Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 12 year old cat, Rowdy, has pretty much stopped eating over the past three weeks. My vet recommended that my cats go to a new 'Atkins-like' diet food (Science Diet M/D) because of weight problems. Rowdy immediately snubbed the food. Last weekend we went away on vacation for three days and the automatic feeder we set up never opened, so cats went without food for two days.
Took Rowdy to the vet 8/10 and the blood panel indicated a very low platelet and white blood cell count. He rcv'd subcutaneous fluid, an anitbiotic and a appetite stimulant. he licked at his food but things did not really improve and we went back to the vet 8/12. More fluids, another antibiotic,steroid injection and another blood panel. All platelet and white blood cell levels were normal again, but he still refusues to eat anything at all. I am not sure how conducive his attitude would be towards a feeding tube, so is there anyway to 'humanely' force feed this cat to help stimulate appetite? What would cause blood test results to swing so drastically over two days?

Your cat needs to be force fed ASAP - he is in grave danger of getting fatty liver disorder. Your vet probably discussed this with you.

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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Definitely work with your vet, but I have two thoughts from when one of my cats had no appetite (after major surgery).

There is an appetite stimulant called Cyproheptadine that your vet can prescribe that works well. A small pill or half of a small pill you pop in their mouth and within 30 minutes to an hour, they have an appetite and hit the food.

Also put out foods you know your cat loves. Treats, favorite foods, etc... If the cat isn't eating, I wouldn't worry about "diet food" right now. I would worry more about getting food into the cat to avoid liver problems.

The vets generally carry a wet food called Science Diet AD that is very very palatable to cats -- they go crazy for it. It is very tasty, I understand and it is packed with nutrients for sick and recovering cats...

Good luck! Work closely with your vet!!
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Forgot to reply to this point in my last post, but he has been taking Cyproheptadine for five days now. Does not seem to be a huge help. I thought the steroid shot might help too but it has not made much of a difference either

Hi,

I just finished reading your post and I wanted to ask you how everything was. See, I have a 12 year old male cat that refuses to eat as well. Last Wed, we took him to the vet for GI problems and she yold me it was parasites. Then she proceded to clean his ears; in the process, she ruptured his left ear drum. We had him home from Wed to Sun then we took him to the emergency center because he wasn't eating. He's intersted in his food, but he won't swallow it. He's been in the emergency hospital since Sun and we are now Wed; and they're at a loss, they're going to up the dosage of anti-inflamatories and hopefully that will get him to eat.

Please get back to me as soon as you can.

I forgot -- yes to force feeding. When my cat was so sick, I got food into him a couple different ways:

1. I got a larger syringe (without needle) to help with feeding. It is a larger version of what they give you to give antibiotics and liquid meds. Mine was a 10-20 cc syringe vs. the normal 1-3 cc liquid med syringe. I sucked up chicken flavored baby food (Beechnut has a chicken w/chicken broth baby food that is 100% chicken) that I loosened up with a little water and also Science Diet AD (which I mentioned in previous post) that I loosened up with a little water. I was able to feed both gently to my cat. I sat on the floor with my legs in a circle (touching toes). I am right handed, so I laid his head on my left knee/thigh to elevate it and and used my right leg to gently restrain his body. I pried his mouth open with my left hand and gently (to not choke) squeezed the liquid baby food or AD into his mouth. He gobbled it up once the syringe started working.

3. After a couple days of that every four to six hours, I graduated to more solid food. I used the same position on the floor, but I popped Tender Vittles semi-moist cat food (like small M&Ms) into his mouth and he chewed it.

You probably won't have to do this too much once he gets the taste of the food and is on an appetite stimulant. Work with the vet but go back to food he likes to get him to eat. Don't use a diet food he won't eat or he will starve to death.

Contrary to popular believe, cats won't eat when they are hungry. They have been known to starve rather than eat a food they don't like.

Before you force feed, get a food he likes and see if he eats it. Do it immediately. Sometimes the more inexpensive brands like Meow Mix are very palatable to cats -- try whatever you know he will like.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

I didn't mention -- you can get the larger feeding syringes from the vet... Try tasty favorite foods and appetite stimulants (every 12 hours) before force feeding.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Thank you so much for your advice. I never thought I would have to watch my cat starve himself to death...literally. He seems very uncomfortable and changes positions every few minutes, but has been moving around more today than on the past five days. Last night we gave him a five-5ml syringes full of babyfood and chicken broth. He did not really enjoy that at all and was fighting us the whole time. He never seem to enjoy the taste. We are taking him tomorrow morning to have the feeding tube put in and I am afraid he will fight that too. Is there a way to sedate him in order to make sure doesn't knock out the tube? Where does the tube go in?
Thanks again for your help!

The tube will go thru the mouth. I am glad you are keeping on top of this with your vet... Sorry the Cyproh and force feeding didn't work.

Under vet advisement, I force fed my cat for three days, every four to six hours, about 20-30 cc/ml at a time. He had major surgery and was in a lot of pain, which probably supressed his appetite, along with the pain meds and antibiotics.

He didn't like broth straight -- he preferred chicken baby food with just enough water to allow it to be sucked up and Science Diet AD with just enough water to allow it to be sucked up.

The fourth and fifth days, I force fed him semi-moist food (Tender Vittles). The fifth day, they gave me Cyproheptadine and his appetite came back on its own. I think they forgot to give it to me and I didn't know about it to ask for it. If he'd had it, he might have eaten better on his own the first week...

I wish you well. I am glad you are in close contact with your vet on this. Let us know how the tube goes tomorrow.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Forgot -- Don't worry about him knocking the tube out. The vet will know what to do...
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey