Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 14 year-old cat that has lost a significant amount of weight because she is not eating. We were at the vet yesterday due to this and because she has been coughing and sneezing. (We also had a follow-up blood test for her hyper-thyroid, which was diagnosed a month ago and for which she is taking medication. The diagnosis for hyper-thyroid was made via blood drawn for the senior wellness blood test, so at that time many things were tested for). Back to her symptoms, the cough is a deep cough and sometimes results in her throwing up (or trying to throw up). The vet took some time to listen to her breathing and did not hear anything unusual. X-rays (back and side) were taken to see if there was fluid in her lungs and these were negative. The vet did not observe anything else of note on the x-rays. He did say that her breathing seems somewhat labored but not overly so and was concerned because of her obvious weight loss. He did give us an antiobiotic fluid and vitamin drops. Her kidneys were also re-tested yesterday and the value was in the normal range. The vet said that if she does not respond to the antibiotics and does not start eating, he recommends an ultrasound. My cat is not behaving "normally" too. We find her sleeping in places where she does not normally sleep. Something is obviously wrong with her. We have tried tuna, which she ate yesterday, but does not seem interested in today. I'm at a loss as to what to make of this. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Hi There,

I'm so sorry that your senior kitty is having health issues. I know how difficult this is, especially when you don't know what is going on.

It's a good idea to have the ultrasound done in a case like this. Ultrasound exams will often give the vet some helpful information, and at the same time help to rule out some possibilities as well. They can be expensive but are great diagnostic tools without resorting to something invasive, such as exploratory surgery.

Many medications should not be given if a cat isn't eating. and the med for hyperthyroidism is one. It's hard on the stomach anyway, and is best given with food. The most common side effects of methimazole are anorexia and nausea. If your cat was eating before being started on meds, this is most likely the cause.

A cat that has stopped eating can develop something called fatty liver disease in as little as 2 - 3 days. This is a very serious condition, and fatal without treatment. For this reason a cat that stops eating should be force fed. Cats with fatty liver disease sometimes require a feeding tube for a time.

Please try anything and everything you can think of that your cat might eat. Strained meat baby foods sometimes work, with no onion added. No matter what the cause of your cat's anorexia is, liver problems are sure to follow if she hasn't eaten for several days. Senior kitties can go downhill very quickly and I am a little bit surprised that your baby isn't in the hospital right now, for IV fluids and meds and some kind of assisted feeding.

Please keep us updated.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thank you for your feedback, esp. with regard to the medication for hyperthyroid, methimazole. I did not know that anorexia and nausea are side-effects. In fact, I asked the doctor about side-effects and he didn't mention this. I suspect too, that she wasn't eating because she had an upper-respiratory infection or even the feline herpes virus (thus the sneezing and coughing) and couldn't smell so she wasn't interested too much in food, although now it seems that the methimazole was the real culprit for her not eating because her thyroid was retested and was very low, so she was obviously being given too high of a dose. I was told to stop the medication for a couple of days and restart with half the dose, which would be 2.5 mg twice/day. Now I'm wondering if I should restart the methimazole so soon because she really should regain some weight. She has been eating canned salmon and tuna in the past two days. She is being given antibiotic drops (Clavamix) for the possible infection, vitamins and lysine for the herpes virus, and can't tell which specifically is helping her to be more interested in food. She is drinking water regularly. Now my big question is when to restart the methimazole--any suggestions? Thanks!

Hi,

If this were one of my babies, I would want to wait until the cat's appetite is better before re-starting the methimazole. This is something that you would have to clear with your vet, though. I would also ask about just giving the methimazole once daily at first, since your kitty seems to be sensitive to it.

Methimazole is also available in a transdermal gel that is absorbed through the skin. It isn't absorbed as well in this form but it is a reasonable option for cats that cannot tolerate the oral form of the drug or those difficult to medicate. It would have to be special ordered by your vet through a compounding pharmacy.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Your response to my initial post inspired me to so some online research into Methimazole (I don't know why I didn't think to do this earlier) and have now concluded that she does suffer not only from the side-effect of anorexia and nausea but also from the facial itching. She was immediately taken off the drug and is doing much better. I have consulted with the vet at every juncture, but I think I need to look for a new vet because when I asked him about possible side-effects of Methimazole, he told me there were none (!) Thank you for your responses to my posts--they have been very helpful.

You are very welcome!!

