Expert Vet Advice Needed
As you know my cat Elvis is having a crisis. He stopped eating when my husband's cat started to decline. His labs came back normal and he was given antibiotics and he started to eat a bit. Around the time of Zetti's death, he stopped eating again! He then had more labs, an x-ray and an ultrasound and everything came back normal again. In the meantime, he started to eat again and we were hopeful. Today, however, he is once again hunched in a corner which is where he goes when he's not feeling well and has stopped eating AGAIN. This is his third episode. Because he's lost so much weight with the previous episodes, he can not go too long without eating. Everyone is stumped. What are we missing?
Labels: felidae
8 Comments:
It is necessary to to be something psychological.
Try to caress it often and to have it in arms providing that it could.
The fondness, in these cases, is the best medicine.
Cordial regards
Hi Wendy. I am an emergency veterinarian in Oregon. Karen Miller asked me to stop by and see if I could give you some advice.
It can sometimes be very difficult to figure out what may be going on with an animal - especially since they can't talk and let us know how they are feeling. Not having seen his lab work I can not comment on that but it certainly sounds like he has had a thorough work-up.
How old is he? How close was he to your other kitty? How many cats do you have? What was the diagnosis of your husband's cat? Is he an indoor only cat or does he go outside?
Some things off the top of my head - has he been checked for felv/fiv? Has he been tested for FIP?
There are some drugs that can be given to help increase appetite - specifically cyproheptadine. This would need to be prescribed by your veterinarian.
There is a great website with a lot of information called Veterinary Partner. You can go there to research disease conditions and drug information.
I'm no expert unfortunately, just have the experience of my own little guy who slipped away from us last year. If Elvis was already losing weight and dehydrated when the Xray and ultrasound were performed, then they may have given a false negative. I have a feeling I was dealing with an inept veterinary radiologist, but he gave me some song and dance about how much harder it is to see anything when a cat has lost body mass. Also, make sure his blood sugar numbers are coming back normal; we didn't realize just how diabetic Jordan had become until it was too late. Sending healing thoughts and hugs your way!
I am sure he is very depressed :-( It is hard for then just like us especially if he has been around him his whole life. As far as the food part goes I would try to get him to eat, try new foods, specail treats, all that good stuff because when cats stop eating they can develope problems like a fatty liver.
For the depression I would recommend spending more time with him, get him some more toys, maybe a new cat... I would suggest that you contact a behavioralist and they might have some ideas on what to do for him in this rough time. But make sure to give extra loves :-) I hope I have helped a little... have a good day and I send good vibes your way!
~Courtney
Oh Wendy, I am sorry to read that Elvis is not eating again. I wish that I could give you some advice or help in some way.
Hopefully, this blog post might just be the thing that can give you some information that may be able to help him. It looks as though you already do have comments which are worth following up.
Wising you all the best as you try and find out what is causing Elvis to stop eating.
Lots of love
Elise
It sounds like poor Elvis is really missing Zetti! Will he let you hold him? Can you hand feed him? Maybe some TLC like that would help him, and at least get nourishment into him. I wish you the best of luck. My cat Mercedes lived to be 20, and now I have two other kitties that I love so much. It really hurts when we lose a furbaby, and I believe even animals feel that!
So sorry to hear about this situation...I hope things improve!
It sounds like grief to me, since the physical tests keep coming back normal. Grief can't be cured, of course. The best we can do is to sit lovingly with one another during it, so I guess I ditto others who emphasized loving attention and companionship. Yours won't be a substitute for Zetti's, but it will take some of the sting out. Also, cats have the intelligence and vocabulary of 3-4 year olds, so maybe you can talk to him a little about what he's experiencing...like you would with a young child.
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