Help! Cat not eating!

My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an operation
to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we had
"gotten it all," 2 weeks ago we noticed another growth in the same area and so
booked him for another operation.

The operation happened last Saturday. Since he's come home (it's been a week
now), he's had absolutely no interest in food whatsoever. I brought him back to
the vet on Monday, 2 days after the operation, when I became frightened by his
loss of appeitite. The vet gave him fluids, antibiotic and a pain shot and
asked me to bring him back on Tuesday, when she did more or less the same
thing. She's done blood workups and urine tests numerous times. It always comes
back with the same normal results.

In the meantime, I tried all the old standbys to stimuate my cat's appetite
(human food that he likes, heating up his food, tunafish, etc.) and finally
managed to get my cat to lick baby food off of my finger. He won't lick it off
a plate, just off my finger. I noticed that he makes a horrible grinding noise
when he tries to chew a glob of baby food, and thought that there might be some
sort of dental problem that might be the cause of his appetite loss. I brought
him back to the vet today (Saturday) where he got more fluids, more antibiotics
and a teeth cleaning that indicated that no teeth were loose. And of course, he
still doesn't want to eat.

So far this has cost roughly $1300, and I still have no idea why my cat isn't
eating. Neither does my vet, who doesn't seem terribly concerned that it's been
a week since my cat had a meal. This didn't happen after his first operation,
and since my cat has been a real chow-hound all his life, I'm very worried
about his total disinterest in eating.

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

One thing you can do: ask the vet about Periactin/cyproheptadine (generic).
It's an antihistamine for humans, but often works well as an appetite
stimulant for cats.

Another idea: pick up a can of "Hill's Precription Diet a/d" at the vet's
(it isn't sold in pet supply stores): it's a canned food made esp. for
convalescing or sick animals. Many cats love the stuff. It has a very fine
consistency & can be force-fed through a syringe (works better if slightly
diluted w/ a little water), or the cat may actually like it enough to lick
it off your finger or a spoon.

I'd also be worried if my cat had no appetite for a full week, & that
grinding noise sounds odd. Another option is to take him (your cat) to
another vet, esp. an oncologist or internist - or even just another general
vet, & get a second opinion. You could ask the present vet for a referral,
or just call on your own. If satisfied w/ the 2nd vet, ask to have copies
of all of your cat's recent paperwork sent over.

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

"EmpowerPR" wrote in message
...
My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an
operation
to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we
had
"gotten it all," 2 weeks ago we noticed another growth in the same area
and so
booked him for another operation.

The operation happened last Saturday. Since he's come home (it's been a
week
now), he's had absolutely no interest in food whatsoever. I brought him
back to
the vet on Monday, 2 days after the operation, when I became frightened by
his
loss of appeitite. The vet gave him fluids, antibiotic and a pain shot and
asked me to bring him back on Tuesday, when she did more or less the same
thing. She's done blood workups and urine tests numerous times. It always
comes
back with the same normal results.

In the meantime, I tried all the old standbys to stimuate my cat's
appetite
(human food that he likes, heating up his food, tunafish, etc.) and
finally
managed to get my cat to lick baby food off of my finger. He won't lick it
off
a plate, just off my finger. I noticed that he makes a horrible grinding
noise
when he tries to chew a glob of baby food, and thought that there might be
some
sort of dental problem that might be the cause of his appetite loss. I
brought
him back to the vet today (Saturday) where he got more fluids, more
antibiotics
and a teeth cleaning that indicated that no teeth were loose. And of
course, he
still doesn't want to eat.

So far this has cost roughly $1300, and I still have no idea why my cat
isn't
eating. Neither does my vet, who doesn't seem terribly concerned that it's
been
a week since my cat had a meal. This didn't happen after his first
operation,
and since my cat has been a real chow-hound all his life, I'm very worried
about his total disinterest in eating.

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

One thing you can do: ask the vet about Periactin/cyproheptadine (generic).
It's an antihistamine for humans, but often works well as an appetite
stimulant for cats.

Another idea: pick up a can of "Hill's Precription Diet a/d" at the vet's
(it isn't sold in pet supply stores): it's a canned food made esp. for
convalescing or sick animals. Many cats love the stuff. It has a very fine
consistency & can be force-fed through a syringe (works better if slightly
diluted w/ a little water), or the cat may actually like it enough to lick
it off your finger or a spoon.

I'd also be worried if my cat had no appetite for a full week, & that
grinding noise sounds odd. Another option is to take him (your cat) to
another vet, esp. an oncologist or internist - or even just another general
vet, & get a second opinion. You could ask the present vet for a referral,
or just call on your own. If satisfied w/ the 2nd vet, ask to have copies
of all of your cat's recent paperwork sent over.

