Not eating much

[davidscat]

Snowy was diagnosed just over two years ago, and it's been an on-and-off problem with respect to eating. He may go for weeks at a time during which he eats properly, and then it's like someone turns off the eat switch and his food consumption drops to less than a third of normal. He has had blood work several times, including a pancreatitis test, and most times everything looks "amazingly good" per my vet. I have applied Mirataz (Mirtazapine) to stimulate his appetite, and that worked for a while but is no longer effective. I just took him to the vet to get a shot for nausea and I'll see if that helps. My vet seems at a loss to explain why Snowy won't eat as the tests conducted thus far indicate that he's in reasonably good health. Any ideas?

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi David
Do you think you could set up your signature do we can see information about Snowy please?
I looked back on your information and saw Snowy has a history of pancreatitis. Does the vet do a fPL test when you take Snowy in with loss of appetite?
It is very likely he needs an antinausea medication rather than an appetite stimulant as it’s very hard to eat if nauseated. Also he may need a pain medication if it’s pancreatitis.
It may be helpful if you have some ondansetron or cerenia tablets at home you could give him when these episodes occur. I’d talk to the vet about that.

 

[davidscat]

Sorry, not sure what you mean by "signature."

The vet has done several Spec fPL tests, usually during one of these lack of appetite episodes, with the last being about 3 weeks ago at which time the results were normal. If they tested every time I've been to the vet for eating related issues then Snowy would run out of blood and I'd run out of money! Snowy received a cerenia injection this afternoon so it's a bit to early to judge the results. Clearly I need something that I can administer at home, BUT I have a pretty bad tremor and I'm lucky to do injections some days so I don't know how that will go, but I can try.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

My Sheba used to get pancreatic flares. My vet didn’t always do the test for pancreatitis but he did treat it as such, with antinausea meds, pain meds and subQ fluids. Maybe you could look at that pathway. She always responded to the treatment.
How to do your signature here HELP US HELP YOU

 

[CORKY]

My Sheba used to get pancreatic flares. My vet didn’t always do the test for pancreatitis but he did treat it as such, with antinausea meds, pain meds and subQ fluids. Maybe you could look at that pathway. She always responded to the treatment.
How to do your signature here HELP US HELP YOU

When my Corky or Coco loses appetite, there's a cream called Miratz/prescribed not expensive, goes on the inside fold of the ear, once a day, withing 1/2 hour after applying, your baby will devour the food, apply for one week once a day

 

[davidscat]

Treating for pancreatitis; i.e., antinausea meds, pain meds and subQ fluids, makes perfect sense. The truth is that my vet has pointed me in that direction before, but as I previously mentioned, I've got a bad tremor so I'm unsure how it will go. Still, I FINALLY was able to do injections after weeks of struggle so anything is possible.

As for Miratz, yes I've used that, in fact only yesterday, but recently it has lost its effectiveness.

 

[CORKY]

Treating for pancreatitis; i.e., antinausea meds, pain meds and subQ fluids, makes perfect sense. The truth is that my vet has pointed me in that direction before, but as I previously mentioned, I've got a bad tremor so I'm unsure how it will go. Still, I FINALLY was able to do injections after weeks of struggle so anything is possible.

As for Miratz, yes I've used that, in fact only yesterday, but recently it has lost its effectiveness.

Don’t loose hope put the cream in his ear every day trust me it will wor, I promise

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Even with humans, the effects of mirtazapine may wane if it's been used for a while. The effects of some of this class of drugs can wear off.

Just out of curiosity, if Snowy goes off of her food, have you changed the food? Some cats get bored with the same diet or can become incredibly picky.