Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have had three cats in our home for over 6 years now...very healthy and friendly cats. We recently acquired a fourth cat (it's actually the brother of one of our other cats). Our friends were moving and could no longer take care of this cat but he was very healthy when we received him. In the past few weeks he lost some weight...we originally attributed it to the stress of a new environment and assumed he would eventually eat normally and get used to the other cats. We went on vactation last week and returned to find that while we were gone it almost appears he ate nothing and just a couple days ago he stopped drinking water. We took him to the vet immediately and spent A LOT of money on tests, X-Rays, etc to rule out disease...he stayed there for two nights to get re-hydrated. The vet says he has Hepatic Lipidosis (liver problems) from not eating but that he has no specific illnesses, he just got so stressed by the new environment that he wouldn't eat. The vet sent him home with a prescription for an appetite stimulant and some meds to help his liver recover. I am going to get the appetite stimulant today and hopefully it will help. In the meantime, I have also isolated him to an area where the other cats (and my kids) won't bother him. My questions are this...1) What foods should I try to really get him to eat (I have tried Tuna, wet and dry cat foods, treats, etc...none of it works)? 2) What is a long term solution here? Will he eventually adjust to life here or should we think of other arrangements for him where he is the only cat in a home (or could that sink him further downward since it would be yet another transition)? 3) Can he ever really recover from Hepatic Lipidosis?

Hi There,

Hepatic lipidosis is a very serious disease that is fatal without treatment. It can occur whenever a cat stops eating for more than a couple of days, and even with the best of care some cats don't make it.

The very best treatment for this condition is food, and it isn't unusual for a feeding tube to be necessary. In my opinion your cat should still be in the hospital getting IV fluids and being force-fed, not home where he isn't eating. The longer he doesn't eat, the sicker he is going to be, and the harder it will be to treat him.

Appetite stimulents are great when they work, but often don't work when the liver isn't functioning well. You can try anything and everything to try and get your cat to eat, but he needs to be hospitalized if he isn't eating. You might get your cat to eat strained meat baby foods (with no onion added), but it may not be enough unless he will eat several jars daily.

Nausea and/or a "full" feeling are often present with liver problems. This is why they don't want to eat. I've had hepatitis in the past so I have an idea what cats with hepatic lipidosis are going through.

If your vet does not want to hospitalize your baby, please take him to another one immediately.

Please keep us updated. I'll keep your baby in my thoughts and prayers.

PHKitkat

I hope you will listen to Kitkat and get your baby to another vet ASAP! It does sound like the cat needs more invasive vet care right now.

Good luck! Keep us posted!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

I appreciate your advice. The problem is that we are practically broke from the amount we spent on all of the tests to rule out disease (over $1100 so far). The vet is actually very good...he also wanted to give him a feeding tube, run biopsies, etc. It's honestly put us in a difficult position financially so I don't think we can afford to go that far. This is very frustrating...he seems to be getting a bit of food (tuna, etc) now and then but I don't know if it's enough. He turned up his nose at baby food completely.
I guess one question i have is how much food does he need to take in to begin to improve? How can you tell if he is beginning to improve?
Also, we are needing to give him meds (antibiotics and the appetite stimulant) in order to help him but I am afraid that is traumatizing him more...he hates taking pills. Is there a good way to get him to take the meds that won't stress him out and deter him from eating further?
Anyway, we are going to bring him back into the vet on Friday to get another blood panel run on him to see if his liver numbers are improving. If that does not continue we may begin force feeding with a syringe (which does not sound like too much fun).
Thanks much.

A couple of us here jsut had a discussion about force feeding our cats via needless syringes. Science Diet A/D seems to be the food of choice - watered down. It recently helped to kick start my cat's hunger when she went anoerxic due to illness.

