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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / July 2005Gluttonous cat afraid of his brother, will no longer eat
Hello, I have two Siamese cats about 7½ years old named Kodos and Kang. Kodos has always been a finicky eater, his brother Kang has always been a bit of a glutton. In fact, Kodos weighs about 8 pounds and Kang weighs in at 12. Kodos developed an ear infection last week. There's a much longer story there, but what's important for now is that he completely lost his balance for a few days and Kang was absolutely terrified by this behavior. Kodos is much better now, but Kang has refused to eat for the past 5 days. Ordinarily I would say Kang could stand to lose a few pounds, so this diet isn't so bad a thing, but it's gone on long enough now that I'm getting worried. They would always eat together at meal times, but now Kang will only stick his head out and look towards the kitchen but won't approach it. I've tried taking Kang's dish to him in another room, but he won't go near it. I've tried my best to reassure him and give him lots of extra attention, but he still won't eat. Overall, he seems to be less frightened of Kodos now than he was a couple of days ago. He's also just as affectionate as ever, though perhaps a little quieter. And fortunately, he still seems to be drinking plenty of water. But could anyone give me some ideas on how to convince him to start eating again? By the way, Kodos' appetite seems greater than ever. Thanks for any advice. Hi there, This is a pretty serious problem, as you probably know. Dogs can fast for a day or so, but it is much more dangerous with cats. They can develop fatty liver disease in a day or two days without food. They are one animal that cannot fast. After five days, this is an emergency. He needs to get to the vet to see if there is anything else wrong with him. Sometimes health problems pop up along with something else (like the other cat scaring him) and you think it's the obvious reason, but it's a new health problem. Anyway, have you tried to force-feed him? Mix wet food and water together and syringe it into his mouth (with him upright, not on his back.) Is there anything at all he will eat? Maybe try baby food if you've got an all-night grocery. A meat baby food without onions in the ingredients. Any cat food, wet or dry, that he will eat. Try different flavors, sometimes the stinkier flavors will tempt them. If you can't get him to eat anything at all right now, I would get him into an emergency vet tonight. If you can get some food into him, I would not wait any longer than 1st thing tomorrow morning to get to the vet. Good luck. Let us know how it goes! Rhonda > Hello, > > Kodos is > much better now, but Kang has refused to eat for the past 5 days. > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> Kodos is >> much better now, but Kang has refused to eat for the past 5 days. Okay, well, thanks for scaring the heck out of me. :) The house was all quiet, so I snuck over to the kitchen and was able to get him to eat a little bit of bacon. That's a snack I rarely give but one I know he loves. Once I got him started with that, I was able to give him a couple of morsels of dry cat food (I usually give them Nutro canned food with a little Nutro dry mixed in). He was a little hesitant with both the bacon and Nutro, but I do think he was hungry and that he would have kept eating a little more. Unfortunately, Kodos woke up and came to investigate and it scared him off. The vet did look him over last week when I took Kodos in about his ear infection. No blood work or anything, but maybe it's time to do that. And I spoke to the vet yesterday and told him about all this. He basically told me not to worry for now as long as he's drinking plenty of water (which I've seen him do). I'll call him again in the morning and see what he thinks. I'll try to give him a little more food later after I make sure Kodos is nowhere around. Thanks >> Hi there, >> [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > Thanks Man you need a different vet. Cats canNOT fast for that long and "be OK". Cats that don't eat are in grave danger of getting hipatic lipidosis. YOu NEED to get food into this cat. See if you can get a can of a/d and tempt him. Even baby food (no onion). Feed him in a closed room where the other cat cannot come into. This is serious. >>> Hi there, >>> [quoted text clipped - 55 lines] > can of a/d and tempt him. Even baby food (no onion). Feed him in a > closed room where the other cat cannot come into. This is serious. Another very tempting cat food .... more so than Hill's A/D is .... Whiskas "ground kitty stew." Conan would take this over moistened A/D via syringe. > Another very tempting cat food .... more so than Hill's A/D is .... > Whiskas "ground kitty stew." Conan would take this over moistened > A/D via syringe. That should be easy to find. I'll look for it tomorrow. Thanks! Hi there, Sorry to scare you, but this scares me! I'm glad he ate a little, but he has to get more into him quickly. Did you try force-feeding him? I agree with Karen -- try a new vet! If he doesn't know about fasting and fatty liver disease, you need another vet. Did he eat more yet? Rhonda > Okay, well, thanks for scaring the heck out of me. :) > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Thanks Rhonda <san-toki@attremovethis.net> wrote in news:42C6C6F9.4020506 @attremovethis.net: > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Did he eat more yet? Okay, I will contact another vet asap. But on the good news front, yes he has started eating a little bit. At regular meal time this morning he showed up (which was good news in itself) and though