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Cat Forum / General Topics / August 2004Cat has stopped eating
Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his yearly shots: Rabies Leukemia FIP Distemper They also drew blood to test for FIV (it was negative). We brought him home and everything seemed fine. He ate Monday night and also ate on Tuesday. I woke up on Wednesday and he wouldn't eat for me (he only eats canned food) and he has not eaten since. He threw up a couple times on Thursday and Friday (and had a little diarreha on Friday) so we took him back to the vet Friday night and they did full blood work (everything was normal) on him and gave him the following: Cimetidine Injection - 150mg/ml Prochlorperazine Injection - 5mg/ml Fecal test (negative) I was told these would help with his stomach acid and his gas and that he should then start eating again. Well, he didn't. He seemed to pep up a bit after the shots but he still won't eat. We took him back to the vet Sunday morning and they gave him a full set of x-rays (with Barium) and gave him the following: Fluid Therapy - Normosol Diphenhydramine Inj. 50mg/ml Vitamin B-Complex They found nothing wrong in the x-rays and we were told the fluids and the Vitamin B should get his appetite going and that he should start eating again. I tried feeding him this morning and he still won't eat. We have tried his favorite "people" foods (chicken, honeydew melon, Cheerios) and he won't even eat those. He has always been a finicky cat and has gone a couple days without eating before but never anything like this. He's now been to the vet 3 times in the past week and they can't find anything physically wrong with him. He has already lost a couple of pounds and he just has no energy. The vet said that if he doesn't start eating again by tomorrow, we should bring him back on Wednesday and they would give him something else to get him to eat (I forgot what it was). Has this happened to anyone else before? He is an indoor cat and nothing has changed in his environment. We are really starting to get worried. LVIII Sounds like you are doing all the right things. But what about force-feeding? There is a Science Diet super-high-calorie goop you could use, and also electrolyte solution (I have used Electramine, gotten from the Vet). There is such a thing as cat anorexia! In any case, cats must not be allowed to not eat. Hepatic lipidosis can set in after only a few days. www.mimiforsyth.com >Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his >yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > >LVIII It is good that you are keeping the vet involved in this, it is a serious problem. Is the chicken warm when you serve it? It should be. Have you tried fish? I have tried cod and tuna, not together, cooked and served warm. Cats have to smell to eat, that might be why the vet tried some of those shots. Is he breathing okay? Any sneezing or running eyes? Perhaps you should get a second opinion from another vet clinic. Most good vets would not be insulted by this. Personally, I would call my local shelter. The vets there see a different mix of problems and can sometimes diagnose something that a regular vet missed. It does sound like your vet is doing a good job in trying. > >Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his > >yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 59 lines] > sometimes diagnose something that a regular vet missed. It does sound > like your vet is doing a good job in trying. I haven't seen this idea in all the replies...have you ruled out teeth/dental problems? Shirley While you're looking for the cause, I would force-feed him immediately. Cats have to keep eating or they develop fatty liver disease in a hurry. They can't go more than a couple of days without nutrition. I would liquify food in a blender and start syringing it in right away. Try tuna, sardines, anything that he might eat. I've wrapped a cat in a towel to force-feed so I wouldn't get scratched. Good luck getting food into him. Rhonda > Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his > yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > LVIII > Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 > year old cat to Banfield This was your first mistake. IMO Banfield is one of the worst vet franchises out there and I would recommend you find another clinic ASAP. >for his yearly shots: This is the second problem. Basic shots should *not* be given yearly and it is now recommended that rabies and distemper be given every *3* years. The fact that this clinic is not following the new vaccine protocols is further proof of their incompetence. > Rabies > Leukemia > FIP > Distemper My god, this is unbelieveable! NO clinic should give a cat *four* vaccines at the same time!!!! It puts way too much stress on their immune system and is very likely the reason your cat got so sick. Furthermore, why are you vaccinating for leukemia and FIP?? Unless your *indoor* cat is at a *high* risk for leukemia (outdoor cat with constant, prolonged exposure to other cats) leukemia is not recomended as it is believed to be a high risk for