This is gonna sound harsh, but you need to get over your fear of pilling the cat. The more matter of fact you are, the less stress you transmit to the cat, the easier it will be. Years ago I worked in a horse barn where a couple of the owners would go through a minor freak out every time the horses had to be wormed - guess which horses acted up when wormed? Lots of "poor horsies..." When the barn mgr. once wormed a few days ahead of the posted schedule not one of those horses gave much grief. Their owners hadn't been giving them the 'vibe' for days that something was about to happen. So be zen like, become one with the pill, take a deep breath....whatever it takes not to get worked up yourself over the act of pilling. Many cats who are tough to pill the first few times will stop fighting once they learn its just going to happen, regardless of how they feel about it.

All the best to your new furry family memeber, we're sending glows your way -

Purrs,
Elizabeth

Hi,

I'm sorry your cat still isn't eating. I still stand behind my previous post and urge you to reconsider having a feeding tube placed. Perhaps your vet will arrange a payment plan. Either that, or start syringe feeding him immediately. Believe me, a feeding tube is much easier.

A sick cat needs a lot more than "a bit of food now and then" to recover. You will know he is improving if you see him eating well and gaining weight. It's possible that the antibiotics are upsetting your cat's stomach and causing him to not want to eat. For this reason, injectable meds are better for anorexic cats. If oral meds are given to a cat that isn't eating, they really should be given with a force-feeding of some kind.

I am very worried about your baby and will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

Regards,
PHKitkat

My cat stopped eating after surgery. They can decline very fast without food -- within a couple days. You have to force feed yours if you can't keep him at a vet to get him back up to speed. Do not wait until Friday. Get the appetite stimulant in him now and start force feeding him now.

Try Science Diet AD (canned food from the vet about a dollar a can) to get him going. It is packed with nutrients. Water it down just enough to suck into a syringe and give it to him by needleless syringe every 6 or so hours. You can get a large syringe from the vet to help you feed. I gave mine at least 30cc every six hours. If you sit on the floor with your legs opened and him between, you can work out a position to feed him in. Tuck him up into you and figure out how to best feed him. It'll work, trust me.

Another thing that worked is I got Tender Vittles semi-moist food and popped them in his mouth like M&Ms (force feeding). The Science Diet AD will get nutrients in him fast, but you can also try Tender Vittles.

If you take care of this immediately, he should recover. Don't count on his eating on his own -- you need to force feed him or, best yet, let him stay at the vet a couple days so they can get him started...
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

You may want to try this position when feeding your 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 watered AD into his mouth. He gobbled it up once the syringe started working.

After a couple days of 30cc 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.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Thanks so much everybody for your advice here. I've been getting the appetite stimulant into him and that appears to be working a bit. I gave him about 40 moist cat treats last night and he ate them ravenously which was so nice to see...I've been trying EVERYTHING I can find to get him to eat (he has a cat buffet to choose from) and that was really the first thing that seemed to strike his fancy. We also bought some dry kitten food...the vet recommended that as it has a lot of nutrients and calories in it for growing kittens...that also seems to be working. Earlier today (before the kitten food) I tried to force feed him with a syringe and with watered down baby food (meat)...boy he was NOT happy with me. I tried every position possible and he just clawed and growled...we got more on my clothes and in his hair than into his mouth. So I stopped and gave him some space for awhile to let him cool down and then I came back. When I came back we just sat by his food dishes and I cuddled him, sang to him, and pet him and then he began to eat the kitten food. It's really all emotional for him...so hopefully he will continue this trend and get healthier with the extra special attention. I have three other cats and two small boys that I'm raising so assuming he does continue to improve, how do I assimilate him into this household which can be chaotic at times?
Anyway, if we need to force feed him again, I will try the positions you recommended...it does seem like he has been improving though, which is good news. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers...his name is Briscoe by the way.

I've been watching a girlfriend's family pretty closely - I have a 6 month old baby and three cats so I've got some changes coming. She has a three year old, one on the way and currently 4 cats; two elderly, two kittens.

