from cancer to stress induced anorexia, that is really bizarre and kind of a moronic thing to suggest with all her symptoms including muscle wasting, vomiting and high WBC count, I'm shocked the vet would come up with something so ridiculous and frankly, stupid. It is doubtful the cat would stop eating long enough to warrant all that testing and lose weight from stress alone, something is going on medically.

was the ultrasound completely normal? stomach, intestines etc? did they do a test for pancreatitis? there is hope with a lot of these possibilities but time is of the essence. If they can do an endoscopy and obtain biopsies of the stomach and upper and lower intestines,that would be best if they feel it can be cancer of the GI tract. She has a high WBC count, this is not stress induced anorexia, that is certain.

You have to look into cancer and then either pursue chemo or make her comfortable. If she has small cell then you have a good chance

Let us know

Vet did not say it was one or other she honestly said we are sorry we do not know

I refused a biopsy. I dont have the money. Also if it were cancer l will not treat it. So yes, he could still very well have cancer. As a last ditch effort we are going to start predinisone. I am waiting a few days though. He did finally eat a tiny bit. But she said when a cat gets very very stressed they stop eating sometimes and bc their body is conflicted about whats going on it causes like an immune response which can up your white blood count. When they retested him his lymphocytes went down. Thats a good thing. A human dr l tslked to said in many cases if cancer is present your lymphocytes dont tend to go back to normal.
Again does not mean it isnt cancer but since l wont have a biopsy we cannot be sure.

His ultrasound on his intestines looked good. At the time he was backed up. He did finally poop! They xrayed his abdomen, chest etc. Nothing was a red flag.
I just dont have the money to keep putting out. In 5 days l racked up $1200 w no answers to whats going on for sure (not to mention the other 2 grand spent over this year on my other cats).
I came home w IV fluids, meds, nutrical, and a lot of hope. This week will be the tell tale sign. If he doesnt eat as hard as it may be l have to let go.

 

[BestBabyC]

I have a cat with cancer and it really sounds like the same story .

If you are not going to get her the biopsy and won't do chemo, then start trying to ease her suffering now, each moment is hell for them. This has been going on a long time.

The vet highly suspects cancer and your cat's presentation, including weight loss, unwillingness to eat, behavior and labs, all support this. There is a small chance she has inflammatory bowel disease , but she would need a biopsy and treatment which you said you won't do.

The vet is not going to randomly offer stress induced anorexia as a possibility at this juncture. The vet is telling you to proceed with a biopsy to confirm a cancer diagnosis or make her as comfortable as possible now, that seems honest and accurate.

Are you willing to get her the medications and fluids to ease her suffering or are any further vet Bills off the table ? I think at this point you have to think about what she is experiencing minute to minute.

If you are willIng to get her medications, she will most likely need prednisolone, mirtazapine, metronidazole, pepsid and see about pain killers.


If you don't think you want to get her the medications and saline and dont want to do the care taking, then maybe tell the vet that. I don't know if there is a place for very ill cats who are dying or if you know someone that can care for her. But she can't just sit there in this condition, it's horribly painful.

I know it's very difficult but she is counting on you to help her in some capacity , either pallitively or get her somewhere where she can get palliative care, a family member or friend maybe.

 

[chloechance]

He is doing well. We brought him home with sub q fluids, cerenia, mirizapane, and predinosone to start if l choose (he does have a heart condition we must be careful of). He also has pain meds if necessary. He is also taking nutrical. He is eating again, going to bathroom and seems good so far *fingers crossed*
My vet did not recommend a biopsy. She said that was an option if l really wanted to dig deeper. She also did not say he was in pain. He is acting somewhat back to himself. We have him in his own room away from chaos and kitten.
I do not have anymore money to "find: out and if l did l still would never treat him for cancer. Life is about quality not quantity. If he starts fading again l.will make that decision. I follow my heart not always what should be done. If l did that my oldest cat would have been put down in Nov upon her hesrt disease and adrenal gland tumor diagnosis. 10 months later she is still happy, still thriving and l have worked tirelessly resesrching hollistic approaches to get her better (not cured just feeling herself).
If l listened to advice of others my cats would be gone. Instead l listen to my heart. I dont believe Chance is in pain. Like l said he has bern very good since being home. I give him his iv fluids at night and meds in the a.m. and we take 1 day at a time.

 

[orange&white]

He is doing well. ... He is eating again, going to bathroom and seems good so far *fingers crossed*

That's good news! Hopefully he'll continue to improve.

