Gracie is home. When I got to the vet’s, she was alert and awake and meowing and rubbing against me. I brought some food from home because she hasn’t eaten in a week, and I thought perhaps she’d eat her own food from her own bowl. I sat with her for a long time, petting her and trying to get her to eat. She rolled onto her back and did all of her morning routine—heavy-duty purring, meowing, rubbing her face against me. The vets and I discussed what to do next. They were talking about trying to force-feed her today, something which I am not inclined to do. They also told me she had vomited quite a lot on Saturday, not much on Sunday, and only a little bit Sunday night. Which is why, coupled with her perky behavior, we decided to take her home. I went to the store for some tunafish to see if I could entice her with it.
Once home, she went straight to the litterbox and peed. She sniffed around the food dishes but didn’t eat. She went to the front window to sun herself, stayed there a good long time. I poured some of the tuna water onto a small amount of her dry food, but she didn’t eat it. I gave her some of the tuna itself, which she sniffed but didn’t eat. She wandered around for a while, tried (and failed) to leap onto the sofa. I helped her onto it, she lay down in her spot (see picture) for a while. She’s back in the window again. Tig has been banished outside. He smells the vet smell on her and is hissing. I need to wash her or something. I think I’ll take a warm, damp paper towel and see if I can’t get vet smell off her. He’s going to be a huge problem if he won’t accept her, because she’s still very ill.
She lost half a pound. I weighed her before I took her home. And oh yeah, the vet bill reached four figures, and they haven’t tallied up the weekend yet. That’s on top of the almost $300 from the emergency vet.
Thank you again to all of you who have hit the tipjars to help out. This was a big, unexpected expense, and paying the bills is going to be a little tight this month.
I’m going to wait and see what happens. I have an appointment with the specialist tomorrow morning, but may not take Gracie in. The one thing they didn’t do that they probably should have was take a biopsy of the intestines while they were in exploratory surgery. The vet offered to do the surgery for free today, but I couldn’t see how we could justify cutting her open again when she finally seems on the mend.
Now, I need to get her to eat. If anyone has any ideas, please, offer them. She hasn’t eaten solid food since last Thursday or Friday. I’m hoping, and the vet is hoping, that she’ll eat now that she’s home and comfortable again.
The late Dr. Louis J. Camuti (author of the excellent book All My Patients Are Under the Bed) suggested beef baby food (as a regular cat food, not as an enticement), but I thought I’d pass it on.
A little minced boiled chicken is what my vet always recommends.
My cat was very ill with some kind of flu months back, and was not able to eat for three days. I started him up again on junior baby food, at the vet’s recommendation, and he loved it. It’s predigested, so much easier for them. His favourites were Gerber Junior Baby Beef, and Junior Baby Chicken with Carrots. (I still give him those as a treat!)
When Satchel had that problem, it turned out he had a very big food sensitivity/allergy problem. The vet hand-fed him for a while on turkey baby-foot, so I’m with Rahel on this one.
He’s got this big bag of low-allergen dry food now. He feels very special.
er, baby-FOOD I meant :P
While I am not a cat fan, I do hope that Gracie get’s better soon, Meryl. It’s tough when something(one) you love is ill.
I’m so glad Gracie’s perking up! That’s super. :)
Turkey or chicken baby food slightly warmed (a couple seconds in the microwave) to give off good smells is often a winner for cats who won’t eat. Just be sure to read the labels and avoid any with onion powder, which can be toxic to cats.
~~ Robyn
Well, at last. Here is a greeting card from the locals, and best wishes!
Oh, and Gracie – don’t eat no lizards like some characters I could mention…
I agree, baby food, slightly warmed and spoon-fed, has worked for me in the past. Favorites seemed to be veal and ham. Good luck, I really hope she feels better soon.
My cats have white fish when they’re ill; I buy it frozen (they like pollack or cod) and microwave it with a little water added for 2 minutes each side.
Hope she gets better soon. The vet smell will wear off soonish – I wouldn’t wash her, but surround her in things which smell of you. Tig won’t mind that so much. You could try dirty laundry, e.g. nightdresses/pyjamas – I know you won’t like that, but she certainly won’t smell of vet. And it’s a temporary measure, and she’ll be surrounded by the smell of someone she loves.
