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wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

wolfy339

Member

cat not eating

I have an approximately 12 year old cat with an inflamed kidney, the other kidney is normal. Cat in question has kidney disease. Vet did bloodwork on her and it came back inconclusive, however, she thinks it could be an infection and we are giving her antibiotics and an appetite stimulant among other meds. The cat has not eaten since Wednesday and my question is: what is the easiest way to get this cat to start eating?

Johkal
Cool Cat
MVM
join:2002-11-13
Pennsyltucky

Johkal

MVM

Cats often will not eat when they are sick. Hopefully the cat is drinking water. There is no way to force a cat to eat. Now, against better judgement, you could try giving the cat Fancy Feast canned food. This food is laughably called "kitty crack". A lot of cats go crazy for this stuff. It's not the preferable diet, but harmless for a quick fix. Just look at the labels & choose food in gravy with the ash content under 3%.

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz
446.4 4.0

2 recommendations

sashwa to wolfy339

Mod

to wolfy339
My Vet has always recommended Baby Food turkey or chicken when my animals are on an eating strike. Make sure you get a brand that does not use onion in in it. Or you could try wet cat food.

Another thing you could try is force feeding her/him wet food. Wrap her securely in a towel and use a syringe to force the food down her.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

wolfy339

Member

said by Johkal:

Cats often will not eat when they are sick. Hopefully the cat is drinking water. There is no way to force a cat to eat. Now, against better judgement, you could try giving the cat Fancy Feast canned food. This food is laughably called "kitty crack". A lot of cats go crazy for this stuff. It's not the preferable diet, but harmless for a quick fix. Just look at the labels & choose food in gravy with the ash content under 3%.

She has been drinking, atleast a little bit, we also have been hydrating her. She also has been urinating as well. We do have plain Fancy Feast (no gravy, she does not like the stuff with gravy). She also has been moving around on her own four paws.
said by sashwa:

My Vet has always recommended Baby Food turkey or chicken when my animals are on an eating strike. Make sure you get a brand that does not use onion in in it. Or you could try wet cat food.

Another thing you could try is force feeding her/him wet food. Wrap her securely in a towel and use a syringe to force the food down her.

Our vet also recommended the same thing with the baby food, however, baby food w/o onion/non-full meal is difficult to find. I have tried the force feeding, it seems to work and she seems to keep the food down, but would prefer not to do that if possible (i.e. I would like to get her eating on her own).

Johkal
Cool Cat
MVM
join:2002-11-13
Pennsyltucky

Johkal

MVM

How about a bit of catnip? I know my cats get all wired up & crazy & then have to drink water & get the munchies.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

1 edit

wolfy339

Member

said by Johkal:

How about a bit of catnip? I know my cats get all wired up & crazy & then have to drink water & get the munchies.

Good idea but not certain of how it would interact with the meds she is getting. Full list of meds: Antibiotic, probiotic, anti-nausea, appetite stimulant, phosphorus binder.

Johkal
Cool Cat
MVM
join:2002-11-13
Pennsyltucky

Johkal

MVM

Catnip is natural. Do a Google on interaction with catnip & xxxxx as see what you find.

Bruschi
Premium Member
join:2001-04-16
Cape Cod

Bruschi to wolfy339

Premium Member

to wolfy339
Try »naturesrecipe.com/cat-fo ··· n-broth/ my cats love this and »www.wellnesspetfood.com/ ··· ess.aspx
mocycler
Premium Member
join:2001-01-22

2 recommendations

mocycler to wolfy339

Premium Member

to wolfy339
My cat once got very sick, was throwing up, the whole bit. Vet said he had an inflamed pancreas, which apparently is somewhat common in cats and easy to treat if caught in time.

To jump-start his eating, the vet gave me some special canned food that stimulates the appetite. I filled a syringe (also from the vet) with a slurry made from the food mixed with milk, stuck it in kitty's mouth, and down it went without too much fuss. After a day or two he was eating on his own and fully recovered within a week.

By the way, the syringe trick is also a good way to give medication to a cat.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

2 edits

wolfy339

Member

said by mocycler:

My cat once got very sick, was throwing up, the whole bit. Vet said he had an inflamed pancreas, which apparently is somewhat common in cats and easy to treat if caught in time. ... After a day or two he was eating on his own and fully recovered within a week.

