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My 16 yr old cat over the course of a week has gradually stopped eating. We took her to the vet upon noticing that she was not eating her normal amount. She has been obese her entire life weighing 18 lbs, but when we took her to the vet on Mon (Dec 4th) she weighed 14 lbs, she has lost 4lbs since last April. We had a physical examination as well as blood work done on Mon and she had a temperature of(3.2), her white blood cell count was slightly elevated, but the vet said that her overall blood work and organ functioning was really well for her age. In fact, the vet was really amazed. The vet gave us an antibiotic (ammoxycycline)and Laxative (laxatone) to kill any infection and to help pass anything that may be blocked. She has not pooped since last Sunday and she has only been peeing about every 35 hours. She has hardly eaten any solid food since Monday and now she is only drinking tuna water. She is also not drinking very much water either. Her lack of interest in food and water is highly disturbing because she loved to eat and she has always required a lot of water. I am worried that the laxative given is not a good idea, since she hasn't eaten very much. So, we stopped the laxative a day ago, but we are still giving her the anitbiotic. She is losing weight, becoming weak,she is not as social as usual, when she sleeps she grunts and twitches, her coat is becoming dull, she often will avoid eye contact, but she is still trying to move around, she has not become lethargic. In fact, she went down the steps today and she also is still jumping off the bed and into her favorite chair. We had a urine test done today that showed that she had calcium oxalate in her urine. What do we do does she have bladder stones or kidney failure or both? Or could the bladder stones be a side affect of her kidney failure? The vet wants us to keep pushing tests and blood work and shots, but she is scared of strangers and foreign places, so I do not want to keep taking her to the vet over and over for fear that here social anxiety will kill her before an illness. We are very concerned...this cat is my baby and we feel so hopeless. I am afraid she does not have much time and if so I want to make her as comfortable as possible. Please, please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little tuna water isn't enough! Call your vet and go by and pick up some a/d formula also ask about some pepcid as her tummy may be upset. Ask your vet for a food syringe so you can mix the a/d with water and force feed if necessary. It has lots of calories and most cats like it. Also, try some baby food - specifically the turkey or chicken but none with any onion.

Cats who don't eat can develop fatty liver disease in just a few days.

Hi,

Your baby is critically ill and she should be hospitalized on IV fluids, force-feeding, and injectable antibiotics, not an oral med when she isn't eating. Her bloodwork may have looked good earlier in the week, but it sounds to me like her kidneys are failing, and she may be developing fatty liver disease from not eating. This is why you shouldn't let a cat go more than a day or two if they stop eating. I'm surprised your vet didn't say something about this.

The stones and/or crystals in the urine may be a result of dehydration. Your cat must be seriously dehydrated at this point.

I know how tough it is having senior cats. I have one now with probable intestinal cancer, being kept comfortable on steroid injections, and another one with kidney failure. This cat gets fluids and Pepcid to keep her comfortable.

There isn't much you can do on your own, but you can try offering your kitty strained meat baby food, without onion added, and possibly Pepcid AC, regular strength, 1/4 tablet once or twice daily. But I still think hospitalization is the best thing for her.

Please keep us updated.

Regards,
PHKitkat