CKD Cat Won't Eat!

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catbeans23

catbeans23

Member Since 2018
I wanted to make a separate thread for this as this is becoming an emergency now. He hasn't eaten really anything in a week. He still drinks his water and pees but isn't pooping either.

I was given the k/d and NF prescription diet cans and he won't eat them.

I have fancy feast pate as well as Sheba pate (this is what he was eating before, my other cat eats Fancy Feast). Should I give this to him to see if he eats or wait longer? I normally give him the Sheba but he would eat fancy feast like a pig when I occasionally let him have it.

He is taking the blood pressure meds and I am giving him a liquid supplement. His kidneys were enlarged and the doctor said he is showing signs of starvation (this was Monday).

What should I do? I am having trouble finding food I can get him in the pet store that would be good for him (high protein, low phosphorus). If someone can tell me any kind of canned food pet stores have, I need to get it tomorrow. He needs to start eating.
 
He needs to get food in him or he risks hypatic lipidosis, a very serious liver condition that can be fatal. If he absolutely will not eat, ask your vet about a feeding tube. DO you know what is causing him to not eat? Has your vet tried appetite stimulants?

Here is the recipe for the Liver Shake, which can be used temporarily as a complete diet for cats who are doing poorly. Most cats seem to like it, even ones who won't eat anything else. You could also try bone broth.

THE '~LIVER SHAKE~' FOR SICK CATS

This liquid food is appropriate for cats suffering from conditions where they are eating very little or not at all such as anemias, leukemias, deficiency states with symptoms of lethargy, listlessness, and weakness.

1 cup RAW LIVER (BEEF, or CHICKEN)
1 cup FRESH CARROT JUICE or V-8, or Tomatoe Juice
1/4 cup *FRESH FILTERED WATER
1 RAW EGG YOLK
1 tsp.KELP POWDER OR SPIRULINA


COMBINE AND MIX IN A BLENDER UNTIL LIQUEFIED. (Note: it will be frothy)

Dosage:

Administer 10cc daily 3-6 times a day. (6Occ per day max)

Some cats will need to be force-fed with a syringe, while others will drink it out of a bowl.

This food has a sweet and salty taste, and the energetic properties of tonifying (energy boosting), warming and stimulating and supports the kidneys, spleen, liver and stomach.

This drink is a complete dinner for a sick cat until they feel good enough to eat by themselves again.

*Substitute rice water if the cat has diarrhea. Rice water
is made by boiling white rice (2 Tbsp) with water (1cup) for 30 minutes.
This liquid aids digestion and assimilation and inhibits the symptoms of diarrhea.
 
Squalliesmom said:
He needs to get food in him or he risks hypatic lipidosis, a very serious liver condition that can be fatal. If he absolutely will not eat, ask your vet about a feeding tube. DO you know what is causing him to not eat? Has your vet tried appetite stimulants?

Here is the recipe for the Liver Shake, which can be used temporarily as a complete diet for cats who are doing poorly. Most cats seem to like it, even ones who won't eat anything else. You could also try bone broth.

THE '~LIVER SHAKE~' FOR SICK CATS

This liquid food is appropriate for cats suffering from conditions where they are eating very little or not at all such as anemias, leukemias, deficiency states with symptoms of lethargy, listlessness, and weakness.

1 cup RAW LIVER (BEEF, or CHICKEN)
1 cup FRESH CARROT JUICE or V-8, or Tomatoe Juice
1/4 cup *FRESH FILTERED WATER
1 RAW EGG YOLK
1 tsp.KELP POWDER OR SPIRULINA


COMBINE AND MIX IN A BLENDER UNTIL LIQUEFIED. (Note: it will be frothy)

Dosage:

Administer 10cc daily 3-6 times a day. (6Occ per day max)

Some cats will need to be force-fed with a syringe, while others will drink it out of a bowl.

This food has a sweet and salty taste, and the energetic properties of tonifying (energy boosting), warming and stimulating and supports the kidneys, spleen, liver and stomach.