causing vaccine related fibrosarcoma. Add to that the fact that the vaccine is not 100% effective but more like 80-85%. Also, this vet should be shot for administering or even recommending the FIP vaccine. It has been shown to not only be inneffective, but in some cases actually *causes* FIP. NO *competent* vet will recommend or administer this vaccine. I am so disgusted with this vet I can't even begin to put what I'm thinking into words... > They also drew blood to test for FIV (it > was negative). [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > Vitamin B should get his appetite going > and that he should start eating again. It's so much easier for them to charge you for all these unnecessary tests and meds rather than simply admit they made this cat sick with all the vaccines... >I > tried feeding him this morning and he [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > something else to get him to eat (I > forgot what it was). Please don't bring this cat back to this clinic. They are INCOMPETENT and at this rate your cat will be dead. > Has this happened to anyone else before? > He is an indoor cat and nothing has > changed in his environment. We are > really starting to get worried. 1. Get a syringe, puree some canned food or use plain meat baby food and start force feeding him. You should try to get at least a 6 ounce can of food into him each day, more if you can. Go by the amount of food needed rather than how many syringes you give as syringes look like they hold more food than they really do. One trick I used was to puree canned food and put it in a babyfood jar, which holds about 2 ounces. Three or four of those spread out throughout the day worked well when I had to force feed a sick cat and I didn't have to count how many syringefuls I administered or measure exact amounts. The vet should have had you doing this last week! At this point your cat is probably developing hepatic lipidosis and the unbelievable incompetence of this vet is the cause. Please find another vet ASAP and have your cats liver values checked. The current vet made this cat sick and is *not* helping it at all. Megan  Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray This post has some valuable information in it, obviously from someone who knows what they're talking about. > > Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 > > year old cat to Banfield [quoted text clipped - 131 lines] > > - W.H. Murray sorta what Megan said though I have no experience with that chain of clinics. You can post your query in alt.med.veterinary if you like, but my vet (who I'm neither particularly thrilled nor pissed about) would *not* do all the shots series at the same time (and wasn't charging per visit for shots, either). pat > Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his > yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > LVIII > Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his > yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > LVIII We ended up taking him back to the vet yesterday and still no change. They gave him a shot of valium and that was supposed to get his appetite going but it didn't. They ended up taking more blood to test his thyroid and then they will compare the results with the bloodwork from last week to see if there are any noticable changes. They're sending his x-rays out to a specialist to see if they missed anything on them. If they can't find anything wrong, they said the next step will be to scope his throat (they have to put him under for that) so they can see if anything is wrong down there that didn't show up on the x-rays. After that, they mentioned taking him to an internist? They gave us some liquid food that we can give him with a syringe. Throughout the night we were able to get him to down about 2 1/2 syringes full but he still won't eat. We're able to tell he's hungry but just won't eat. I warmed some chicken for him last night and he smelled it and licked it but didn't eat it. We then gave him some tuna (his absolute favorite) and he drank the water from it but wouldn't eat any of it. LVIII > > Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his > > yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 64 lines] > > LVIII I am really concerned about this. The cat had 4 vaccinations at one time, and that alone could make a cat very ill. Think about how you would feel if you had 4 powerful injections at one time. Since the vaccines have suppressed your cat's appetite, you are now in a "vicious cycle" and must force feed until his appetite returns. All these tests are unnecessary and are simply putting the cat under more stress -- which makes the problem even worse. It appears that your vet has done nothing to educate you on the dangers of a cat not eating and or on showing you how to force feed the cat, and it is dangerous for a cat to go even a couple of days without eating. Just giving the cat injections of appetite stimulant is not enough. You are obviously trying to do your very best for this cat. Please look for another vet ASAP. Any vet that would give a cat 4 powerful vaccinations at the same time is not