The family cat is not well. I took Smokey to the vet a few days ago - he hadn't eaten for a couple of days. He was also dehydrated "depressed" and "very poorly" according to the vet. $500.00 and 2 days later and the vet cannot find anything physically wrong. We brought him home yesterday and Smokey is still not eating.

We've tried everything we can think of to get the dammed cat to eat.

The vet says he can do exploratory surgery - and maybe/probably still find nothing since he's already done Xrays etc - or if Smokey is still not eating send him to pussy cat heaven since he is so poorly.

It's Smokey's last stand - do any of you good folks have any tips or tricks or good advice (no cat hating advice please, this animal is loved!).

Thanks

I'm very sorry to hear about Smokey's condition, it's terrible when they're ill

How old is Smokey? Did the vet administer any fluids? One of my dogs has kidney problems and the vet told me to give fluids subcutaneously at home, it really seems to help a lot. If Smokey is very dehydrated your vet may recommend SQ fluids too, it's not so hard to do and it really does make them feel a lot better, perhaps you could discuss this with your vet.

Did you do any blood tests?

There's a nutritional supplement named Nutrical, I get it off Amazon, I wouldn't be without it and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's a paste form you can easily give to dogs and cats. When one of my dogs goes off her food this really helps her. Try tempting Smokey with all sorts of food, maybe something will get his appetite going Hope Smokey gets better very soon, animals can be very resilient

Yes: the vet had him on IV fluids and anti-biotics for 2 days and ran a full battery of tests. His kidneys were normal. He also gave him an appetite stimulant. xrays showed no abnormalities.

We have no real idea how old he was since he was a rescue cat. We had thought he was only 5 now, but he looks like he is 15 all of a sudden.

3 weeks ago we were beginning to think he was getting fat, now he is skin and bones.

Food wise I've tried salmon, tuna etc - total disdain!

Sorry to hear about your beloved kitty...

I hope Smokey gets better very soon...

It's awful when a pet is sick, i really feel for you hun...

Try the Nutrical, it may help it has rave reviews from cat owners especially and because it's a paste you can rub a bit on their gums and they will ingest it, one of my dogs loves it the other hates it but will swallow it.

Is he drinking well? I don't know if you can get it there but here we have little sachets of rehydran I think it's called, when my dogs are ill I put it in their water, it's basically electrolytes etc, helps support them but sometimes they won't drink if they sense it in the water so be careful. Ask your vet if administering fluids at home will help, fluids refresh their system and help tremendously when they're not eating. Keeping them hydrated is crucial.

Hang in there, you're doing your best, that's really all you can do, I hope he takes a turn for the better soon Smokey seems very loved and he's lucky to have someone who obviously cares a lot for him.

Our cat Mog was very ill about 3 years ago. She lost half her weight and was looking sad. Blood tests showed high white blood cells, everything else was ok. The vet decided she probably had lymphoma and was dying. As a last ditch attempt the vet gave her injections of antivirals and antibiotics. We took her home and pandered to her, lots of attention and cuddles. She normally hates cuddles. We also changed her cat food from the fancy vet advised one to what she used to eat in the UK. She started eating that and got better very quickly. She's now just fine and back to being a 12lb thug.

Edit: I have just been talking to Flederman about this and we wonder if she was pining. When we moved to Canada we lived with friends who had 2 cats and a dog. The cats could use a catflap during the day. The we moved to the new house when she had to be either in all day or locked out. So when the weather was bad she was locked in. In the UK, even though she was the only cat there were loads of others in the area that she could interact with. In our new place we rarely saw any other cats. So we were wondering if she was lonely. Eventually we got a kitten to keep her company. So after that ramble, is there any change of environment that will have upset the cat and if so can you correct it?

Thanks for the kind words and support. My kids are very worried. So they are cuddling and stroking Smokey a lot. We've just picked some mint from the garden and put it in his bed - he lies in it in summer. We also just got him a catnip toy to sniff from Walmart. When Petland opens I'll look for some of the products (or similar) that Kija mentioned.

poor kitty .... and poor you ! .... hope she starts getting better soon

Aw TG I feel for you

Maybe this is completely wrong but if push came to shove i'd blend some tuna and milk. put it in a syringe and squirt it down his throat.

Thanks for the tip MMC - we've been squirting Whiskers "catmilk" down his throat - I'll try the tuna if he keeps that down.

Did the vet do a glucose test on Smokey? Our cat was the same and it turned out he had diabetes. It is a simply test.

Er, I don't think fish is actually very good for cats. It may tempt his appetite but too much makes them ill. Same for milk. Don't know what catmilk is, I presume noone really milks a cat do they??

Ours love tinned Friskies cat foods.

Good "ask" as they say in Canada. I'll check!

The "catmilk" is a drink for cats with electrolytes, and nutrients. We got it from the pet store.

We've been syringing 30mls of catmilk every hour, and Smokey is swallowing it, and keeping it down. So

No change that we can think of! But again, good point.

We've been through this a few times with foster cats, and I've had a few of my clients experience it too. The problem with cats is that often when they stop eating, they get a form of anorexia, and their desire to eat just vanishes.

You have to break the cycle, and along with the nutrical, the best way I have found to do this, is to syringe feed kitty.

It can be messy, but it's really worthwhile. I usually mix a high quality canned cat food such as Wellness, Innova, Eagle Pack, (usually available in premium pet food stores) or that kind of thing, with some kitten milk formula (usually available in pet smart) or low sodium chicken broth, and a good squirt of the nutrical.

You then blend the mixture until it's soup like in texture, stick some in a syringe, and squirt it into the side of kitties mouth. Don't go for the back of the throat as they can choke on that, or inhale into their lungs.

If kitty gets it all over themselves, it doesn't matter, as their natural instinct is usually to wash, and they'll get some calories in that way.

It only usually takes a few days, (if that) to stimulate the appetite again.

Sometimes they just go off food for no apparent reason, the anorexia kicks in, and you have to get them going again.