Most of the meds we have for her are in pill form, we have a pill popper and pill pockets (especially useful for pills that need to be split in quarters or halves). I am hoping that since it's just one kidney (the left one) that is inflamed and the other kidney (the right one) is normal it is just some sort of infection of that kidney which can be treated with the meds and she will respond the way your cat did. The timeline on this so far is that she stopped eating on Wednesday, we took her in to the vet that afternoon, the bloodwork results came back yesterday and we started her on meds yesterday afternoon
said by Johkal:

Catnip is natural. Do a Google on interaction with catnip & xxxxx as see what you find.

Unfortunately I have been able to find very little info aside from descriptions of the meds we are using to treat the cat.

Johkal
Cool Cat
MVM
join:2002-11-13
Pennsyltucky

2 edits

Johkal

MVM

* Good luck with your baby!

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz
446.4 4.0

1 edit

2 recommendations

sashwa to wolfy339

Mod

to wolfy339
Either Gerber or Beechnut baby foods have no onions in it - I can't remember which one. Sorry my old brain can't remember.

Edit: I just did a search on Google and it seems to be the Beechnut Baby Food that does not use onion powder in their foods.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

1 recommendation

wolfy339

Member

said by sashwa:

Either Gerber or Beechnut baby foods have no onions in it - I can't remember which one. Sorry my old brain can't remember.

Edit: I just did a search on Google and it seems to be the Beechnut Baby Food that does not use onion powder in their foods.

May be time to see if I can find some of that and give it to her. Bottom line here is she needs to eat something.

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz
446.4 4.0

sashwa to wolfy339

Mod

to wolfy339
The Wellness wet food that Bruschi posted about is also very good. It has no grain.

I started feeding my 18 yr old cat this about a year ago when she stopped eating. She loves it. I rotate between their chicken and turkey no grain formular. I get the one that is like the old-fashion wet cat food - ground up.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

wolfy339

Member

said by sashwa:

The Wellness wet food that Bruschi posted about is also very good.

May have to see if I can find some of that as well, but that may have to wait until she is eating before feeding it to her

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz

sashwa

Mod

I hope she starts eating soon. Let us know how it goes.

You will need to buy Wellness from a pet store as they don't sell it in the grocery store. If you have a Petco near you, they sell it.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

2 edits

wolfy339

Member

said by sashwa:

I hope she starts eating soon. Let us know how it goes.

I am hoping so too. Further, the original goal of this thread is to find out ways to get her to start eating. There is a part of me that looks at this situation and thinks that if it is an infection, as the vet seems to think it could be, part of what is happening is that the food we are putting down for her may not smell appetizing or she may not want to eat a lot due to not feeling well.

La Luna
Fly With The Angels My Beloved Son Chris
Premium Member
join:2001-07-12
New Port Richey, FL

1 recommendation

La Luna to wolfy339

Premium Member

to wolfy339
If she's still nauseous, that would explain the anorexia. Who wants to eat when they feel nauseous? You need to get that under control first.

You could try the water from canned tuna (WATER packed, not oil) which would be good for fluids and might jump start her appetite. If push comes to shove, you will HAVE to force feed her, you can't let a cat go long without eating, they aren't like dogs. I would start with the baby food meat, thinned down, 4 or 5 times a day with the syringe. If you can get her eating, your vet should be able to prescribe special canned food for kidney issues. Keep up with the fluids too, very important for kidney issues.

This is an elderly cat who may be going into kidney failure, which is not uncommon for older cats.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

1 edit

wolfy339

Member

Have force fed her a couple times, and given her approximately a bite or two of Fancy Feast each time (once last night and once this morning), but I don't want to keep doing this unless absolutely necessary. I must admit the possibility that she is going into kidney failure. As far as the nausea thats possible and I think that is at least part of the reason for the anti-nausea meds. I do now have a jar each of Gerber and Beechnut baby foods, will try feeding her this and see how things go. The question I have is: how much of the baby food should I attempt to feed the cat? I ask this as she has not, aside from what she has been force fed, eaten in about three days.

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz

sashwa

Mod

I think I would let her eat as much as she wants too.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

wolfy339

Member

Ended up force feeding her again, approx 2tbsp. Will probably put some (1 - 2tbsp) down on a plate (maybe tonight, more likely tomorrow) and see if she eats it. If she does, great, will probably put more down and go from there.

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz
446.4 4.0

sashwa

Mod

Can you leave some on plate overnight for her?

