# Senior Cat Refuses to Eat!



## albee 1 (May 17, 2010)

Hi all, we have a cat, Frisko who is 14 yrs old. He has been progressively been losing weight over the last 2 month. A trip to the Vet 1 month ago after blood, urine and stool tests left the Vet stumped. Everything checked out fine. We have since taken him to another Vet, a cat specialist who also found nothing. We are going to see him again today for some vitamin B shots. It's confusing to us also because nothing in his environment has changed, he will act hungry but will not eat. He's has never had anything wrong with him till now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


----------



## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Hmm. Have they checked his teeth? Have you tried offering him different food? If he gets dry, have you tried wet?


----------



## albee 1 (May 17, 2010)

Yes, we have and 1 Vet and 1 specialist. Both claim he's got great teeth for an old man. Just came back from another appointment and got vitamin B injections and an anti nausea injection. Believe me he has been offered every food known to cats and man and shows no interest to eat. This is coming from a cat that used to eat anything and everything. We'll see how he does in the next 24 hrs. Thanks for the reply I will keep you posted.


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Have you tried tempting him with something that smells great (to cats), like tuna? Sometimes cats who are off their food will eat baby food (without onion or garlic).


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I think Tuna juice would be tempting! Tuna is not good for cats, but tuna juice should help, and canned kitty tuna as a "sometimes" treat would be all right. I would also give him Nutrical to provide calories and vitamins.


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Smear some food on his foot so he'll have to lick it off.


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Good idea!


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

It sounds like you need diagnostic tests beyond blood, urine and stool. Cats generally don't stop eating and lose weight for no reason (although it has happened where they spontaneously go into hepatic lipidosis). I would suggest an x-ray.


----------



## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Yup, if you've done all the above and he still isn't eating, I would do an ultrasound _pronto_. Personally, I'd go straight to an ultrasounds and bypass xrays because, in my experience, sometimes things don't show up on an xray that will on an ultrasound. If you do the xrays first and have them show nothing or be inconclusive the next step would be an ultrasounds anyway. You would have wasted precious time and money.
In the meantime, I would be assist feeding your kitty to make sure he is getting the nutrients he needs and losing as little weight as possible. Human plain meat baby food can be a lifesaver in these situations so I'd go get some. If he won't eat it on his own, get a baby syringe from the drug store and syringe feed him. You can also add a little water to his food and do the same thing but, often times, baby food will get them going when nothing else will. 
Sometimes, vets aren't as proactive as they should be and we need to step in and get a little pushy for our pets. This is one of those cases where, it sounds like, you're going to have to prod your vet a bit to get things moving. Every day that your kitty isn't eating he is weakening and is at risk.
Very best of luck!


----------



## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Exactly which blood tests were run, and do you have a copy of the test results that you can post here for us to see? Was a Total T4 run to check her thyroid function? A CBC to check for infection?

Did the vets check her mouth thoroughly, including under his tongue, for ulcers or other sources of infection?

A cat who acts hungry but refuses to eat usually has either something wrong in the mouth or is nauseous. Is your boy doing any lip-licking? Lip-licking is usually a sign of nausea.

Did either vet prescribe any appetite stimulant other than the vit B shots? If not, you could ask about cyproheptadine. Cypro is an antihistamine that has an appetite stimulant effect in many (but not all) cats. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try and see if it works for your boy, but you'll need a prescription from your vet. A word of caution about cypro, though - it's best to start it at a very low dose (1/8 tablet once a day). If you start it at the higher dose recommended in the veterinary dosing guide, your cat may experience some rather unpleasant side effects (excitement, high heart rate, wakefulness, howling, etc.). If the low dose isn't enough to get your cat eating, you can always increase the dose slightly.

Laurie


----------

