# Please help! My cat won't eat!!



## petcar (Dec 6, 2010)

Hi
I'm now very worried about my cat, and having been to 3 different vets seem no closer to a resolution so I am posting on here to see if anyone has any ideas... any help, suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated!!

*Summary*
I have a female 12 yr old cat called Nermal who has always been a healthy happy cat with a good appetite. To cut a long story short, 2 months ago, she suddenly stopped eating and got diarrhea, and has not eaten properly since. She has gone from being a fully rounded, slightly above average sized cat, to a tiny near skeleton weighing just over 2kg. I keep her alive by force feeding her 30ml a day of special high protein food recommended by the last vet.

I have been to 2 different veterinary practices and had a full battery of tests which are all inconclusive. The latest blood test showed that there "may be a liver problem" which I suspect is a condition caused by the non-eating rather than the underlying problem itself.

She is obviously now not a completely happy cat, however she is still very affectionate and, this may seem strange to say, she is otherwise perfectly healthy (she still sleeps purring on my lap, plays with string, and does all the normal cat things). She always cries for food too and shows such interest as I spoon it out but then when she gets close to it, turns away without even licking it.
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Detailed history*
About 2 months ago, she began going off her food and got diarrhea. I kept changing what I fed her from all varieties of cat food to fish fillets. This was partially successful at the beginning with her generally eating something (eventually!). Gradually however, she started losing weight over the period of a few weeks and would then only eat a tiny bit of food if I sat with her and hand fed her. I hoped it would resolve itself but by the time I went to the vets for the first time she had lost a huge amount of weight.
*
VET 1 - Visit 1: WEIGHT DOWN TO 3KG.*
Diagnosed either (i) bad teeth or (ii) athritis.
Gave injections - vitamin B, steroid laurabolin, and metacam (for athritis).

However, she was so dehydrated I had to take her back the next day.
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VET 1 - Visit 2:*
Blood test - Pre anaesthetic profile bloods were taken (which eventually showed nothing out of the ordinary).
Put on drip - she was admitted for 4 days due to her extreme dehydration and kept on a drip.
Teeth - she had 4 teeth removed in case it was those causing her to have stopped eating.

She was pretty groggy after the operation (for the teeth), and started vomitting when I had her back home. The vet said the vomitting may be side effects from the operation. The diarrhea continued, but became alarmingly worse - it was now pure liquid!

After no improvement after 3 days I took her back to the vet.
*
VET 1 - Visit 3:*
She was given more injections - vetergesic amps, clamoxyl la, 500ml saline under skin (for the dehydration), cerenia solution, and an appetite stimulant.
The vet also gave me some Protexin pro kolin paste to administer orally via a syringe.
The vet told me to come back the next day to see how she was.

*VET 1 - Visit 4:*
She was given another saline injection for the dehydration, and vetergesic amps and vitamin b injections.
Another vet from the same practise was called in for a second opinion, who was also out of ideas.
*
VET 1 - Visit 5: WEIGHT DOWN TO 2.74kg*
Was subscribed Flagyl s susp syringe liquid to be administed by syringe into her mouth 3 times a day.
However, her demeanour got a lot worse after this and she started going downhill rapidly, so I stopped administering this after a couple of days.

Still with no improvement, she was getting dehydrated again and continuing to lose weight. I took her back 3 days later.
*
VET1 - Visit 6:*
She was admitted back on a drip for 3 days due to dehydration.
A faecal analysis was taken during this time.
A flagyl s susp injection was given every day while she was there.
When I picked her up from the vets, she was in a right state. The nurse said that she hadn't eaten a single thing the whole 3 days she was there, but that "this was not surprising as it's awful back there" (referring to the place where the cats are kept). Nermal was covered in a weird residue that took days to come off (bits of vomit, poo, spit?), and was heavily mentally traumatised.

Unsurprisingly, I wasn't impressed at this stage with this vet, given the amount of money and time put into them and having got no closer to a diagnosis. I certainly wasnt going to let her be admitted back there, as she came out much worse than when she went in! Plus, although a minor issue after everything else, even after all this time and all these visits, the vet and nurses kept on referring to her as male!

After a very lengthy 10 days, the faecal test came back showing nothing. She was still losing weight and eating very little, so I took her to a new vet.
*
VET 2 - VISIT 1: WEIGHT DOWN TO 2.34KG*
He reviewed all the paperwork sent over from the previous vets and suggested an "in depth" blood test done was done (costing £150) which supposedly tests for "everything apart from the pancreas which costs another £115".