a little timid he did eat some even though his brother was right next to him. (His brother Kodos is still a little dizzy but he's not falling over anymore, which was the behavior that was scaring Kang.) Then a little later I was able to give him four or five pieces of dry food. And at lunch time I gave him a little piece of chicken that I had made for myself. Then a little while later he came over to his dishes and ate a little bit more (I left some food out just in case). Each session he has only eaten a very little bit, but I'm sure he has eaten more today than he has during the past week. I don't want to try force feeding because he's already scared and nervous enough and he does seem to be making progress. That is great news! I'm glad he's starting to eat again. I'm also glad you're contacting another vet. Keep tempting him with food. Maybe try some new, wet food too. There was one type with sardines (I think it was Pro Plan) that would usually work when our cat stopped eating. Good luck! Rhonda > Okay, I will contact another vet asap. But on the good news front, yes he > has started eating a little bit. > > Okay, I will contact another vet asap. But on the good news front, yes he > > has started eating a little bit. ah, whadda you know! >> > Okay, I will contact another vet asap. But on the good news front, >> > yes he has started eating a little bit. > > ah, whadda you know! Thanks again to all for the advice. I'm still worried, but today has been very encouraging. At least 10 - 12 times throughout the day I've managed to get Kang to eat at least two or three pieces of food. In total, I think he's probably eaten the equivalent of one of his regular full meals. Unfortunately, he did not show up at meal time for his regular evening meal, but I took his dish to him in another room and he did eat a little bit, which is a big improvement. Tomorrow I will be trying some of the the other meals you all have recommended. Wish me luck! > Rhonda <san-toki@attremovethis.net> wrote in news:42C6C6F9.4020506 > @attremovethis.net: [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > to try force feeding because he's already scared and nervous enough and he > does seem to be making progress. Try and get some a/d (Hills) for him from your vet. Highly palatable and if he is only eating a little packs more calories. I'd try feeding him separate for security. > Try and get some a/d (Hills) for him from your vet. Highly palatable > and if he is only eating a little packs more calories. I'd try feeding > him separate for security. I will be trying that tomorrow if I can. Keeping them separate is a little difficult as I've discovered today. My strategy had been to bring Kang food while Kodos was sleeping in another room. Kodos' ear infection has improved significantly, which has proven to be a frustrating blessing. Every time I've taken Kang a little food and he starts eating, Kodos hears what's going on and comes by to investigate. This ends up spooking Kang, but in a couple of instances he kept eating anyway. If I try locking Kodos in another room, he'll start yowling (they're Siamese) which again spooks Kang. I'm trying to think of ways to be sneaky about it and hopefully I'll come up with something. Thanks > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Thanks for any advice. I would offer them food in separate places. It doesn't matter that everything was fine before, it isn't now, so action has to be taken. If Kodos intimidates Kang because of his imbalance, or whatever frightened Kang, Kang needs some TLC. Feed him in another place that comforts him. Even if it's just the next room outside of the kitchen.  SignatureCheryl "The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields Cheryl <jlhshadow@hotmail.com> wrote in news:Xns9687E6FEC866Eshads@ 216.196.97.136: > I would offer them food in separate places. It doesn't matter that > everything was fine before, it isn't now, so action has to be > taken. If Kodos intimidates Kang because of his imbalance, or > whatever frightened Kang, Kang needs some TLC. Feed him in another > place that comforts him. Even if it's just the next room outside of > the kitchen. This had been my first strategy, but it didn't work until tonight. And it was only partially successful. Kang didn't come out for the evening meal, so I took his dish to him in the room he was sitting in. He still only ate a little bit. But a little later in the evening I put his dish back in its regular spot. Once he came by and gave it a sniff but didn't eat anything. Then a little later he came back and did eat a little bit. I'm hoping things get closer to normal tomorrow, but I will continue trying to feed them separately if they don't, and hopefully little by little I can get things back to how they were. And yes, I've been giving Kang as much attention and affection as I can. Even before I realized he had stopped eating, early in the week I was concerned that he might be feeling neglected because Kodos needed so much more attention at the time. I was also concerned that he might need more exercise because he no longer had Kodos to "play" with. (They mostly fight and harass each other, but for a little while most days they do chase each other playfully.) So I bought him a new toy (waste of money, by the way... he just prefers those little plastic rings that come off when you open a gallon of milk) and talked to him and played with him as much as I could. In general, he has seemed as happy and affectionate as ever (he seemed a little quieter than usual yesterday). It has just been eating that has been a problem. But I am encouraged that things are getting better. Thanks for the advice. |
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