cat - Loss of appetite

CatBanter (http://www.catbanter.com/index.php)

- Cat health & behaviour (http://www.catbanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5)

- - Loss of appetite (http://www.catbanter.com/showthread.php?t=65263)

Loss of appetite

Hi there,

My 7 year old neutered longhair male tabby Sasha has suddenly lost his
appetite. He has been an indoor cat all his life. Sasha is normally a
ravenous eater and eats dry kibble throughout the day and 1/2 a can of
Fancy Feast in the morning and at night. Recently he won't eat any
solid food at all. He just looks at it, licks his lips and runs away.

I took him to the vet who said his blood work was normal. He also took
x-rays which showed everything as normal except for an white fuzzy spot
in his intestine, which he suspects may be a mass causing the cause of
his loss of appetite. Sasha normally vomits out his hair once a week,
and because I can't remember when he last did this, I suspect this mass
is his own hair.

The vet prescrbed some Amoxil anibiotic and 1ml of Lactalose to help
him eliminate the mass. The vet also said tto watch for vomiting, as
this would indicate a worsening condition warranting a barium x-ray.

Right now, Sasha is still energetic, drinks water, doesn't vomit, and
is very alert. I hope that everything goes OK, and he starts to eat
soon. I am always reminded by the vet of fatty liver disease. It's been
about 3 days already, since I last saw him eat solid food. I started
the lactulose today, and I'm hoping he eliminates whatever problem he
has in his intestine.

Has anyone else ever had this happen to their cat? I would appreciate
any suggestions .

Thanks

Loss of appetite

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there,

My 7 year old neutered longhair male tabby Sasha has suddenly lost his
appetite. He has been an indoor cat all his life. Sasha is normally a
ravenous eater and eats dry kibble throughout the day and 1/2 a can of
Fancy Feast in the morning and at night. Recently he won't eat any
solid food at all. He just looks at it, licks his lips and runs away.

I took him to the vet who said his blood work was normal. He also took
x-rays which showed everything as normal except for an white fuzzy spot
in his intestine, which he suspects may be a mass causing the cause of
his loss of appetite. Sasha normally vomits out his hair once a week,
and because I can't remember when he last did this, I suspect this mass
is his own hair.

The vet prescrbed some Amoxil anibiotic and 1ml of Lactalose to help
him eliminate the mass. The vet also said tto watch for vomiting, as
this would indicate a worsening condition warranting a barium x-ray.

Right now, Sasha is still energetic, drinks water, doesn't vomit, and
is very alert. I hope that everything goes OK, and he starts to eat
soon. I am always reminded by the vet of fatty liver disease. It's been
about 3 days already, since I last saw him eat solid food.

I'm assuming you took him to the vet today and the vet felt it was justified
to send him home without hosptalizing him. I don't think you should wait
for him to start eating on his own. You are right to be concerned about the
onset of fatty liver due to his loss of appetite. Offer canned tuna or
chicken baby food to stimulate his appetite. Warming it up a bit helps too.
If he won't eat that then ask your vet for a 35 ml catheter tip syringe and
A/D food and syringe feed him at home. He should eat a mimimum of one can
of A/D daily and preferably more. I wouldn't wait too long before bringing
him back to the vet if he does not resume eating.

J. dvm

I started
the lactulose today, and I'm hoping he eliminates whatever problem he
has in his intestine.

Has anyone else ever had this happen to their cat? I would appreciate
any suggestions .

Thanks

Loss of appetite

Thanks for the advice.

Actually, he came back from the vet yesterday. The vet didn't feel that
it was necessary to hospitalize him, and wanted to try him as an
outpatient at home with the antibiotics and Lactulose.

He is very uncooperative with syringe feeding of his medication, and I
hope I don't have to resort to syringe feeding him food as well. Now,
he is very wary of me approaching him, because I have to hold him very
firmly in order to give him the medication.

I will try the tuna and chicken baby food tonight and see how it goes.

Thanks again.

Loss of appetite

You know something is wrong, and sometimes it takes more than one vet to
find it. I would definitely take her to another vet today for a second
opinion. She's counting on you to be persistent to get to the bottom of
the problem!

Good luck,

Rhonda

wrote:

Well, Sasha never ate any of the tuna.
Now I've started to syringe feed my buddy Hill's A/D from the vet.
Hopefully his
appetite will return soon. He still drinks water OK and doesn't vomit.
Also, his behaviour is still the same as normal, except for a decrease
in his activity level.

I still don't know why he stopped eating all of a sudden.

Loss of appetite