Good, healing vibes.

 

[chloechance]

Thank you. I am also going to buy him a calming collar to.see if it helps with his anxiety. We are def not out of the woods but the last 2 days have been much improved.

 

[BestBabyC]

I agree life is about quality which is why people are recommending you make your cat as comfortable as possible and ease her suffering . Cancer is very painful , you told us your vet wanted to do a biopsy and you told us that you cat lost pounds, cats have to be in a lot of pain to stop eating like that .

Whatever is going on , and it's most likely cancer, your cat is in a lot of pain. The vet said she is not in pain but gave you pain meds ?

yes I did give my advice because I didn't like the idea of your cat sitting there in agony . You said you didn't want to spend any money on a diagnosis so I said ease her suffering with medications . That's not outlandish .

No one is telling you or ever told you to do chemo. You can't use not wanting to do chemo as reasoning for not doing anything at all. You kept saying it may be something else and we said well there is no way to find out without a biopsy ! But since you don't want to do one, ease her suffering with medication . That's all anyone has ever told you given what you told us and given you said you don't want to spend any money .

I don't think anyone is goIng to sign on to this notion of stress induced anorexia , we are all Just concerned about the cat not suffering so much . Now you say the cat is not in any pain , that's a rather remarkable statement after all you have stated , very high WBC count , muscle wasting since February , vomitting, not eating , lethargic etc.

It's not about us , its about the cats.

Wish your cat the best.

 

[chloechance]

I agree life is about quality which is why people are recommending you make your cat as comfortable as possible and ease her suffering . Cancer is very painful , you told us your vet wanted to do a biopsy and you told us that you cat lost pounds, cats have to be in a lot of pain to stop eating like that .

Whatever is going on , and it's most likely cancer, your cat is in a lot of pain. The vet said she is not in pain but gave you pain meds ?

yes I did give my advice because I didn't like the idea of your cat sitting there in agony . You said you didn't want to spend any money on a diagnosis so I said ease her suffering with medications . That's not outlandish .

No one is telling you or ever told you to do chemo. You can't use not wanting to do chemo as reasoning for not doing anything at all. You kept saying it may be something else and we said well there is no way to find out without a biopsy ! But since you don't want to do one, ease her suffering with medication . That's all anyone has ever told you given what you told us and given you said you don't want to spend any money .

I don't think anyone is goIng to sign on to this notion of stress induced anorexia , we are all Just concerned about the cat not suffering so much . Now you say the cat is not in any pain , that's a rather remarkable statement after all you have stated , very high WBC count , muscle wasting since February , vomitting, not eating , lethargic etc.

It's not about us , its about the cats.

Wish your cat the best.

I appreciate your concern but your being a little over the top.
Pain meds were prescribed at our very first appt when we did not know what was wrong. My vet said l could discontinue them.
You are implying l did nothing!! I did everything!! Drove 35 min to another state 4x this week w vet bills mounting to $1200+. I work 2 part time jobs. I do not make a lot of money so l do not have a lot more to extend to my beloved pet.
You imply he is in pain. My vet has never said he is in pain. Today he is walking around, jumping on beds, and rolling around for pets and cuddles. A few days ago l could not pry him out of the closet. So somethings working! We DO NOT know if he has cancer. It would require a surgical biopsy to POSSIBLY determine. Sorry l do not want to put my cat through a surgery NOR do l have the extra money to do so.
If my cat were in pain l would not put him through anymore but l know my cat and he isnt showing signs of pain.
And l am sorry but you are not a vet. How do you know he could not have stressed induced anorexia? Let me see your licence and years of schooling to prove you know what is wrong with him?! My vet said a highly stressed cat can indeed have a higher WBC. Also he was given antibiotics just in case we are dealing with a viral issue. Look, I am sorry your cat is ill. I am happy you are doing all you can financially. But l am not draining my bank account to find answers. Know what l am going to do? Love him, hold him, and keep him happy. If he goes down hill again l may just have my answer without the added stress of another vet bill or unnecessary test!!
But hey maybe l should go put my cat to sleep now bc others think he is in pain and thats what l should do!

 

[chloechance]

1 week later and Chance is doing great!!!!!

Eating and putting weight back on. Keeping my fingers crossed we stay on this road. We did not start predinisone. Glad l held off. Only time will tell but he is looking and acting back to his old self.

Here he is sleeping safely in his my arms.

 

[orange&white]

Oh, I'm so happy to hear that update! He looks so sweet. I hope he continues on his good track.