This drink is a complete dinner for a sick cat until they feel good enough to eat by themselves again.

*Substitute rice water if the cat has diarrhea. Rice water
is made by boiling white rice (2 Tbsp) with water (1cup) for 30 minutes.
This liquid aids digestion and assimilation and inhibits the symptoms of diarrhea.
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I know what the risk is that is why I am worried. He does like bone broth. I tried the fancy feast again and he leans in to eat it, acts like he wants it really bad, then shakes his front paws and pushes it away. He does this 4 or 5 times then he gets really upset and tries moving away from me. His tail shows he is upset. It is like he wants to eat but he is afraid of pain or something. He had a sore removed from his gums today and has his canines filed as they were cutting into his bottom gums. Maybe he is just in pain with that? I'm not sure. I am going to have to call in again in the morning.
 
I'm force feeding him a supplement that is loaded with nutrients in it so I will do that recipe after this is gone if he is still not eating. He doesn't feel or look like he has lost any weight at all.

Maybe the doctor can give me something for mouth pain if that is the issue.

I am going to get some baby food. I was reading some advice forums and they said ground turkey in broth is okay. The baby food can't have anything else in it. I did use this before with my other cat when he was sick. Might be easier for him to eat. I'm not sure where the pain is but I know his gums are pretty beat up. I am just glad he is at least drinking water. I just have a gut feeling here he is feeling better and wants to eat but it is causing him too much pain.
 
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catbeans23 said:
I'm force feeding him a supplement that is loaded with nutrients in it so I will do that recipe after this is gone if he is still not eating. He doesn't feel or look like he has lost any weight at all.

Maybe the doctor can give me something for mouth pain if that is the issue.

I am going to get some baby food. I was reading some advice forums and they said ground turkey in broth is okay. The baby food can't have anything else in it. I did use this before with my other cat when he was sick. Might be easier for him to eat. I'm not sure where the pain is but I know his gums are pretty beat up. I am just glad he is at least drinking water. I just have a gut feeling here he is feeling better and wants to eat but it is causing him too much pain.
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My 20-year-old kitty just had massive dental surgery to remove all his teeth and their roots; I can relate well to a kitty with a sore mouth! He would only eat baby food for a few days, and not much of that. The Gerber's baby food seems to be the one that doesn't have any added flavorings - some of them have garlic/onion flavoring added, not good for kitties. The Ham variety is the one all my cats seem to favor.

I hope your vet will give you some bupe or something for pain. Please keep us updated! :bighug::bighug:
 
If he's not eating enough there are a lot of things out could be.... Pancratitis is very likely some he shows interest in food. The treatment for that is sub q's, cerenia for nausea and bupe for pain.

You need to go to another vet!

When I had a vet with ckd and another one with diabetes I fed bff in cans. It's low on carbs and around 250-260 phosphorus.

Of he's not eating though the important thing is to get him to eat ANYTHING. After a day it can damage the liver. Water down pate food and assist feed if you have to.

There are two Facebook groups I recommend.

Cats with Chronic Renal Failure

And

Cats with multiple medical conditions
 
It's VERY important that he eats at this point it doesn't matter what as long as he gets some food, (baby food, his regular food,boiled chicken for example) once he's back eating you can see to change him to an adequate diet, you may need to force "asist " feed him for a while but he really needs to eat

What is his CKD stage ? Have you checked his phosphuros levels a high phosphuros level can give him nausea and he may need to get some nausea med and a phosphuros binder in his food

K/d food is not good for a diabetic cat because is very high carb, unless he's stage 3-4 it's not recommended to give him k/d there are other more suitable options you have to look for a low carb low phosphuros food
 
I am fairly new to feline diabetes, but unfortunately I'm all too familiar with CKD having gone through it with 2 cats and a dog in the last couple years. As the BUN and Creatinine get higher, the nausea will make the kitty feel lousy. Assist feeding (syringe feeding) is often necessary. Unlike many other illnesses, not eating doesn't necessarily mean end of life stage for a CKD cat. It happens to many if not most.

