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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2004Help! Cat not eating!
My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an operation to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we had "gotten it all," 2 weeks ago we noticed another growth in the same area and so booked him for another operation. The operation happened last Saturday. Since he's come home (it's been a week now), he's had absolutely no interest in food whatsoever. I brought him back to the vet on Monday, 2 days after the operation, when I became frightened by his loss of appeitite. The vet gave him fluids, antibiotic and a pain shot and asked me to bring him back on Tuesday, when she did more or less the same thing. She's done blood workups and urine tests numerous times. It always comes back with the same normal results. In the meantime, I tried all the old standbys to stimuate my cat's appetite (human food that he likes, heating up his food, tunafish, etc.) and finally managed to get my cat to lick baby food off of my finger. He won't lick it off a plate, just off my finger. I noticed that he makes a horrible grinding noise when he tries to chew a glob of baby food, and thought that there might be some sort of dental problem that might be the cause of his appetite loss. I brought him back to the vet today (Saturday) where he got more fluids, more antibiotics and a teeth cleaning that indicated that no teeth were loose. And of course, he still doesn't want to eat. So far this has cost roughly $1300, and I still have no idea why my cat isn't eating. Neither does my vet, who doesn't seem terribly concerned that it's been a week since my cat had a meal. This didn't happen after his first operation, and since my cat has been a real chow-hound all his life, I'm very worried about his total disinterest in eating. Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next? One thing you can do: ask the vet about Periactin/cyproheptadine (generic). It's an antihistamine for humans, but often works well as an appetite stimulant for cats. Another idea: pick up a can of "Hill's Precription Diet a/d" at the vet's (it isn't sold in pet supply stores): it's a canned food made esp. for convalescing or sick animals. Many cats love the stuff. It has a very fine consistency & can be force-fed through a syringe (works better if slightly diluted w/ a little water), or the cat may actually like it enough to lick it off your finger or a spoon. I'd also be worried if my cat had no appetite for a full week, & that grinding noise sounds odd. Another option is to take him (your cat) to another vet, esp. an oncologist or internist - or even just another general vet, & get a second opinion. You could ask the present vet for a referral, or just call on your own. If satisfied w/ the 2nd vet, ask to have copies of all of your cat's recent paperwork sent over. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an operation > to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we had [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next? > One thing you can do: ask the vet about Periactin/cyproheptadine (generic). > It's an antihistamine for humans, but often works well as an appetite [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Cathy I'd be worried that the vet is not worried. I'd get a/d and possibly see a second vet. Karen > Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next? Yeah, be careful with that baby food. They sometimes like to put onion in it, which from what I am reading can cause Heinz body anemia in cats. Normally a lick or so may not be an issue, but if kitty isn't eating.... As far as elsewise, you are probably looking forward to force feeding your cat to keep him alive. Perhaps catnip is also an option to get his energy up?  SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- > My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an operation > to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we had [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next? Get a second opinion, hopefully from a clinic that specializes in feline care. Not eating for a week is an issue the vet should be concerned about and providing you and your cat with help on. Signature"Its the bugs that keep it running." -Joe Canuck > Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next? My cat Noelia also had to have surgery after she consumed a penny. She wasn't eating either when she got home so we ended up hospitalizing her again and we brought her home she still wasn't eating. We tried the syringes, squirting food into her mouth, but that really didn't work well. Most of the food ended up on the walls and floor. We finally figured out a way that worked and most of it ended up in her. Hills AD canned is what we used, you have to get it from the vets office. Heat up the food that you are going to give him and put it in a baby food jar or some other small jar. We tried a plate but that would allow the food to get cold and then she didn't cooperate as well. Kneel on the floor with your cat in between your legs facing away from you. Scoop up a small fingerful of food on your index finger. My my left hand, I open her mouth, then kind of scrape the food up on the roof of her mouth. We did this 3 times a day for about 6 weeks until she started eating again last week. She's back up to 11 pounds. The danger of your cat not eating is her getting fatty liver disease, which is what my Noelia got. What helped when any of my kitties were ill and quit eating... was NutraCal...It's a low volume, high protein "paste" in a toothpaste type tube......you can get it at the vet......most kitties will lick it off your finger or from a plate though you can easiely force feed it as well.... It's helped bring back several of my kids .... :-) Liz >snip>>> . And of course, he > still doesn't want to eat. >snip>>> I'm very worried > about his total disinterest in eating. > > Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next? Any news on your kitty? Is he eating any better?..Prayers and Hugs! :-) Liz > My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an operation > to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we had [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?
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