Coconut won't eat a thing.

Coconut still hasn't eaten anything. I spoke with Dr. Pierson on Thursday, what an amazing person. Requested the tests she suggested from my vet. So far everything seems fine for an older cat, except a bladder infection. Vet started him on Clavamox. I bought Innova EVO dry-he didn't seem to stick his nose up at it right away but he wasn't interested as he won't eat anything at all. He was even refusing bacon and tuna yesterday and the day before. The vet didn't seem to have much to say about the fact that he hasn't eaten but it is really scaring me. I hope its just the infection that's making him feel crappy so he's not eating because of that. But when I say hes eaten nothing, hes eaten nothing. And I'm completely broke now so I'm worried about any complications in the near future or if he continues to not eat I don't know what I will do. :cry:

 

cristina, coconut is on 3u pro zinc yes?

 

ok just read your ss.
not eating is a bit rampant on the board the last month.
i don't know what is causing it.
there is pepcid A/C cut in half
have you tried that?

 

No I haven't heard of that...its supposed to stimulate his appetite?

 

I think it's supposed to calm his tummy and get him to eat.
Advised a lot lately, due to the "kitty is not eating" epidemic we've seen for several weeks.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=48228
Carl in SC

 

Might also be the Clavamox which some cats cannot tolerate. Ask the vet to try a different antibiotic and start giving him some Pepcid A/C or the generic, Famotidine.

 

He was just started on the Clavamox today. He hasn't been eating the last 2-3 days and very decreased appetite before that. He was on Clavamox for the same reason last month and I don't think it affected him poorly at least I didn't notice

 

Christina,
I'm sure you've said in a prior thread, but what was he eating before the appetite went to crap?

Carl

 

if i remember correctly he's a dry food kitty right? and some fish flavors? will he eat those fish flavors or the old dry food at all? if so, let him have those.

to be blunt, if he eats absolutely nothing, he's going to develop a very serious complication (hepatic lipidosis, aka: fatty liver) that could kill him at worst or be very very expensive to recover from at best so that's why i say to let him have the old stuff if he will eat it. if he won't even the old stuff, you're going to have to start syringe feeding him. and very quickly. if he hasn't had anything in 2 or 3 days, the fatty liver could be starting already.

while yes the dry food is not the best thing for a diabetic, working the diabetes around other problems is a lot easier than working the other problems around the diabetes

eta: original thread viewtopic.php?f=28&t=49547

 

Carl..he was on hill's prescrip w/d dry and soulistic tuna I believe it is...he doesn't even want the dry anymore. How do I go about syringe feeding him? I have to take him back to the vet in the morning I'll ask them what needs to be done but he didn't really seemed concerned on the fact that he hasn't eaten :YMSIGH: Come to think of it he never had a good appetite for the wet food a lot of times he wouldn't want it at feeding times so I wouldn't give him the insulin, not sure if he was full on dry because he was free fed but either way he wouldn't go for it. Is tube-feeding completely ludicrous? I'm getting really concerned that this will be the end of the line for him :cry:

 

tube feeding is never ludicrous if you ask me. it saves alot of lives.

to syringe feed you need a needless syringe, preferably a big one. then you water down wet food to a consistency that will pass thru the syringe rather than plug it up. then you hold kitty on your lap or next to you in a way that you can hold their head, get their mouth open some, and slowly put food in their mouth. make sure not to do it so fast you choke kitty. i tend to put the end of the syringe off to the side of the mouth, like in the cheek, and put in the food. i do a little, let kitty mouth it a little & swallow, then a bit more then a bit more and so on until there is substantial food on it's way to kitty's tummy

fwiw, 3 weeks after Mousie was diagnosed, she wouldn't eat either, or if she did, she vomited. her vet wasn't too concerned either. i was. i got on the internet, found fdmb, got a vet referral for one near me, called her, she was concerned and wanted to see Mousie right away. turns out Mousie had a urinary tract infection that was making her feel bad so she got treatment for that with the new vet and i never went back to the other one other than to pick up a copy of my file to give to the new vet.

if you don't have a needless syringe, some people finger feed kitty or rub food on the top of kitty's mouth and often kitty will take it that way.

when you see the vet tomorrow, be stern about the no food for a couple days, mention concern about hepatic lipidosis, and tell him you want him to give you a feeding syringe, show you how to do it, and even give you a darn appetite stimulant possibly (cyproheptadine or mirtazipine for instance).

 

Thanks so much..any idea what a feeding tube would cost roughly?

 

I'm going through something similar with my civvie Buster. After a week of not wanting to eat and not eating, I took her to the vet.

It was determined she has mild pancreatitis (which I didn't know a nondiabetic could get). She was given injections of cerenia and reglan and I was sent home with an appetite stimulant.

It seems to be working, at least she went to her dish and ate a little.

Not eating is something to be concerned with and something that you don't want to waste time about. Buster was also dehyrdated from not drinking or getting her water via food. She was given subq fluids at the vet.

Did anyone mention pancreatitis to you. This is a possibility and more common than even I realized.

As Cindy said, you need to get the cat eating and using any means possible.

If you don't have a syringe you may want to try spoon feeding, if you have a tiny spoon that you can use.

Whatever method you use, put down a large towel, put kitty on towel, have a wet cloth and dry cloth at the ready - this process gets messy - kitty spitting food out, getting it all over the face, paws etc.

If you are prepared and have this at the ready, the mess this will make, will be easier to handle.

 

The vet did all the tests Dr. Lisa suggested I get, and he said the pancreas was fine which I guess would mean he doesn't have pancreatitis. I mentioned thyroid test to him but I'm not sure if he did it or not and I don't think the vet will still be in when I go to pick up Coconut in a few minutes (he was there for more fluids and to have the IV removed today.) He showed a little interest in food today but still wouldn't eat. The vet was going to leave food in front of him but I guess do nothing more regarding feeding. He said I shouldn't really try force feeding since he couldn't be eating because of the bladder infection which we began treatment on yesterday. I think if by tonight or tomorrow he still won't touch food I will syringe feed. Where would I get a large syringe? I bought one from cvs that holds 2 tsp but I don't know if that's too small or what. It's hard enough getting the clavamox down in his mouth I can't imagine syringe feeding :YMSIGH:

 

my vet has given me the feeding syringe when i've had a kitty in that needed help. and when one has gotten old, i just ask the receptionist for another one as i like to have supplies on hand for whenever something comes up. if i've had to pay for one i want to say it was around $7 or $8

to be honest i'm having a hard time with your vet's nonchalant attitude regarding your cat eating though. perhaps make mention that if your cat does develop HL it will be on the vet's tab not yours. at the very least get a couple appy stimulant pills from the vet when you're there? it would be better to have this stuff on hand then end up in the ER on the weekend for it

 

I just got back...they did do the thyroid and the results so far look fine but the other results should be in Monday so we'll know then. The tech said she got him to eat by mixing nutrical in some wet a/d *meh* but I can also try mixing it with some low carb food which I will pick some up later before pm feeding. The only thing is that there's corn syrup and crap in the Nutrical so I have to be careful with that with his diabetes so unfortunately his ears are in for some pricking. I just want him to eat at this point. So if by Monday he still won't eat I'll have a serious conversation about that problem.