Her daycare taught the kids "walk away" when in a confrontation. They hold up a hand, say "not nice" and ask the playmate to walk away. My friend in turn taught her daughter that when the kitties wag their tails that's how they say "not nice" and its time for her to walk away. Seems to work pretty well except when mom is on the phone. Then its a great way to get mom's attention by ignoring the cat's tail signals!

Another girlfriend has a cat that pretty much lives in the bedroom. It's the cat's way of staying out of all day to day traffic, but it did require her moving a litter box upstairs. It took a while for the cat to pick out it's territory in the house though.

40 treats is a great snack for sheer size! I hope Briscoe (as in Lenny? He got all the good one-liners!) continues to improve.

Purrs,
Elizabeth

Good to hear he is eating cat treats and kitten food with a solid appetite. Keep up the stimulant and keep the kitten food and treats coming...

One thing that might help is that if there is any way you can isolate him to a bedroom for now (probably for the next couple weeks) and slowly integrate him into the household. He is probably overwhelmed and needs a safe haven. If you can keep him calm for the next few days in his own room, he will probably recover much more quickly. Even if he has his own room for several hours during the day (if you can't keep him in one 24 hours)... At a minimum, do recommend a baby gate blocking some area so he can get away from little hands until he is more accustomed.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Yep, we've actually had him isolated in our bedroom since we brought him home from the hospital. It seems to really make a big difference...every once in awhile I will put the other three cats on the porch or downstairs and let Briscoe roam the house on his own so that he knows the territory and can feel more comfortable. I do think he is on the road to recovery although I won't know for sure until Friday when we get his blood drawn again. Anyway, thanks again for everything (everybody)...and yep, his name comes from Jerry Orbach's character on L&O (Briscoe is a name with great honor in our household).

--Julie

Do let us know how it goes Friday... The isolation in your bedroom is a great idea for the next few days. Letting him have free roam of the house with the other cats out of reach is a good idea, as well... You may need to do this for a couple weeks to bring his health back and his comfort level back and then slowly introduce him to the house (may need to keep the bedroom as a safe zone at first -- with a baby gate up or shut him back in it if he is getting stressed). Slow and steady wins the race in the integrating game with cats... A couple or more weeks of slow up front make all the difference in the world for the long-haul.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

I wanted to send along a quick update on how Briscoe is doing...we went to the vet on Friday and they were pleased to see he had gained a pound in a week and was very well hydrated. They didn't run any blood work on him because they said he was still a bit jaundiced from the liver problems but the vet said he was very encouranged and almost 100% sure that he would recover completely!
The trick now is to figure out how to assimilate him into our home with the other cats...I really don't want a litter box in my shower forever. Two things that the vet suggested for the future (after he is fully recovered) are: 1) a special diffuser that you plug in that is supposed to help calm the cat and remove some of the scent from the other cats, 2) Cat anti-depressants (specifically Prozac). Could I get some of your opinions on these remedies for the future? My husband thinks we might be able to very slowly get him used to the house and the other cats naturally but i'm not sure...
Thanks again for all of your help and encouragement!!

but the vet said he was very encouranged and almost 100% sure that he would recover completely!

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What great news!!!

It is painful, but the slower you go now on integrating him the better it will be in the long run. If it takes another 2-3 weeks to get it to work out, the years you'll have in harmony later will be worth it.

Recommend still keeping him in his own room now that he is eating OK. Don't want a relapse. He can investigate the rest of the house with the other animals closed in another are for now... Slow supervised visits and returns to his room will help. Do not recommend opening the door and forcing him to live with the busy household without a safe room for a whil -- or he may have problems again. It shouldn't be long if you go slow... You can rub a towel on the other animals and put it in the room with him to get used to their scent and rub a towel on him and put it with the other animals so they can get used to his scent.

Someone will know the exact name of the plug in you talk of, but it is something like "Fleway" I can't quite remember the exact name...
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

The plug-in is called Comfort Zone with Feliway in it.

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