There Has To Be A Way To Save My Cat From Starving To Death!!

[TheFloofAbides]

Alright guys I'm desperate here. My senior CRF kitty has essentially stopped eating the last few weeks, even though her blood levels aren't even late stage yet and she seems to be doing OK otherwise. She just doesn't eat. She's been on both appetite stimulants (currently sticking with Mirtazapine since cyproheptadine made her super depressed) and I've tried basically every brand of cat food on the market, boiled chicken, tuna... I'm at a loss. I've been syringe feeding her a/d to keep her going but its not enough.

Is there something, anything I can give her that is more calorically dense so she can actually maintain or even gain weight until we figure out how to get her interested in food again? Watching her waste away is killing me. It would be one thing if she was very sick in a variety of ways but her main problems appear to be constipation and lethargy from just not eating enough! I don't want to put her down just because she won't eat but she is painfully thin and I worry that she is suffering :'(

To preempt some possible troubleshooting: she gets fluids daily, is on steroids for IBS, has been given anti-nausea meds (though the ones she has been on can only be given daily for five consecutive days at a time, cerenia), antacids, and slippery elm bark. I've tried tempting her to eat with smelly foods and warming things up. She's even been given roasted chicken or beef off our plates and won't eat that either, despite begging for it. Which is very confusing. Her teeth are bad but have been for a while and have never caused problems in the past, no mouth ulcers.

 

[Kieka]

If her teeth are bad, they might have gotten bad enough to cause problems. The wanting to eat but refusing food is a classic tooth related problem. She may have an abscess in her teeth/gumline or just degraded enough to hurt. Having had teeth problems myself I know that its fine until it's not. And once you hit that point it's really challenging.

I'd get a vet appointment and take care of the teeth issue to see if that helps any.

Have you tried a human meat baby food or slurry of pate and water thinned enough to lap up? I'd assume so if you are syringe feeding but it's worth mentioning as a thought just in case.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I am so sorry about your sweet baby. How much mirtazapine is she on? Mine was on 1/8 of a pill every 48 hrs, and I increased it to 1/4 pill (they are 15 mg tablets). Is she getting that much?

Kitten food might be higher in fat and calories? Has she tried Nutrical?

Is feeding tube an option?

 

[TheFloofAbides]

She's on the highest dose of Mirtazapine (1/4). I've tried baby and kitten food, was considering maybe trying KMR though.

She saw the vet recently and she wasn't concerned about her teeth. Last time I asked they said they didn't feel comfortable putting her under to clean them anyway though and that it would be very stressful not to, so I don't think it's really worth it. She nibbled some dry food less than a week ago so I really don't think it's her teeth. She nibbles but just eats no where near the quantity of food she needs and is so picky. She eats something when she's never had it before but she's had everything at this point.

I give her nutrical but it is very time consuming to get a decent amount in her. I keep searching the internet for something more calorically dense but coming up empty. I just can't believe 25 calories a teaspoon is the best we can possibly get? Seems like there has to be something better I can get her while I figure out what the underlying problem is. She's running out of time for me to figure out what's wrong.

 

[TheFloofAbides]

Oh and feeding tube is definitely not an option...

 

[sweetblackpaws]

KMR is a great idea!

I am glad she is at least eating the Nutrical. But I know it's not enough.

My heart goes out to you in this situation...I wish I had some more suggestions. Thank you for being so good to her... I do believe she knows she is loved.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, --well the last cat I knew that was similar to this had been seen by a vet a week prior, I visited that Saturday, her owners told me she wasn't eating, pawing at her water. I noticed she was very interested in smells of food on my hands, we looked in her mouth and saw a very bad tooth.
In my opinion you have a couple choices; get your current vet to do a thorough dental, or find another vet.

 

[TheFloofAbides]

KMR is a great idea!

I am glad she is at least eating the Nutrical. But I know it's not enough.

My heart goes out to you in this situation...I wish I had some more suggestions. Thank you for being so good to her... I do believe she knows she is loved.

Thank you so much for the kind words.... It means a lot as I spend a lot of time besting myself up and worrying what I could be doing better. She'll be 16 in two weeks and I know she's had a good long life, but I just wasn't quite ready to lose her yet

 

[Ladewyn]

I certainly hope euthanasia isn't the solution, but I would recommend starting to come to terms with it to make it easier for you and her. It's difficult to decide when it's time, and it's not easy to deal with when it comes.

