lack of appetite

[Likameow]

Hello there;
It's been awhile since we have had to post something. Things had been going well. Sugars with stable, etc. But about a month ago, Ben starting eating less wet food. I had recently changed to a new dry food which he seemed to really like so I wasn't to concerned about it. His weight had remained fairly stable so I figured he was just filling up on dry food. He went from eating a whole 3 oz can morning and evening to each about 1/3-1/4 of a can at a time.

Last weekend, I boarded him at the vet while I was out of town. He pretty much went on a hunger strike. They said he acted perfectly fine (not hiding in the cage or any other signs of stress except not wanting to eat). I thought that once he got home, he would be better. But it seems like he has not improved.

He will eat about 1 oz of wet food and a few nibbles of dry is all. He starts out eating enthusiastically but after a few bites, he walks away. I tried giving him cerenia (which they also tried at the vet as well as a sub-q fluid bolus) but it doesn't seem to help. They did blood work a couple of days ago and things were actually improved. BUN and creatinine were on the high side of normal but better than they were in November.

I'm going to call the vet this afternoon to report that he isn't improving at home like we hoped. So I thought I'd check in here first for any suggestions or anything you think I should ask the vet about.

Thanks,
Lisa and Ben

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Starting to eat/interest in food and then turning away does sound like nausea. Sometimes Cerenia helps, sometimes it doesn't, depends on the cat and the situation. Another med to try for nausea is ondansetron. Some non-med helps are to raise the food bowl a few inches so he isn't having to duck his head to eat.

Have you tried different flavors/brands of food? Just in case part of what is going on is an aversion.

Good luck with the vet- you definitely want to get control of this situation!

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Please let us know how the Cerenia works out. I've had a few cats that resented (if that's even possible) being shipped off to the vet, maybe he's just pissy. Really hoping it's something as simple as that, I have zero experience with nausea lasting more than 24 hours. Like Nan & Amber said, "you definitely want to get control of this situation." The weekend is here, you don't want to end up in a strange clinic on Sunday morning. Noah always caves in for something really stinky like fish based food. Wishing you luck and hoping you don't need it.

 

[The_Dude]

Hi! I don't have a solution, but I am struggling right now with the same issue. Dude is not eating as much as he used to. We have been struggling with frequent vomiting for a several months now and he definitely seems to be showing signs of nausea and upset stomach. Like you, his blood work shows he is doing better than ever, yet this stomach issue persists. We treated for pancreatitis just in case, but it didn't change anything.

Dude is most likely to vomit in the half hour leading up to feeding time, and we have to be careful to not let him outside near feeding time because he will eat grass like a fiend, then come in and eat food and puke everything back up. The vomiting seems to be a bit less these days, but now he only eats maybe half his food, then refuses to eat more.

I posted a different thread about the vomiting and antacids were recommended. I haven't tried them yet, but perhaps it might help you?

We also discovered Dude hates all fish flavored canned food, so removing those flavors helped with the vomiting/lack of appetite a lot.

Good luck!

 

[Likameow]

I gave him the dose of cerenia and that didn't seem to change things. The next morning I tried an appetite stimulant (cyproheptadine), after which he ate a little bit more dry food. But no brand or flavor of pate style was working. So I bought some fancy feast flaked. He loves it. And stimulating his appetite with wet food has made him go back to eating dry food like he normally does. I think we have a winner

 

[JanetNJ]

Hi! I don't have a solution, but I am struggling right now with the same issue. Dude is not eating as much as he used to. We have been struggling with frequent vomiting for a several months now and he definitely seems to be showing signs of nausea and upset stomach. Like you, his blood work shows he is doing better than ever, yet this stomach issue persists. We treated for pancreatitis just in case, but it didn't change anything.

Dude is most likely to vomit in the half hour leading up to feeding time, and we have to be careful to not let him outside near feeding time because he will eat grass like a fiend, then come in and eat food and puke everything back up. The vomiting seems to be a bit less these days, but now he only eats maybe half his food, then refuses to eat more.

I posted a different thread about the vomiting and antacids were recommended. I haven't tried them yet, but perhaps it might help you?

We also discovered Dude hates all fish flavored canned food, so removing those flavors helped with the vomiting/lack of appetite a lot.

Good luck!

is he eating a few times a day? Does he have food left out over night? I ask because when there is a long period with no food, many cats will throw up stomach acid. Smaller meals more frequently tend to be better.

 

[StephG]

What dry food are you feeding? If it's Young again, it makes my sugar cat and my civvie eat less. Not really a solution to the problem but just wanted to throw that idea into the bucket! Hope he's back to normal soon!

 

[Likameow]

Ben is eating Wysong Epigen 90 for dry food. I work twelve hour shifts at a hospital and have 4 other cats. So I need to have a dry food out for snacking in case I get stuck at work. He ate Young Again for a couple years then I had issues with reflux in all my cats who were eating it. I tried Evo but Ben's sugar was too high eating that. Epigen 90 seems to be working well.