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

"EmpowerPR" wrote in message
...
My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an
operation
to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we
had
"gotten it all," 2 weeks ago we noticed another growth in the same area
and so
booked him for another operation.

The operation happened last Saturday. Since he's come home (it's been a
week
now), he's had absolutely no interest in food whatsoever. I brought him
back to
the vet on Monday, 2 days after the operation, when I became frightened by
his
loss of appeitite. The vet gave him fluids, antibiotic and a pain shot and
asked me to bring him back on Tuesday, when she did more or less the same
thing. She's done blood workups and urine tests numerous times. It always
comes
back with the same normal results.

In the meantime, I tried all the old standbys to stimuate my cat's
appetite
(human food that he likes, heating up his food, tunafish, etc.) and
finally
managed to get my cat to lick baby food off of my finger. He won't lick it
off
a plate, just off my finger. I noticed that he makes a horrible grinding
noise
when he tries to chew a glob of baby food, and thought that there might be
some
sort of dental problem that might be the cause of his appetite loss. I
brought
him back to the vet today (Saturday) where he got more fluids, more
antibiotics
and a teeth cleaning that indicated that no teeth were loose. And of
course, he
still doesn't want to eat.

So far this has cost roughly $1300, and I still have no idea why my cat
isn't
eating. Neither does my vet, who doesn't seem terribly concerned that it's
been
a week since my cat had a meal. This didn't happen after his first
operation,
and since my cat has been a real chow-hound all his life, I'm very worried
about his total disinterest in eating.

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 03:14:07 +0000, EmpowerPR wrote:

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

Yeah, be careful with that baby food. They sometimes like to put onion
in it, which from what I am reading can cause Heinz body anemia in cats.
Normally a lick or so may not be an issue, but if kitty isn't eating....

As far as elsewise, you are probably looking forward to force feeding your
cat to keep him alive.

Perhaps catnip is also an option to get his energy up?

--
Dennis Carr - | I may be out of my mind,
http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way.
------------------------------------+-------------------------------

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 03:14:07 +0000, EmpowerPR wrote:

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

Yeah, be careful with that baby food. They sometimes like to put onion
in it, which from what I am reading can cause Heinz body anemia in cats.
Normally a lick or so may not be an issue, but if kitty isn't eating....

As far as elsewise, you are probably looking forward to force feeding your
cat to keep him alive.

Perhaps catnip is also an option to get his energy up?

--
Dennis Carr - | I may be out of my mind,
http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way.
------------------------------------+-------------------------------

in article , Cathy Friedmann at
wrote on 3/27/04 9:31 PM:

One thing you can do: ask the vet about Periactin/cyproheptadine (generic).
It's an antihistamine for humans, but often works well as an appetite
stimulant for cats.

Another idea: pick up a can of "Hill's Precription Diet a/d" at the vet's
(it isn't sold in pet supply stores): it's a canned food made esp. for
convalescing or sick animals. Many cats love the stuff. It has a very fine
consistency & can be force-fed through a syringe (works better if slightly
diluted w/ a little water), or the cat may actually like it enough to lick
it off your finger or a spoon.

I'd also be worried if my cat had no appetite for a full week, & that
grinding noise sounds odd. Another option is to take him (your cat) to
another vet, esp. an oncologist or internist - or even just another general
vet, & get a second opinion. You could ask the present vet for a referral,
or just call on your own. If satisfied w/ the 2nd vet, ask to have copies
of all of your cat's recent paperwork sent over.

Cathy

I'd be worried that the vet is not worried. I'd get a/d and possibly see a
second vet.

Karen

in article , Cathy Friedmann at
wrote on 3/27/04 9:31 PM:

One thing you can do: ask the vet about Periactin/cyproheptadine (generic).
It's an antihistamine for humans, but often works well as an appetite
stimulant for cats.

Another idea: pick up a can of "Hill's Precription Diet a/d" at the vet's
(it isn't sold in pet supply stores): it's a canned food made esp. for
convalescing or sick animals. Many cats love the stuff. It has a very fine
consistency & can be force-fed through a syringe (works better if slightly
diluted w/ a little water), or the cat may actually like it enough to lick
it off your finger or a spoon.

I'd also be worried if my cat had no appetite for a full week, & that
grinding noise sounds odd. Another option is to take him (your cat) to
another vet, esp. an oncologist or internist - or even just another general
vet, & get a second opinion. You could ask the present vet for a referral,
or just call on your own. If satisfied w/ the 2nd vet, ask to have copies
of all of your cat's recent paperwork sent over.