He sold me some high protein food (Royal Canin gastro intestinal food), which he said to encourage her to eat.

Given that she will eat nothing unaided, I decided to force feed her this food using a syringe 3 or 4 times a day (I manage to get about 30ml down her each day - I mix it with a bit of water in a food processor). I follow the general advice for force feeding, and I'm careful to give it to her slowly via the side of her mouth. She doesn't like this process, but doesn't hate it either.

I am currently waiting for all the blood results to come back although he says from what has already come in it is pointing towards a liver problem.

*Update*
Over the last couple of days, she has become VERY thirsty. She drinks for extended periods of time, and when she is not drinking she lies or sits with the water bowl within reach. I'm happy she's drinking lots as that what's I've been trying to get her to do for weeks, but drinking to this extreme seems a little strange?

Finally, the last week or so, the only food she will eat is certain cat treats, but then she will throw them up a few hours later (she doesn't vomit up the "proper" food). However, she shows a lot of interest in food, but just won't eat it unaided!
*
She's still very skinny, the vets all seem to be totally stumped, and I'm force feeding her every day. What can I do next??? Please help!!!*

Many thanks...


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Hi there, I really don't have any helpful advice, but I didn't want to read and run. Sounds like you have both been having a really hard time.  

Do you think it would be worth doing the pancreas blood test? Could it be something like pancreatitis? Could the excessive drinking be related to a pancreas problem? I'm not very knowledgable about that sort of thing but hopefully somebody will be able to help you further.


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

petcar said:


> She has gone from being a fully rounded, slightly above average sized cat, to a tiny near skeleton weighing just over 2kg. I keep her alive by force feeding her 30ml a day of special high protein food recommended by the last vet.


First, what a terrible predicament, you have my sympathies.

Can I just ask: why only 30ml per day with the force feeding, is there a reason for this low amount? And is it HillsAD or something else you are feeing?



petcar said:


> The latest blood test showed that there "may be a liver problem" which I suspect is a condition caused by the non-eating rather than the underlying problem itself.


Which is why I was asking the above.

Was there any stress immediately prior to your cat first becoming sick?

Anything at all that would cause stress?

An operation, a stay in a cattery, an illness that got better, a new pet in the home, anything at all like that??


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## vicisthebest (Nov 10, 2010)

When my old cat started to lose weight and drinking a lot it turned out to be a kidney problem (which I've since heard is common in black-and-white moggies). 

Hope you manage to get to the bottom of it. x


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## Dolli (Nov 25, 2010)

Hey, I've had two cats so far and one of them stopped eating but I changed the variety of food and she did eat slightly but then stopped again, my cat also drinks water (cats should never be allowed to drink milk because it causes Diarhhea) the not eating and vomitting could also be caused by stress believe it or not) just like humans cats get stressed if moving to a different place for example. Also try taking her to another vet, you might be surprised.

I hope I helped a little.

Dolli


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## petcar (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies.



Tje said:


> Can I just ask: why only 30ml per day with the force feeding, is there a reason for this low amount? And is it HillsAD or something else you are feeing?


I feed 30ml as she struggles quite a lot after only about 6ml so I feed her 3 lots of 10ml a day. This takes about 15 mins for each 10ml session as I let her swallow each bit and try and soothe her. With having to go to work everyday, it is very hard to find time to do more as I wouldn't want to overface her with feeding her too often. She really does not like having it done.
The food I am using is Royal Canin Gastro-intestinal which was sold to me by the vet and is for convalescing cats with diarrhea. I blend it to a paste with a little water.



Tje said:


> Was there any stress immediately prior to your cat first becoming sick?
> 
> Anything at all that would cause stress?


She was bitten by another cat in May. This turned into an abscess which she had an operation to clean out and stitches. The vet did mention she may have caught a disease but the blood tests she is having done will show these up I believe.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I should be getting the rest of the blood results tomorrow...


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## dougal22 (Jun 18, 2010)

Your poor girl really sounds like she's been through the mill. You must be worried sick. 
Good luck with the blood results. Please let us know how you get on


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## MatildaG (Nov 8, 2010)

I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear what you and your girl are going through. It must be so distressing to feel like no one is really helping you get anywhere. 

Fingers crossed the blood tests show something up so you can get the right treatment for her. Please keep us updated.

