Cat doesn't eat

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M.C. Mullen - 23 Jun 2003 06:35 GMT

Tom (10 mths) has not been eating for two days.
Usually he begs for food like crazy at six in the morning. (Even earlier if
the bedroom door is open).
Then he gets his canned food which he *loves*.
For the rest of the day he has dried food available on which he's not too
keen. (No difference if it's cheap food or premium stuff.)
Yesterday he didn't touch the canned food, so I gave it to the dog which was
hesitant about it too. So I thought it must have been the quality of the
packet.
Today Tom didn't touch his food either after begging for it like mad.
So I gave in and opened Whiskas which he's always eaten, but he didn't touch
that either!
What could that be? It's very hot here at the moment and I'm not so hungry
myself.
Does he maybe steal some food in the night when he's out?
I think he's just being fussy because otherwise he's fit and well and his
usual self. Also the way he begs for food is normal. Just that he doesn't
touch it after smelling it worries me.
Well, he has me going out to buy Yams today...and if he does not like that
either?...The dog will soon meow if I have to continue feeding it cat food.

:-)

Carola

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Karen Chuplis - 23 Jun 2003 06:59 GMT

> Tom (10 mths) has not been eating for two days.
> Usually he begs for food like crazy at six in the morning. (Even earlier if
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> Carola

If he begs for it but then doesn't touch it, I think it is cause enough to
take him to the vet. Appetite is a key communication in a cats health.

Karen

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Sherry - 23 Jun 2003 07:16 GMT

Get him to a vet, as soon as you can. Failure to eat, especially for more than
two days, is serious business. It can well cause liver disease called Hepatic
Lipidosis. My cat had a reaction to vaccinations two years ago, which caused
him to go off his food, which in turn caused HL, and he almost died from it.
It's serious stuff...better to be safe and let him get checked out. Good luck.

Sherry

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AWriteny - 23 Jun 2003 10:01 GMT

mcmullen@freesurf.ch says

>Tom (10 mths) has not been eating for two days.....Does he >maybe steal some

food in the night when he's out?

Can you guarantee his safety when he's outside? No cars to run him over? No
dogs or wild animals to injure/kill him? No poisons (antifreeze/coolant) to
make him suffer an agonizing death? Many people w/cats assume cats look both
ways before crossing streets & can tell the difference between red & green
lights.

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M.C. Mullen - 23 Jun 2003 12:34 GMT

| mcmullen@freesurf.ch says
| >Tom (10 mths) has not been eating for two days.....Does he >maybe steal some
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
| ways before crossing streets & can tell the difference between red & green
| lights.

Look, this is an old discussion. Of course I can't guarantee for his safety
outside.
But I can guarantee that he's happy and well. Tom came from a farm, he's
always been outside. It is an outdoor paradise for cats here!
In the area where I live _all_ the cats are outside. They have proper dusk
meetings and an occasional fight over territory. There's only one road where
people drive moderately except for two young people who have just got their
driving licenses.
Tom knows how to stay clear of dogs, he doesn't like them (except for our
own) and he is very good at climbing trees. The fox could be a problem, but
the cat is fully grown up now. When he was small I kept him in at
nighttimes. Other wild animals we do not have.
Poison is not a problem unless somebody prepares some meat to deliberately
harm a pet. We have lost a cat once which was rat poisoned... very cruel
death, I can tell you. But this was in another village.
I know that there's a danger for cats living outside. But life _is_
dangerous and lethal in every case. Is it better to live long or happy?
Surely the best would be a combination of both. Btw. we had a cat that
became way over twenty years old and was always outdoors.
This discussion applies to humans too: it's dangerous to drive and to do
sport and to go on holidays etc. One has to have a balance.

But just to make that clear: I am _not_ saying that indoor cats are bound to
be unhappy. In a town there's no other way than keeping them inside!
But it requires more attention from the human and maybe a companion if a cat
is indoors all the time. And if a cat is to stay inside it's better to get
it used to it right from the beginning. Once they can roam freely it can
become difficult to keep them inside. Ideal would be a cat that can go
outside but also loves to stay at home.

<Hoping that I have not started the whole indoor/outdoor discussion
again...>

Carola

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Cammie - 23 Jun 2003 17:27 GMT

> mcmullen@freesurf.ch says
> >Tom (10 mths) has not been eating for two days.....Does he >maybe steal some
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> ways before crossing streets & can tell the difference between red & green
> lights.

I was going to post similarly... I know this is an old argument, but I feel
cats should be indoors. They WILL live longer lives indoors and if they do
not know better, they will LOVE living indoors.

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Cammie - 23 Jun 2003 17:28 GMT

"Cammie" <stopspam@yomama.com> wrote
I was going to post similarly... I know this is an old argument, but I
feel

> cats should be indoors. They WILL live longer lives indoors and if they do
> not know better, they will LOVE living indoors.

And I will also add another reason for cats being indoors... they can be a
nuisance outside to neighbors... they might just feed him a little treat to
get rid of him too

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Dee - 23 Jun 2003 18:05 GMT

> Tom (10 mths) has not been eating for two days.

Don't wait any longer, get the cat to the vet.

Dee

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Dee - 23 Jun 2003 18:56 GMT

Please forward this to anyone, anywhere who might be able to help.
Don't hesitate to write to me directly.

I haven't written about h0p since Friday because I was hoping to have some
news, either way, before I did. His bile acids are bad, bad.

* Everything * 'd was written after the original when the neurologist
called, sorry this is confusing.

* pre 90 something
* after 40 something

* albumens high

His oncologist thinks the phenobarb is doing it, so we had him back to the
neurologist. She's put him on a new medication so we can wean him off the
phenobarb, but we won't actually know if that's what's causing the liver
problem until we get the phenobarb level back. Both of them have said
that they have no idea what to do if that's not what's causing it...just
what I wanted to hear from two different specialists.

* Neurologist just called - it's definitely not the phenobarb - which
isn't good news because now nobody has any idea.

Anyone ever have an experience similar, or any idea of what might be causing
the liver problem if it's not the phenobarbital? Could IBD cause a liver
problem such as this? The neurologist says possibly, and perhaps we need to
treat with other drugs.

* h0p developed toxoplasmosis two years ago and has seizures because of
it. When this was diagnosed, we also found that he has a heart
murmer...probably his whole life. About two months ago he was diagnosed
with moderate IBD , and the liver problem. He'll go back to the vet
tomorrow (third time, third vet since Thursday) for a complete
blood/chem screen.

Denosyl and cyproheptadine (sp?) are the two drugs that have been added
since his original bile acids test two months ago

h0p is being treated with

30 mg. denosyl (possible to have an adverse reaction to this drug
that would cause liver problems?)

11.25 mg. phenobarb am and pm
5 mg. prednisone am
cyproheptadine 1 mg. (possible to have an adverse reaction to this drug
that would cause liver problems?)

flagy 6 ml. am & pm
pepcid 2 ml. am & pm
lactulose 1 ml. am & pm (just increased from .5 ml.)

Any help, any help at all would be appreciated.

Dee

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