a vet that I would ever want to use again. It is unbelievable to me that a vet would first administer too much medication, then call for a whole panel of stressful tests, and yet do nothing about the underlying problem of lack appetite (which was undoubtedly caused by the vet's actions in the first place). I would also suggest that you repost in rec.pets.cats.health+behav. That group has a lot more traffic, and I think you would get some feedback from some very knowldgeable people. MaryL (take out the litter to reply) Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly) http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in") What happened with your cat? How is he doing? Rhonda >>Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his >>yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 64 lines] > > LVIII > What happened with your cat? How is he doing? > > Rhonda Sorry, I didn't get a chance to post a followup. On my way home from work on Tuesday I stopped by KFC and brought home some chicken for him. He ate! Not a lot but he did eat. My wife also brought some when she came home and he ate that also. By Wednesday night we had him back on his normal food and he's been eating good since then. I'm really thinking about making photocopies of all my bills and sending them off to Banfield corporate with a nasty letter. I called a couple other vets in the area and although they couldn't tell me exactly what was wrong, they both thought it most likely had to do with Banfield giving him all his shots at once. Banfield never even considered that as a cause and just kept poking, prodding, and pumping him full of medication. :( LVIII > > What happened with your cat? How is he doing? > > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > LVIII Thanks for posting an update. This is pretty much what some of us thought, and I'm glad to hear that your cat is eating again. Time for a new vet -- ASAP! MaryL Glad he's better! That was quite a scare. I would be very upset with Banfield. Did you let the vet know that it looks like the problem was all of the shots? At the very least, they should be made aware so that they don't do it to someone else's cat. I can't believe they gave all of those at once, and a couple of unnecessary vaccinations tossed in. Thanks for letting us know your guy is getting better. Rhonda >>What happened with your cat? How is he doing? >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > LVIII I dont think I would let them keep pumping stuff into him until they find out what *is* wrong with him it might do him more harm than good having all that different medicine inside him Good luck and maybe you should try another vet JeanP > Last Monday (August 9) we took our 8 year old cat to Banfield for his > yearly shots: [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > LVIII > I dont think I would let them keep pumping stuff into him until they find > out what *is* wrong with him it might do him more harm than good [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] >> >> LVIII zuzu22 seems to know the 'vet' and if what was written is half true, then dump the `vet. We had a `vet`, who had all the bells and whistles but gave the same (virtually word for word)diagnosis for our Cluseau (cat-lad) as our Georgie Girl(now sadly gone) dog-lass!!! Lots of $$$ needed of course. We fortunately had a new vet arrive in town and he seems to be an improvement. We`ll see! Re: not eating the cat food..quality control is not what it ought to be, so there is a deal of change in `flavour` etc. Our lad refused to eat every now and then and it dawned on me that he might be a bit tender in the mouth. I ground up a 250mg Vit C tab and mixed it with _fresh_ custard. Then gave him a tip-of-my-finger taste by dabbing it onto his mouth. He decided it was not too bad and finally got stuck into it from the dish. The same afternoon he started to eat his regular food and next morning I gave him another 250mg the same way with even faster, "hey I like that stuff", results. Now at the first sign of his knocking back, `reasonable` food I give him the Vit C. He now even goes to the cupboard where I keep the Vitamin C, apparently when he thinks he needs it. (I know - I`m nuts) Also the VC clears up other mouth problems such as the little sores that cats seem to get now and then under their chins. Plastic etc waterbowls are a nono too as it seems they cause some types of dermatitus and mouth sores. Use stoneware. lots of luck TPC Signature"Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... the only one that can be mass-produced with unskilled labor." - Werner von Braun - > > I dont think I would let them keep pumping stuff into him until they find > > out what *is* wrong with him it might do him more harm than good [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] > "Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... the only one > that can be mass-produced with unskilled labor." > - Werner von Braun - I did'nt know you could give a cat V C. Also has the cat been checked for hyperthyriodism? ..Just a thought.
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