MG x


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## petcar (Dec 6, 2010)

Nermal has been getting worse and when I went to the vets last night, her weight had dropped to 2.12 Kg (previously 2.34 Kg). The blood results were in and it looks like a liver/gut problem.

She is now on the following medications:
Synulox palatable drops
Zantac syrup
Antepsin Suspension
Flagyl S

I have to syringe varying amounts of these into her mouth. I didn't realise that most of them would make her foam at the mouth. She does not like them at all!

I had been giving her 30ml of food a day but after hearing on forums how this isn't enough, and with her weight dropping again, yesterday I managed to give 90ml instead.

On people's recommendation, I got some Hills A/D today. When I got home from work she was crying for food (as she usually does) but even more anxiously than usual.

I opened the Hills and she showed no interest but when I sat on the floor with her and put some on my finger, she eventually licked it off. I was very excited as this is the first proper food she has eaten in nearly 2 weeks. However, she only ate a very small amount and then wouldn't eat any more. She did however have some of the cat treats she likes and ate much more than usual and much quicker than usual.

So I thought we were making progress until she stopped eating and started behaving strangely. She would move her head to look at the floor and not look up even if she was walking. This also prompted her to walk rather strangely with one paw not really moving properly. She would then lie down and seem to struggle to get comfortable and end up stretching one paw out.

For quite a bit of the evening, she has been lying on all fours but with her head staring at the ground (picture attached). At the moment she is fast asleep curled up in a ball as usual and you wouldn't think anything was wrong. She has never shown any of this strange behaviour before tonight. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be?

I am off to the vets again tomorrow night so will obviously get his opinion but would value anyone's views.

Thanks again for showing such concern. It's really appreciated :thumbup:


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks for the update, have been wondering how she is, poor baby. It's good that you managed to get more food into her yesterday. 

I'm sorry I don't know what this new problem is, although I'm wondering if it could be a neurological problem? Not trying to worry you though, just a thought. I hope somebody will be along soon with more helpful information.


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## Pippinpie (Oct 30, 2010)

Hello

This must be awful for you. My first reaction with the thirst and sitting by the water bowl was kidney failure, but it seems your vet has ruled this out. If there is something wrong with one of her organs it can results in mineral deficencies in her blood, which in turn can result is severe muscle weakness. One of these is low potassium and as soon as you described her head down and not walking properly I though of the kidneys aain. Looking at her picture is so sad as it reminded me of my little one when she had kidney disease. I don't know if liver problems can also do this, but I would ask your vet about low potassium, not being to hold their heads up is a classic sign.

It may be worth running more blood tests. I know they are expensive but sometimes if one kidney has only a small amount of tissue working it can give a results that nothing is wrong with the kidney. I used to feed my cat from my hand anything she would eat, a small amount of cod, sardine or cheese, any strong smelling food helped. Sometimes it is the nausea that makes them unable to eat, and again your vet can give her something for this. In the end my cat ate Gourmet in gravy and loved it.

I wish you all the best and hope the vets find something to help her soon x


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## Chez87 (Aug 11, 2010)

Pippinpie, is the low potassium you talk about called hypokalemia? I've seen a kitten with that on the forum and it's true about not being able to hold the head up...maybe this is something to look into.

Also, would agree with what you said about kidney function...I know that people can manage with only about 10% kidney function without symptoms, lower than this and you start to see problems. I guess it is similar in cats?


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## MissyMV6 (Aug 5, 2010)

You have probably already done this but thought it was worth a mention.Have you or your vet had a good look in her mouth to check for any sores? She may have ulcers on the roof of her mouth that are preventing her from eating even though she really wants to.
Angie x


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## Pippinpie (Oct 30, 2010)

Chez87 said:


> Pippinpie, is the low potassium you talk about called hypokalemia? I've seen a kitten with that on the forum and it's true about not being able to hold the head up...maybe this is something to look into.
> 
> Also, would agree with what you said about kidney function...I know that people can manage with only about 10% kidney function without symptoms, lower than this and you start to see problems. I guess it is similar in cats?


Yes I believe it is. If it is this it's remarkabe how they get there muscle strength back once they have got their levels back up. It's a simple blood test. My cat had to go on a drip for a day and then had tablets, she showed slow improvement over a few days and then once we got the levels right was back to being able to hold her head up.

I think the kidney funtion is the same as people. I know my cat had a test when the vet told me she had 'olympic' kidneys for her age, and two months later was in failure.

I do hope you sort her out soon. Best wishes and let us all know how she gets on.


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