Feeling so defeated right now

Julie mueller

Julie mueller

Member Since 2019
I can not get this cat to eat . He will lick all the gravy up but not eat the food. He may have eaten 1 oz of pate today . I'm getting him to drink a little and will lick all the gravy up .

I can't figure out what's wrong with him and neither can the vet besides the ear infection and trace ketone . I'm at the point now that I just cry while trying to get him to eat . It's a 2 hour process and I get no where . I've tried every kind of food out there including people food .
 
Julie mueller said:
I can not get this cat to eat . He will lick all the gravy up but not eat the food. He may have eaten 1 oz of pate today . I'm getting him to drink a little and will lick all the gravy up .

I can't figure out what's wrong with him and neither can the vet besides the ear infection and trace ketone . I'm at the point now that I just cry while trying to get him to eat . It's a 2 hour process and I get no where . I've tried every kind of food out there including people food .
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Is it possible his teeth are hurting him?
I would also post this on the feline health wall.
try sardines or plain salt free turkey slices to see if he’ll at least eat that- I know cats love sardines- again no salt, or oil. Super plain.
 
Julie mueller said:
I can not get this cat to eat . He will lick all the gravy up but not eat the food. He may have eaten 1 oz of pate today . I'm getting him to drink a little and will lick all the gravy up .

I can't figure out what's wrong with him and neither can the vet besides the ear infection and trace ketone . I'm at the point now that I just cry while trying to get him to eat . It's a 2 hour process and I get no where . I've tried every kind of food out there including people food .
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Also I’m not positive on this but according to his SS he should have had an insulin increase by now.

Have you looked at the food chart on the feline health forum to see what carbohydrate content is in the food you’re feeding? I know ones with gravy tend to be high- and not good for our sugar babies.
 
Mimis mom said:
Also I’m not positive on this but according to his SS he should have had an insulin increase by now.

Have you looked at the food chart on the feline health forum to see what carbohydrate content is in the food you’re feeding? I know ones with gravy tend to be high- and not good for our sugar babies.
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Yes I know it is. I was down to only feeding pate until he decided a week ago he is not going to eat. Now the only thing I can get in him is just the gravy out of the can so I have to take it
 
He seems SO interested in food when I walk near his "food area " and is other wise acting pretty normal . He just doesn't want to eat
 
A couple of the wet foods that FA really seemed to like when he wasn't feeling well were the Wellness Core Tiny Tasters in Tuna Smooth Pate and then also just plain tuna (we bought the PureBites Mixers Wild Tuna in Water - this is diabetic cat friendly). He also still enjoyed his freeze dried salmon treats - we had to hand feed them to him one by one which is the only way he would eat them.

I know that some people probably would disagree with what I'm about to say but have you tried offering a small amount of dry food? When FA was discharged from the hospital in November, the only thing that he would initially eat was dry food. It certainly spiked his blood sugar but we were able to give his full dose of insulin and keep the ketones at bay. At that point it was more important that he ate anything at all than to keep his BG down. He began to feel better as he started eating and we were able to transition back over to wet food after a couple days.
 
Big hug! I feel for you and have been in your shoes, but with an underlying medical issues. I have had the same experience as Marc and Jen. There have been times when my T would only eat dry food for a few meals until he was ready to go back to the wet food. Worth a try. All can be readjusted, but right now he needs to eat.

The only additional thoughts/personal experiences are 1) any chance he ate something he shouldn’t have? 2) any chance he could be constipated? 3) any sign of nausea? 4) teeth issues as already mentioned?
 
Julie mueller said:
No he hasnt. I just looked in his mouth and his gums look fine. The only thing I noticed was the one front tooth was a little red around the base of the tooth area. Rest looks fine
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Hmmm... that could indicate a problem. Would be a good idea to have him checked out next time he's at the vet. I know you are pretty vetted-out at the moment, so hopefully anything going on is not urgent.

If all he wants is gravy, give him gravy. Maybe try pureeing some other food with lots of water-- if he is having problems with his teeth and doesn't want to chew, it might be easier for him to lap it up that way.

