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Old May 12th, 2009, 05:14 AM
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MOOSEDRY MOOSEDRY is offline
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cat not eating much

hi all.

had patsy, my 13 year old, to the vet last week as her appetite was slowly decreasing, then she stopped eating all together. they did bloodwork, and said nothing showed up, and that her white count was "excellent". she was there all day while i was working, and during the day they gave her sub-cu fluids to keep her hydrated. my vet is a very experienced doc, and she said she could find no reason why patsy was behaving this way, but thought she may have a mild infection somewhere in her digestive tract, and started her on antibiotics as a precaution.

i brought patsy home, and she ate a little food (she wouldn't eat all day at the vet's). over the last week, her appetite is still not up to snuff, and then this morning, she barely touched breakfast (took a few licks and walked away). i kept her locked in a room with me overnite last nite to observe her, and she did get up a few times to take a few bites of food, but that was it. even with that, she only ended up eating about half of her suppertime meal.

she only went in the litter box once thru the nite, and only produced a small, dry looking lump of poo (about 1/2 inch long), and didn't pee. i did notice yesterday during the day she was drinking quite a bit of water.

she is an outdoor cat, but yesterday when i let her out, all she did was lay down in the backyard - usually she'd be romping around and exploring. she is certainly not her usual chipper self.

i am just waiting now to take her back in to the vet's. any ideas anybody? i've never had a cat this old, so i don't know what kinds of things to look for...

tracy :sad:
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Old May 12th, 2009, 06:45 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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It sounds like your kitty is dehydrated, maybe even constipated. Are you feeding her dry or canned food? Did the vet check her tummy to see if there was any blockage/build up of feces?

I personally, would hold off on the antibiotics until there is a more definite diagnosis, they can make your cat nauseous and loose her appitite and because she is not eating now, you don't want to make it worse. Bloodwork would normally show up if the immune system is reacting to an infection somewhere in the body.

Did the vet check her teeth, any drooling or problems swallowing?

Was it a full blood panel that the vet did? Check her thyroid and kidneys?
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Old May 12th, 2009, 07:02 AM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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I totally agree with everything Love4himies said, especially the part about stopping the antibiotics. I'd love to know the vet's logic behind prescribing antibiotics to an inappetant cat when there was no clear reason to. This is not going to help her to eat, and may make it worse.

Your cat must eat, so maybe try some plain meat baby food mixed with a bit of warm water, or some no-salt-added canned salmon to jump-start her appetite. 1/4 tsp of slippery elm bark powder added to the baby food will help if there is a constipation issue.
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Old May 12th, 2009, 02:07 PM
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MOOSEDRY MOOSEDRY is offline
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thanks, sugar cat and love4

hi gang.

patsy is at the vet's (had to leave her there). dropped her off at around 2pm, now it is 4:00. the blood work she had done last week was a full panel. they are going to take xrays. the problem is not with her mouth/teeth, as the doc checked that. there's no drooling. although she is not lethargic, she is definitely lacking energy.

i'm concerned to hear about the antibiotics maybe making her lack of appetite worse. i'm not going to give her any more of those.

here's hoping they find something to solve the mystery! will post results of vet visit later.

thanks for listening.
tracy
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Old May 12th, 2009, 02:23 PM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Sending some for her.
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Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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