My old lady kitty has always had cafeteria feeding and always ate better at night. I can't do that now because Ben the Dog thinks he should be able to eat Sash's food as well as his own. So she now has meal times and she's not happy about that. But is learning to live with it. In the mornings now starting at 6am she screams her head off for me to get up and feed her. :-D

Hayward0
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium Member
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL

Hayward0 to wolfy339

Premium Member

to wolfy339
Not meaning to be cruel, but 12 years old... like dogs they age like 7 years for our one. Time is likely just coming. Not that efforts shouldn't be made... but it amazes me the extremes some pet owners will go to save just naturally passing lost animals..

I don't want to be kept on life support until someone decides no hope after it was long ago, I don't think animals do either. Even one good one kidney disease is serious and not sure there is dialysis for cats. But we can do with one can't they? Maybe remove the bad one and hope they other stays good.

In the end time Cherish the time left and begin to let go to nature.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

dandelion to wolfy339

MVM

to wolfy339
It is not too hard to build.. mine have a "cat ramp and ledge" it is a ramp going up to a small corner ledge in the laundry room where their cat food can sit out without dog interference. Good luck with her eating.. some food left out may help her to eat when she is in the mood however.

sashwa
Mod
join:2001-01-29
Alcatraz
446.4 4.0

1 recommendation

sashwa

Mod

Dandy, any ramp I would make for Sash to go eat on a counter would allow Ben to get there too and he would. He's only 14 to 15 lbs and not that much bigger than Sash. She will also only eat on the floor for some reason other than that is where she has always eaten.

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

1 recommendation

dandelion

MVM

Cats are strange creatures... each one different. I have a medium size dog which couldn't manage our cat ramp and in fact, wouldn't know how i.e. any dog that steps foot in the laundry room gets a hiss and definite indication they are unwanted. My daughter's pit bull when visiting ran out of the room with tail tucked between her legs.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

wolfy339 to Hayward0

Member

to Hayward0
said by Hayward0:

Not meaning to be cruel, but 12 years old... like dogs they age like 7 years for our one. Time is likely just coming. Not that efforts shouldn't be made... but it amazes me the extremes some pet owners will go to save just naturally passing lost animals..

I don't want to be kept on life support until someone decides no hope after it was long ago, I don't think animals do either. Even one good one kidney disease is serious and not sure there is dialysis for cats. But we can do with one can't they? Maybe remove the bad one and hope they other stays good.

Understood, and it may indeed be her time, need I remind you though that the blood test results were inconclusive so it is not known for certain whether it is the kidney disease or not that is causing this. Thus the effort to attempt to save her.
said by Hayward0:

In the end time Cherish the time left and begin to let go to nature.

Hear, hear.
wolfy339

1 recommendation

wolfy339 to dandelion

Member

to dandelion
At this point in time we are leaving Fancy Feast (her regular wet food) on a plate for her
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20 to Johkal

Premium Member

to Johkal
said by Johkal:

Cats often will not eat when they are sick. Hopefully the cat is drinking water. There is no way to force a cat to eat. Now, against better judgement, you could try giving the cat Fancy Feast canned food. This food is laughably called "kitty crack". A lot of cats go crazy for this stuff. It's not the preferable diet, but harmless for a quick fix. Just look at the labels & choose food in gravy with the ash content under 3%.

Why do you say Fancy Feast is bad? My ten year old cat eats a diet of one-half can of Fancy Feast fish and shrimp flaked and one-fourth cup of 4Health indoor dry food with the two combined in the evening. I used to feed Science Diet mature indoor dry but then 4Health became available and it has no corn/cornmeal and chicken is the main ingredient. I've read on many sites that have tried to analyze cat food that Fancy Feast fish and shrimp flaked is one of the very best wet foods (and 4Health gets praise also).

NONE of the other Fancy Feast ones should be fed (except as a treat or in a case of sick cat not eating) because all of them except fish and shrimp flaked have liver byproduct usually as the second ingredient. The only flavor that immediately sells out in Target and Wal-Mart when they have sales on Fancy Feast is the fish and shrimp flaked. The stores simply can't keep it in stock but they have lots of all the bad ones all the time. So, I guess I am not the only person who has researched this or had their vet recommend it. My cat is so much happier since I have been feeding her a combination of wet and dry instead of all dry. Her coat has always been thick and nice but now it is more glossy.
wolfy339
join:2005-04-30
Edmonds, WA

wolfy339

Member

said by Mele20:

NONE of the other Fancy Feast ones should be fed (except as a treat or in a case of sick cat not eating) because all of them except fish and shrimp flaked have liver byproduct usually as the second ingredient.

Didn't know that.