Since he was barely eating at the vet and has not eaten now
since Friday, all I can think of is to get him to the vet. They
will know what to do--i.e. force feed him, give him fluids,
something. All I know is that it is very serious and can be life-
threatening when they stop eating for even a couple of days.
(My only experience is with my 20-year-old Gnarly who
never did begin eating again on her own--but her case is
NOTHING like Peanut's. She was old and ready to go.
I could see it in her eyes. I finally had her euthanized and it
nearly killed me.)

Try some canned cat food and/or meat-only baby food mixed with warm water
until it is a soupy consistency.  Get a decent sized syringe, and syringe
the food into him.  Sometimes just tasting the food will stimulate the
appetite and the cat will start eating on his own.  Sometimes not, and you
have to keep doing this for several days.  At least this way you are getting
both food and water into him at the same time.  You can crush the pills and
mix them in with the food/water mixture at one of the feedings.

Hi,

It is absolutely essential that Peanut eats. Since he is not eating on his
own, you should be able to syringe-feed him. I did this with a very sick
starving stray I rescued early last year who had hepatic lipidosis due to
starvation. After 7 weeks of syringe-feeding her several times per day, she
started eating on her own and her liver values returned to normal. She has
completely recovered and is a happy, healthy cat. Don't be afraid if you've
never done this - after a couple of times, you'll get the hang of it and
Peanut should too without much trauma. It is very important to take it
slowly and not feed him too much at a time, so several feedings a day are
necessary. I fed Emma canned Innova (regular not lite), blended the amount
per day needed to liquify it which worked very well (I did not mix it with
water, so that I could get the maximum amount of food/calories in her with
fewer feedings/syringes). I used 5 ml. syringes (just the plastic syringe
without the needle) *with tip* and drilled the hole *a bit* larger so that I
could more easily pull up the food - make sure you remove all of the plastic
shavings from the drilling (if you don't have a small drill, you can also
use the pointy end of one the blades on a pair of scisssors and use it to
enlarge the hole somewhat). The tip on these syringes make it quite easy to
place the syringe in the space behind the upper canine in Peanut's mouth. It
is of absolute importance that the syringe is at an angle when you *slowly*
depress the plunger when feeding and that it is not directed at the back of
the throat to avoid Peanut aspirating the food and choking. Here are two web
sites with info on syringe-feeding which should help you with tips:
http://www.assistfeed.com/FeedingTechniques.htm and
http://www.gorbzilla.com/syringe_feeding_faq.htm

2) I need

You should be able to crush the pills into the food and draw it up in the
syringe. If the pill is bitter, he might throw it all up (not good).
Alternatively, crush the pills and put the powder into capsules. Your vet
should be able to get the pet-size version. If it continues being a problem,
ask your vet if there is a compounding pharmacy which could make the meds
into liquid or gel form.

Good thoughts and a quick recovery for Peanut. I hope some of the above is
helpful. Keep us posted.

M.

I would go to ANY vet in town that is open (if that is possible, I don't
remember if you are in the boonies or not) and get a couple of cans of A/D
and a force feeder. You may need to do it in small stints, but squirt a
little at a time in his mouth from the side where the gap after his canines
are. He HAS to get food into him. Idealy at least half a can a day.

While you are there get a pill gun and go to a local store and get a pill
cutter. You can put a little butter on the pill to make it slipperier. Get a
little syringe from the vet too, to put water in and have that handy. After
you pill him, use that to make him drink a little water and get it down into
his tummy. All this is tedious but will be much better than him not getting
what he needs. The a/d is VERY tasty, so even if he doesn't want to eat, you
know that you are not torturing him. The pill popper and buttered cut up
pills will go down much easier. I hope you can do these things.

I'm sorry you're having trouble getting Peanut to eat. Believe me,
I know what you're going through. Had to get a feeding tube for my
cat who quit eating, so I'm hoping you'll be able to get him to eat
before it comes to that. Good suggestions about tempting food. I
have one more - canned chicken. It comes in a small can like tuna
and its mushy and my cats have never been able to resist it. I also
have to chime in with everyone else about how important it is to
get him to eat. Did the vet give him fluids while he was there?
Sometimes that helps.

Is it Denosyl by any chance? If so, disregard all of the other
suggestions to crush or cut it. Some pills can't be cut so its
important to know what you're giving. I agree with Karen's
suggestion to get a pill gun, and some others that say to coat it
with butter. You'll just have to do what it takes to get the pill
in and make it stay in. I know its so hard with many cats. :(

Good luck and you're doing a great job taking care of Peanut.