I'm SO glad to hear that your baby is doing better

Regards,
PHKitkat

My vet has started including a two page drug fact sheet in with meds when they are newly prescribed, the same type info I get for my personal prescriptions. I learned a lot when I got the sheet on Stanley's steroid (like feed him a treat with it as he can get ulcers from the pills on an empty stomach).

It is something you may want to ask if your current vet or new vet has... I would think it is pretty common practice for them to keep drug fact sheets... Or, maybe I am just lucky...
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

I think the best thing to do is give them time. Cats can be very fussy at times. I know mine were when it came to eating. But after a few days they usually come round. If you would like to talk to my friend, Christopher Freville - he had the same problem with his cats, and now they're fine again. Let me know.

Hello, There is an appetite enhancer you can buy from the vet in a pill form.Usually you give about 1/4 of the tablet or 1/2 and most cats will eat after this. This may be what you need to get your kitty over the hump and back to eating normally.
I owuld also try KMR kitten milk replacement in the can(liquid form)not the dry one. This is packed full of nutrition specifically desgined for kttens, lactating cats and elderly sick cats.Because the liquid spoils within 72 hours of being opened and refrigerated pour the milk into ice cube trays & freeze, then take a cube out & put it in the microwave as required. Also please keep in mind that some antibiotics that are given to pets do cause anorexia as they cause gastrointestinal problems.
I wish you the best of luck!

An ultrasounds is a very good idea if she hasn't gotten any better.

Your vet can prescribe an appetite stimulant called Cyproheptadine that usually works. You can also pick up a nutrient packed canned food from the vet that is very tasty to cats and is very good for cats that have been sick. The one I am familiar with is Science Diet AD canned.

If she isn't eating, you will need to force feed her. Get a feeding syringe from the vet and water down canned food and feed her every 6-ish hours or so. She must have food in her or risks liver disease as KitKat mentioned.

Good luck and let us know what you find out. The appetite stimulant may help get food in her while you sort this out.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

I am going through this same type of problem with a cat. At least the not eating part. I asked my vet about the liver problem with cats not eating & he said that "it can happen to cats that are heavy but not USUALLY to cats that are thin. I also agree that the ultrasound is a great tool. With my experience with getting a cat to eat is that you try any food you can. I have tried 4 different dry & tons of different canned. Mine seems to change what she likes with the tide. She does not like canned very well but is eating science diet right now. Earlier this week she was eating fancy feast dry. If I were you I would tell your vet your worries [write down questions you want to ask] & ask what he thinks of what you want to do or what would it hurt to try it. I wish you the best of luck & I understand your struggle right now.
Twitty

Hello,
Please do not use a feeding syringe - it is very awkward and not good to use at all, in my opinion.
When one of my cats was in kidney failure and needed to be hand fed I found that a plastic or rubber coated baby spoon works super whereas the feeding tube was next to impossible to work with - I couldn't believe how ridiculous it was. My cat resisted it but allowed me to feed her with the spoon. You also need to be careful not to poke their gums with the feeding tube. You just touch the front of the mouth with the baby spoon and she will open her mouth enough for your to put it in. Also keep in mind when force feeding, you do not want to feed so much that you make the animal vomit as this makes things a whole lot worse and leads to dehydration.Sometimes force feeding is not the answer and the animal does need to be hospitalized.Also keep in mind that an ultrasound is ridiculously expensive but it does show things that bloodwork and X-rays do not.
Post a message and let us know how your kitty is doing?
Best Wishes.

Hi, It sounds like the cat is definitely having heart trouble and I would suggest you urgently take the cat to a vet and tell him that you think it is a heart problem and then he knows what to do. This sounds very familiar to me so if your vet didn't recognize it or even check the heart then I would suggest going to another vet. Best of Luck to you and your kitty!

Hypothyroidism in cats usually goes hand-in-hand with kidney failure.Once a cat has hyperthyroidism it almost always ends up leading to kidney failure. If you cat is not in kidney failure right now I would definitely have her heart checked for cardiomypathy(hope I spelled it right) as it sounds like the coughing and vomiting could definitely, along with the hypothyroidism, be a symptom of a heart problem. Heart problems almost always show up with the hypothyroidism and/or kidney failure. I also highly highly recommend you no longer feed any dry food whatsoever to a cat with hypothyroidism to prolong or hopefully stop the onset of kidney failure.Yes, dry food is a definite contributor to kidney failure and also other problems.
I hope this helps and good luck with your cat.