This forum is a Godsend for diabetes info. For CKD, there's a similar forum and super website called Tanya's. https://www.felinecrf.org/tanyas_support_group.htm

I would recommend reading the info on that site and asking questions on that forum as well as here. Best of luck and healing wishes!
 
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A couple of thoughts now that I've finally stopped doing a million other things. An important thing to have for a CKD is a phosphorus binder to give with food (I use aluminum hydroxide powder and amphagel from thrivingpets.com). Also famotidine (Pepcid) is a good thing. Giving subq fluids at home can really help (with your vet's approval).
 
Beck and Grandpa said:
A couple of thoughts now that I've finally stopped doing a million other things. An important thing to have for a CKD is a phosphorus binder to give with food (I use aluminum hydroxide powder and amphagel from thrivingpets.com). Also famotidine (Pepcid) is a good thing. Giving subq fluids at home can really help (with your vet's approval).
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You don't need a binder unless the phosphorous level is over 6 and not coming down with a food change.
 
Squalliesmom said:
My 20-year-old kitty just had massive dental surgery to remove all his teeth and their roots; I can relate well to a kitty with a sore mouth! He would only eat baby food for a few days, and not much of that. The Gerber's baby food seems to be the one that doesn't have any added flavorings - some of them have garlic/onion flavoring added, not good for kitties. The Ham variety is the one all my cats seem to favor.

I hope your vet will give you some bupe or something for pain. Please keep us updated! :bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...

He is going in tomorrow morning again. I got him to eat a little bit finally. I put tuna in a blender with some water and made it into a thick watery mess. He drank it up for about 20 seconds. Had it all over his face but I can tell he was hungry. He stopped and started getting upset again so I am almost certain this is down to his gums or teeth hurting him. The vet said he will give him a pain shot for that. I did get some ground turkey baby food as well. Going to try that in a little bit. I also ordered his favorite bone broth. No salt added kind. I think it will be here tomorrow since I used Prime on Amazon. I also ordered Whole Earth Farms chicken pate food, got a case of it so I am hoping he likes it.
 
Also, he has been icing his cheek. I put a small ice pack next to him and he lays his face on it. Seems to be comfortable for him. His eyes look more lively today and he actually gripped me a little bit earlier when I was changing his towel. I have him on the bed and just let him pee on towels and change them as he goes. I got some puppy pads as well. I am trying to see if his back feels better with minimal movement.

I know it isn't Pancratitis. My other cat had that twice. His issue is he hurt his spine, he can't walk, and has oral issues on top of the kidneys. The vet removed a sore from him Wednesday. I am going to see if the vet will run another test while we are there to check how his BUN and GLU are now. I might just request a full CBC as well.

As I mentioned, he hasn't been eating really anything but doesn't appear to be losing weight which is strange. I am force feeding him 3 times a day with Rebound and CatSure and he is drinking his water. I still would have expected some weight loss to be seen by now considering he hasn't eaten a proper meal since Wednesday night/Thursday morning of last week.

Oh and I am putting MSM in his CatSure when I give it to him. This should help with the back pain and help the injury heal faster as well as protect his liver. I did it yesterday and today and I think it is already making him feel better.
 
My experience with CKD cats is that a high phosphorous level will result in a cat no eating. When that happened with my cats in the past I increased the amount of phosphorous binder and the cat would eat again. However, there cojes a time with that no longer works.
What was the blood phosphorous lvel last time a blood analysis was run and when was that?
 
Just wanted to let everyone know that he passed away earlier today. He went on his own and quietly. I laid in bed with him all day until he was ready. I likely won't be on here again. I wish you all the best with caring for your cats and thanks again for the advice. Take care.
 
catbeans23 said:
Just wanted to let everyone know that he passed away earlier today. He went on his own and quietly. I laid in bed with him all day until he was ready. I likely won't be on here again. I wish you all the best with caring for your cats and thanks again for the advice. Take care.
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So sorry for your loss.
 
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