I would really suggest going to a second vet to get a second opinion about her teeth. It doesn't mean your first vet is bad, but sometimes one vet will miss something another vet will see easily.

This may be an odd question, but how does she feel about temptations? Temptations treats are actually nutritionally complete. While I wouldn't recommend them for most cats, when we start talking palliative care, just giving them something they enjoy and will eat is fine!

 

[duckpond]

Best of luck to you guys, i hate to hear that she is having such a hard time. Have you tried kitten foods? the wet is often very tasty, and more nutrient dense i think, at least with calories, protein and fat. The kibble might be a good option too? When mine were little i gave several different kinds of kitten wet, and Merrick kitten dry, in the pink bag. it has a very small kibble that might be easier for her to eat? The preferred wet kitten food was the Royal Canin, not my favorite brand, but they loved the stuff. Keep us updated.

Also, my cats really like Dr. Elsesys chicken flavor dry food, and it has very small kibble, it is high calorie and protein as well, so a little goes a long way. Chewy has it on sale right now too.

Farmina is another dry you might try, my cats are picky with dry, go figure, but if i put down a bowl of Farmina, any flavor, they act like little fuzzy pigs. I dont know what is in Farmina that they love so much, but they do.

Oh and when mine are picky and not wanting to eat i feed them wet, on a fork, they love when i do that...lol spoiled cats

 

[xcourtney3]

Check out the group Feline Chronic Kidney Disease on Facebook. Here's a direct link Log into Facebook | Facebook

 

[lisahe]

We had a very similar and frustrating situation with our previous cat -- this is so difficult, TheFloofAbides . What caught me most in your initial post wasn't your mention of kidney disease, it was your mention of medication for IBS (or is it IBD?). Our cat also had mild kidney disease but her biggest problem was very likely IBD that had probably developed into cancer -- she was too frail for a real diagnosis but the vet could feel a mass at her last appointment. Brooskie was around 16-17 and she also had mild thyroid disease and a very bad heart arrhythmia. The combination of the kidney disease and digestive issues suppressed her appetite horribly and it was a huge struggle to get her to eat. (Like your cat, she would seem to beg for something but then not eat.) I did all the same things you did to get her to eat, mostly to no avail... the foods she most liked in her last weeks were Merrick's Cowboy Cookout, something (I don't remember which canned food) from Nutro Natural Choice, and Rad Cat. Rad Cat (chicken) was what she would eat most consistently. She also loved Weruva's Steak Frites, which, like Rad Cat, has the additional benefit of being low in phosphorus. Wellness Core's lamb/venison (among other proteins) was another one she ate relatively well; it's pretty caloric, which is a plus.

Another thought for toppers, though, would be freeze-dried meat treats, like Pure Bites. I didn't use those for Brooksie (I didn't know about them!) but they entice our current picky cat to eat just about anything. The treats sold for dogs and cats are the same, just with different sizes of chunks.

We beat ourselves up a lot, too, for not realizing sooner what was happening, though, like your cat, she was also a senior cat with a lot of medical issues, meaning our options were pretty limited. I really feel for what you are going through, it's so hard.

 

[TheFloofAbides]

Thank you so much guys!! Just got back from the vet with more cerenia for her nausea. But when I came home I saw she had nibbled on some dry food! (I opened a new bag this morning so that's probably why). Thus, I really don't think the issue is her teeth. Also I checked with the vet and a full cleaning under anesthesia would be 300-500b, which I cannot afford, and as I mentioned before we would run the risk of losing her while she was under so it's pretty much off the table.

I picked up some KMR and temptations (I have tried them in the past, but not in a while).

I've never seen merricks or farmina at the petco here, but perhaps I'll order some online. I'm going broke on cat food more than even vet bills at this point but I just need to know I tried everything.

At the very least she ate today and seems more alert than she did the last two, so I have a little bit more hope.