...snoipped...

Hi,

I agree with Cheryl that some pills cannot be crushed or cut and some
*should not* be crushed or cut (as they can be irritating in the throat
and/or esophagus). I should have been clearer in my first post, sorry. You
mentioned that the pills are large and the human version, so if you need to
give them to Peanut for some time, make sure your vet will substitute them
for the pet version as you mentioned or alternatively it might be possible
for you to have them compounded into liquid or gel form if necessary. A pill
gun might work for you or check whether the pills can be crushed into the
food and given in the syringe feedings.

I also mentioned that the syringe tip is easy to place into the space behind
the upper canine - to be more accurate, it goes into the space behind both
upper and lower canines. You do not have to open Peanut's mouth - the
syringe tip will slide into the space between the canines and the buccal
wall (cheek) when you place it between the lips. Boy, it's hard to
deconstruct a procedure and try to explain it in words. I hope this makes
sense.

Good healing thoughts for a speedy and relatively uneventful recovery,

M.

Dear Hanson,

You certainly sound like a wonderful 'Dad', and you have tried just about
every cat temptation there is 'in the book' to get him to eat..something.
I'd call the vet tomorrow, and after explaining your potentially serous
situation (to get Peanut to eat), ask him if he/ she would please prescribe
a Liquid form of Appetite Enhancer / stimulant, one with preferably holistic
ingredients. Or ask him to call pharmacy, and have them mix up a 'compound'
form that you can pick up, if* the vet doesn't have anything on hand.

I'd forget about 'pilling' him now, as that is using more invasive tactics
on him, and also mainly because, IMO, pills are  *&^%$@ dangerous, he just
might very well choke(!).

My suggestion is, that with whatever meds he may have to try in the future,
you might want to always ask your vet for a liquid form, and if he or she by
some odd chance won't, or cannot order them for you and accommodate your
special request, then I'd simply find another good vet who will. It may be
Peanut will wake up tomorrow and eat after only needing some 'recoup' and
'de-stress' time. He really has* been through a huge and very stressful
trauma, poor little guy.

But I'd go ahead and call the vet, so you can have his med. on close hand
just in case Peanut continues on Not eating or drinking. Then he may be or
quickly become dehydrated, and that is serious, not to alarm you. Is his
tongue pale? Is he lethargic acting? You really might want to buy some
'Swanson's natural goodness' brand chicken broth and Squirt a couple
droppers full down his throat (with dropper or dispenser), and then also
alternate the amount you give him with water.  I'd certainly treat the
little guy like he was in a hospital recovering from a major illness :-)!
He's been through hell and back.

Let us know how he is doing tomorrow and please continue to keep us informed
on his progress. I know I'm getting pretty attached to Peanut already, and
know I'm not alone...Hi Candace, L, Cheryl, Barb, Ashley, Sherry, Phil, Jmc,
Blink, Karen, and all the many others I like, but can't remember your name.

ML

Others have given you some good suggestions for getting Peanut to eat.  You
may also want to try and give him some of the "juice" from a can of tuna or
from a can of chicken.

As far as the meds, you may want to try and get the pill compounded into a
flavored liquid or soft chew.  I use a pet pharmacy in Houston; you can
reach them at 1-877-VETRXRX.   Your vet would have to call in a
prescription, but they do ship overnight.

Good luck!

Sue

When Dillion was hit by a car, he had to have his leg pinned.  When I
got him home, he refused to eat. We tried everything, I knew he wanted
to eat because I was wiping the warmed canned baby food on his mouth
and he was going to lick it then stopped.  The vet said that if he
hadnt eaten after a week, they would have to force feed him.  We knew
that Dillon liked to scrounge, so we got fish and chips from the chip
shop, put him in his basket in the middle of the room and both ate in
front of him, half way through the dinner, we laid the plates on the
floor and walked out of the room, went outside and peered through the
window.  His nose was sniffing the air.  After a few minutes, he
hobbled over and attacked the plate.  This was after days of not eating
a morsel.  It was unbelievable.  The vet said it seems that "he just
liked being a naughty boy". We were amazed, try it, with something
peanuts really likes to scrounge off you.

We had terrible trouble getting Dillon to take pills, and now that he
is older, even wrestling on the floor doesnt work, he gets too worked
up and upset.  But for antibiotics, we have to take him down the vet
for an injection every day.  We have sometimes managed to get pills
down by dipping them in butter, shoving them in, clamping his mouth
closed and stroking him under the chin to make him swallow.

Chris