Cathy

I'd be worried that the vet is not worried. I'd get a/d and possibly see a
second vet.

Karen

EmpowerPR wrote:

My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an operation
to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we had
"gotten it all," 2 weeks ago we noticed another growth in the same area and so
booked him for another operation.

The operation happened last Saturday. Since he's come home (it's been a week
now), he's had absolutely no interest in food whatsoever. I brought him back to
the vet on Monday, 2 days after the operation, when I became frightened by his
loss of appeitite. The vet gave him fluids, antibiotic and a pain shot and
asked me to bring him back on Tuesday, when she did more or less the same
thing. She's done blood workups and urine tests numerous times. It always comes
back with the same normal results.

In the meantime, I tried all the old standbys to stimuate my cat's appetite
(human food that he likes, heating up his food, tunafish, etc.) and finally
managed to get my cat to lick baby food off of my finger. He won't lick it off
a plate, just off my finger. I noticed that he makes a horrible grinding noise
when he tries to chew a glob of baby food, and thought that there might be some
sort of dental problem that might be the cause of his appetite loss. I brought
him back to the vet today (Saturday) where he got more fluids, more antibiotics
and a teeth cleaning that indicated that no teeth were loose. And of course, he
still doesn't want to eat.

So far this has cost roughly $1300, and I still have no idea why my cat isn't
eating. Neither does my vet, who doesn't seem terribly concerned that it's been
a week since my cat had a meal. This didn't happen after his first operation,
and since my cat has been a real chow-hound all his life, I'm very worried
about his total disinterest in eating.

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

Get a second opinion, hopefully from a clinic that specializes in feline
care.

Not eating for a week is an issue the vet should be concerned about and
providing you and your cat with help on.

--
"Its the bugs that keep it running."
-Joe Canuck

EmpowerPR wrote:

My 18 year old cat has cancer. Several months ago he went through an operation
to remove a cancerous growth on his abdomen. While we were hopeful that we had
"gotten it all," 2 weeks ago we noticed another growth in the same area and so
booked him for another operation.

The operation happened last Saturday. Since he's come home (it's been a week
now), he's had absolutely no interest in food whatsoever. I brought him back to
the vet on Monday, 2 days after the operation, when I became frightened by his
loss of appeitite. The vet gave him fluids, antibiotic and a pain shot and
asked me to bring him back on Tuesday, when she did more or less the same
thing. She's done blood workups and urine tests numerous times. It always comes
back with the same normal results.

In the meantime, I tried all the old standbys to stimuate my cat's appetite
(human food that he likes, heating up his food, tunafish, etc.) and finally
managed to get my cat to lick baby food off of my finger. He won't lick it off
a plate, just off my finger. I noticed that he makes a horrible grinding noise
when he tries to chew a glob of baby food, and thought that there might be some
sort of dental problem that might be the cause of his appetite loss. I brought
him back to the vet today (Saturday) where he got more fluids, more antibiotics
and a teeth cleaning that indicated that no teeth were loose. And of course, he
still doesn't want to eat.

So far this has cost roughly $1300, and I still have no idea why my cat isn't
eating. Neither does my vet, who doesn't seem terribly concerned that it's been
a week since my cat had a meal. This didn't happen after his first operation,
and since my cat has been a real chow-hound all his life, I'm very worried
about his total disinterest in eating.

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

Get a second opinion, hopefully from a clinic that specializes in feline
care.

Not eating for a week is an issue the vet should be concerned about and
providing you and your cat with help on.

--
"Its the bugs that keep it running."
-Joe Canuck

Any thoughts on what might be going on or what I should do next?

My cat Noelia also had to have surgery after she consumed a penny.
She wasn't eating either when she got home so we ended up
hospitalizing her again
and we brought her home she still wasn't eating. We tried the
syringes, squirting food into her mouth, but that really didn't work
well. Most of the food ended up on the walls and floor. We finally
figured out a way that worked and most of it ended up in her. Hills
AD canned is what we used, you have to get it from the vets office.
Heat up the food that you are going to give him and put it in a baby
food jar or some other small jar. We tried a plate but that would
allow the food to get cold and then she didn't cooperate as well.
Kneel on the floor with your cat in between your legs facing away from
you. Scoop up a small fingerful of food on your index finger. My my
left hand, I open her mouth, then kind of scrape the food up on the
roof of her mouth. We did this 3 times a day for about 6 weeks until
she started eating again last week. She's back up to 11 pounds. The
danger of your cat not eating is her getting fatty liver disease,
which is what my Noelia got.