If he continues to not eat like this, you are going to have to move to assist feeding with a syringe (not as bad as it sounds, but much better if he starts eating on his own).
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
Hmmm... that could indicate a problem. Would be a good idea to have him checked out next time he's at the vet. I know you are pretty vetted-out at the moment, so hopefully anything going on is not urgent.

If all he wants is gravy, give him gravy. Maybe try pureeing some other food with lots of water-- if he is having problems with his teeth and doesn't want to chew, it might be easier for him to lap it up that way.

If he continues to not eat like this, you are going to have to move to assist feeding with a syringe (not as bad as it sounds, but much better if he starts eating on his own).
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Thank you. Yeah I spent 500 this week at the vet and he does have a follow up visit in 3 weeks . I just got a bag of friskies part mix treats out of hiding and gave him a few pieces to see what he would do and he devoured them ... which I wasnt expecting. If it was his teeth I would think he wouldnt have been able to chew them up so fast.
 
Julie mueller said:
a few pieces to see what he would do and he devoured them ... which I wasnt expecting. If it was his teeth I would think he wouldnt have been able to chew them up so fast.
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Aha!

OK, for right now, give him whatever he'll eat. You can dose around any extra carbs, but the boy needs some kind of food in him.
 
If you think he would eat dry kibble, I’ve heard Dr. Elseys Clean Protein chicken flavor is actually pretty diabetic-friendly at around 5% carbs. Maybe he would eat some of that? You could also try topping or mixing it with canned? Or soaking it in water to encourage hydration?

I so sympathize with your plight :bighug:
 
Forgive me because I'm not fully up to date with everything that is going on with your kitty, but I gather that he is on antibiotics because of the ear infections, correct? It that is the case, me may be nauseated from them (or he may be nauseated from the ear infections themselves, too). Wanting to eat but not following through is a classic sign of nausea. Can you ask your vet for cerenia and/or ondansetron to treat potential nausea? He may also need an appetite stimulant like mirtazapine or cyproheptadine; however, you want to treat the nausea first, because having a very hungry but nauseated cat is even more stressful. Generally you would want to give anti-nausea meds an hour or two before giving the appy stimulant.

Redness can indicate dental issues (you'd be surprised how well kitties hide dental pain), which can also cause appy issues, but given what I've read here today, I'd be inclined to think nausea is more likely and would definitely give anti-nausea meds a try.

While kibble isn't ideal, I do agree that you have to do what ever you have to do to get him to eat. Vines and prayers....please eat!!!
 
Wysong Epigen 90 is also low carb and my picky kitty preferred it to the Dr. Eisley's. I believe Tiki Cat dry is not a good low carb food, but it's a solid medium carb and available at Petco if you have one near you. You could also see if the vet has a very small bag of the prescription dry food, all my cats loved that. It's absolutely not low enough carb, but since he needs some food in him, it might be worth a shot. If he hates it, at least you can return it for a full refund.
 
So I got my kids chicken nuggets for lunch from McDonald's and he started acting crazy ( wanting them ) so I took the breading off and offered it to him and he ate 2 chicken nuggets .. I know its not ideal but after barely eating for a week .. it calmed my mind a little .
Also - he is not on antibiotics.. they just did the in house drops that last a month. So nausea wouldn't be from that. However I'm wondering if the ear infection alone was causing nausea.

If I cant get him eating regularly in the next day or two then I will be getting the anti nausea med and appetite stimulant.
 
Well I fed my cat "skinned" air fried breaded chicken tenders for almost a week at one point so don't feel bad. Sometimes any food is more important than the best food. Like us, a few non-balanced meals isn't going to cause long term problems. On the plus side, the calories were probably a bit higher in that snack as well.

I can't remember if you've tried it yet, but the pure meat only baby foods are often a last ditch solution around here as well. Gerber has them as well as beech nut
 
Astexcat said:
Well I fed my cat "skinned" air fried breaded chicken tenders for almost a week at one point so don't feel bad. Sometimes any food is more important than the best food. Like us, a few non-balanced meals isn't going to cause long term problems. On the plus side, the calories were probably a bit higher in that snack as well.

I can't remember if you've tried it yet, but the pure meat only baby foods are often a last ditch solution around here as well. Gerber has them as well as beech nut
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I did try them .. he licked it a little but that's it
 
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