Again thank you so much everyone for the advice and especially the kind words and support... There have been a lot of tears lately and it's nice to talk to people that understand instead of trying to hide how upset I am since most people think it's "just a cat" *eyeroll*

 

[Benjamin Franklin (Benji)]

Believe me, it’s never “just a cat”! I’m glad everything’s working out a bit better for you and good vibes coming your way

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh and when mine are picky and not wanting to eat i feed them wet, on a fork, they love when i do that...lol spoiled cats

I have GOT to try this LOL - that's me, sitting on the floor, but adding bonito flakes to his FF or whatever else canned 'thing', working to ensure he eats.

 

[duckpond]

Thank you so much guys!! Just got back from the vet with more cerenia for her nausea. But when I came home I saw she had nibbled on some dry food! (I opened a new bag this morning so that's probably why). Thus, I really don't think the issue is her teeth. Also I checked with the vet and a full cleaning under anesthesia would be 300-500b, which I cannot afford, and as I mentioned before we would run the risk of losing her while she was under so it's pretty much off the table.

I picked up some KMR and temptations (I have tried them in the past, but not in a while).

I've never seen merricks or farmina at the petco here, but perhaps I'll order some online. I'm going broke on cat food more than even vet bills at this point but I just need to know I tried everything.

At the very least she ate today and seems more alert than she did the last two, so I have a little bit more hope.

Again thank you so much everyone for the advice and especially the kind words and support... There have been a lot of tears lately and it's nice to talk to people that understand instead of trying to hide how upset I am since most people think it's "just a cat" *eyeroll*

normally petco carries merrick, probably not Farmina. but if you order from chewy they are great for returns if you cat hates it

 

[LTS3]

Look for brands like Farmina at independent pet stores.

Ask the vet if a feeding tube would be helpful. Also ask the vet about CliniCare. It's a liquid high calorie supplement. There's one specifically for kidney cats. https://www.amazon.com/Clinicare-Feline-Liquid-Renal-Care/dp/B00BQ1L6LO

 

[Ladewyn]

I'm glad to here she's picking at her food!
And ugh, I hate when people say "it's just a cat" like these guys aren't our best friends and basically children for some people. You're doing everything right for her

 

[TheFloofAbides]

We had a very similar and frustrating situation with our previous cat -- this is so difficult, TheFloofAbides . What caught me most in your initial post wasn't your mention of kidney disease, it was your mention of medication for IBS (or is it IBD?). Our cat also had mild kidney disease but her biggest problem was very likely IBD that had probably developed into cancer -- she was too frail for a real diagnosis but the vet could feel a mass at her last appointment. Brooskie was around 16-17 and she also had mild thyroid disease and a very bad heart arrhythmia. The combination of the kidney disease and digestive issues suppressed her appetite horribly and it was a huge struggle to get her to eat. (Like your cat, she would seem to beg for something but then not eat.) I did all the same things you did to get her to eat, mostly to no avail... the foods she most liked in her last weeks were Merrick's Cowboy Cookout, something (I don't remember which canned food) from Nutro Natural Choice, and Rad Cat. Rad Cat (chicken) was what she would eat most consistently. She also loved Weruva's Steak Frites, which, like Rad Cat, has the additional benefit of being low in phosphorus. Wellness Core's lamb/venison (among other proteins) was another one she ate relatively well; it's pretty caloric, which is a plus.

Another thought for toppers, though, would be freeze-dried meat treats, like Pure Bites. I didn't use those for Brooksie (I didn't know about them!) but they entice our current picky cat to eat just about anything. The treats sold for dogs and cats are the same, just with different sizes of chunks.

We beat ourselves up a lot, too, for not realizing sooner what was happening, though, like your cat, she was also a senior cat with a lot of medical issues, meaning our options were pretty limited. I really feel for what you are going through, it's so hard.

So I'm really starting to think the issue may be IBD as well. I'm home from work today and she is constantly going back and forth from the litterbox and straining. When she was doing this the other day I gave her lactulose to help her pass but it didn't seem to do anything. I called the vet today to ask about options for IBD other than budesonide but she wasn't very helpful. I called around to get her in at a different place for a second opinion but I couldn't get in until Monday. In the meantime I emailed my old vet in DC and she suggested that it might actually be a UTI and not an IBD flare-up. Uhg I don't know what to think or do! I just want her to feel better

 

[maggiedemi]

Is she peeing in really small amounts?