Cat Not Eating

[rebrn]

Hello, First off let me start by saying that I know a lot about cats, I worked at a cat only vet clinic for 4 years and volunteered at a large city animal shelter for 10 years. I have also had cats my entire life. But this one has me stumped.

OK so the history:

I currently have 5 cats and the one in question I have had since he was a kitten, I actually had to bottle feed him for the first 3 weeks we had him. He has always been an excellent eater, too good in fact he used to be around 5 pounds over weight. We put him, and his 2 overweight brothers, on a diet and he did loose some weight but always stayed about 1-2 pounds above where he should be. Now all of this has been going on for over 6 years. Well in the past 2.5 years he stopped eating as much as he used to and lost the last 2 pounds, well his decrease in appetite continued and he lost some more weight (not quickly over about a year maybe a little less) so we took him into the vet. She did the complete work-up, blood test the whole nine yards and found nothing wrong with him except his teeth. So we brought him back to have his teeth cleaned, she had to pull 3 teeth, but everything else is fine. I should also mention here that he is 13 (will be 14 this March) and the problems started a few months before he turned 11. OK so we feed him wet food for around a week then weaned him back to dry (per vet instructions). He was fine, but still not eating the way he used to. Even with wet food that he used to gobble up like there was no tomorrow he didn't eat as well as before. So I called the vet back, she seemed to think it might be due to his age, but I have 3 other cats the same age (one of which is still overweight) and they eat fine. But each cat is different so we waited another couple of weeks, as the vet suggested, then brought him back to the vet. She did more blood work (including diabetes testing - blood at fast then blood 1 hour after given food), still nothing wrong with him. So the vet gave us some appetite stimulants, and it worked for about a day or 2, but then he was right back to not eating as well. Now let me be very very clear here he IS eating, but only about half of what he used to. We feed the over weight cats 1/4 cup a day (split over 2 meals) and the others 1/2 cup a day (split over 2 meals) and I feed him 1 cup per day (split over two meals) and he eats a total of about 1/4 cup per day. Now during his obese days that was fine, but now he really needs to eat at least 1/2 cup per day. It should also be mentioned that we do feed each cat in a separate room and don't let any of them out until they are all finished. So there is no chance that he is eating from one of the other's bowls.

So what I have tried:

So far I have tried all the tricks I know to get him to eat more: wet food, cat nip on the food, heating the food (wet food for this), gravy over the dry food (room temperature and heated), tuna, salmon, hot dogs and boiled egg.

The vet said he is fine, he could stand to gain 1/2 a pound, but for his age he is fine. Other than his eating, he is a perfectly healthy cat. He has occasional bouts of vomiting - well not vomiting food but bringing up hairballs which is normal especially since we do have a Persian and a German Sheppard in the house. But nothing else unusual about him. Despite his age he does not suffer from arthritis, unlike his litter mate, he does not have diabetes or any other health problem.

Now this might truly just be a sign of his age, but I still would like to try to get him to eat more. Is there anything anyone can suggest that I haven't already tried? We still have appetite stimulates, of which we usually give him 1/2 tab every couple of weeks, and have a standing prescription at the vet if we need more.

Thanks

 

[seffieuk]

This is obviously causing you a lot of stress but to me it sounds like you have done everything and then some. Hope you find what you are looking for

all the best

seffie x

 

[rebrn]

Its not really that it is stressing me out, I mean the vet says he is fine, I just think he is too skinny. But that could be because I was used to him being overweight for so long. I was just thinking that maybe there were some tricks out there that I haven't heard of yet. I mean truthfully, he is healthy in every aspect, and his weight is probably fine, I just think that he is too skinny. However, as 3 of my 5 cats (well 2 of the 5 now) are overweight, my idea of a good weight might be a little distorted. And well he is almost 14 years old, so I guess if this is the only thing wrong with him after 14 years I really don't have anything to complain about. It is just hard to think that this might be the beginning of the end. I have had him and his litter mate sice they were 2 weeks old, so I guess you can say I am a little attached and I am not ready to throw in the towel just yet.

 

[Harlequins]

Perhaps its his age,how energetic is he?

My snowy started losing weight a few years ago,he's 14 now,it wasn't until his pink bits(nose,pads,mouth etc)went yellow,they vet finally found out he had a blood disorder and became anaemic,hes now on steroids every other day,on the days he doesn't have his meds,he hardly eats,the steroids obviously gives him an appetite because on these days he scoffs the lot!

But if your vet has run the tests etc,i don't know what to suggest,perhaps you could entice him with some tuna or pilchards or even chicken,something different might similate his appetite.

Good luck

 

[rebrn]

Oh no he is active, I have 3 turning 14 this year and he is the most active of the bunch, maybe even a little more active than the younger ones. He is just an odd cat, for example, he eats with his paws, long story but a trick he picked up from a ferret that he shared a house with as a kitten (our house mate had the farett). He is also a "begger cat", even worse than the dog, I have actually seen him jump up onto the table and take food right off your fork as you are bringing it to your mouth. He seems to eat best when we hand feed him things that we are eating. This wouldn't be a problem except that his overweight brothers get in on the act and I really have to be careful with them as the are on a strict diet. This is why we feed them at specific times and in separate rooms. Also, the dog, now a good weight, will get in on the act and although she is no longer over weight, we still have to watch. But for a 14 year old cat he is very active, I mean not as active as when he was a kitten, but who of us are . I have taken to sitting in the room with him as he eats (he is fed in the bathroom) he seems to do better that way, but still not as good as he used to eat. I find that generally no matter how much food I give him he will only ever eat half (this never used to be the case), so I have also started giving him 1/2 cup twice a day knowing that at most he will only eat 1/4 cup twice a day, which gives him is 1/2 cup daily food that he should be getting, so far that, along with me sitting with him while he eats seems to be doing the trick. I guess it is just is age, which is sad, because I am dreading the day that he will no longer be here. I must say I am a little more attached to him and his litter mate, I guess because we have had them since they were a little under 3 weeks (about 2-1/2 weeks when we got them from the shelter) and we were literally there life line, we bottle fed them, cleaned them, all the things that mamma cat would do. The other 3 cats were older and weaned when we got them so we were never really "mamma cat" to them, not that I don't love the others just as much, but I guess Storm and Thor are special since I was/am really thier Mom.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

There are a lot of long stories in this thread, and in my "speed reading" I might have missed if anybody have mentioned teeth.... If not, I'm going to suggest that you take him to a vet to have his teeth checked....

In my SPCA years (sorry for referring to that - so often).... I found that a major reason for loss of apetite, was bad tooth or teeth... Just have him checked for that.

 

[rebrn]

Yep we did the teeth thing. That was one of the things the vet did on the first visit, we had them cleaned, and he lost 3 teeth, but the vet says still fine to eat dry food, but he is the same way with wet, just doesn't eat as well as he used to.

 

[Ryefish]

My sisters cat went through a few weeks of vomiting and refusing to eat. She had him to the vets at about 11pm when they first realised - my sister being pregnant is in hysterics because her cat has lost loads of weight and is really lethargic and had to stay in the vets for a few nights. The vet did an examination, blood works and found nothing wrong with him. They had to force feed him rehydration formula every day but after a few weeks he righted himself. No idea what was wrong with him at all