Well, Tig is being an absolute beast to her, and when I grabbed him by the scruff and said “No!” as he hissed at her, he started growling at me. He really can be a nasty little bastard sometimes.
I sent him outside.
She just threw up, right after being growled at. Brownish bile. She didn’t even care when I offered her tunafish. I think I’ll pick up a bottle of baby food tomorrow, but I have some chicken soup broth that I can try, too.
I rubbed her down a bit with a damp paper towel, and tried to get some of the bile stains off from around her mouth, but touching her mouth seemed to set her off again, so I stopped.
I think at this point, she throws up if she is stressed. I have a cat syringe from something Tig was supposed to have years ago (and oh, yeah, that worked–got pink stuff all over me and the floor and Tig, and almost none in his mouth). I think I’ll put broth in it and see if she freaks out if I try it.
You can try equal parts cooked hamburger and rice, or cooked ground lamb and rice if she’s having trouble keeping food down. If you’re really having trouble getting her to eat in the first place and the baby food doesn’t work, ask your vet about this or perhaps this from Hill’s Science Diet.
You might also consider to finding an strictly feline practitioner. When vets see everything from tarantulas to Mastiffs, sometimes the odd stuff goes over their heads.
We once had one of our cats’ teeth cleaned, but not the other one. The one at home went after the one that had been to the vet something awful – and very unusual for them. Called the vet – they said that it was the smell of the anaesthetic on their breath that was the problem, and it could take up to 3 days to go away – which was almost exactly what happened.
As for the pink stuff Tig got all over you – my vet told us that they use exactly the same amoxicillin in veterinary and pediatric packaging – same plant, same stuff, they just run whatever set of packages through the machines. So that’s why our cats get that cherry bubblegum stuff they don’t like.
At this point, you just want her to WANT to eat – so whatever she’s tried to mooch before. Small amounts till she proves it stays down. Almost more important – keep an eye on her to be sure she’s drinking.
Good luck.
As for the stress issues, perhaps a few drops of Rescue Remedy or Valerian in their water bowl or on their food might be beneficial.
Oh we hope she will feel etter soon.
My starving-to-death kittens got chicken-in-broth baby food, mixed with rice pablum, and kitten milk replacement powder and warm water. Popular with the adult cats, too, and helps them gain weight, quickly.
Adding the kitten milk replacement ensures that they get enough of whatever nutrients they need, and it’s pretty high calorie, good for too-skinny cats. If she’s drinking, you can try mking it more watery. (Watery also makes it easy to squirt into her mouth if she’s not eating.)
The kitten milk replacer is called Pet Ag KMR Milk Replacer Food Supplements for Kittens & Small Animals at Petco, I use the powder stuff.
I find cats far prefer salmon to tuna, and the mama cat who wouldn’t eat *anything* was perfectly happy to eat every bit of leftover lox in about 3 seconds.
Oh yes, I forgot, when we just CAN’T get cats to eat, as Wolfa says, we make the food watery, and then I dip my fingers in and wipe their whiskers with it. And keep doing it, after each time they lick their whiskers. They ingest some food that way, anyway.
I’m glad Gracie’s home now. I’m sure she’ll get hungry soon. Eat, girl, eat! Do cats like pasta? I’m pretty good at getting people to eat pasta.
Kitten milk replacement (KMR) is what we give the adult kitties in our no-kill shelter when they’ve been vomiting and won’t eat. It’s easy to digest and may be the cat equivalent of comfort food, i.e. reminding adult cats of their own mothers. The KMR label says that it’s recommended for “adult cats that are stressed and require a source of highly digestible nutrients.”
Another recommendation is to offer Gracie a small amount of lean cooked chicken mixed 50/50 with cooked white rice. The starch in the rice seems to soothe the stomach lining.
You might want to try putting some hypo-allergenic food on her paws. Then she’ll have to lick it off at least. Poor baby, you may want to try giving her food that she has tried to sneak before. Good luck. Mommy is sorry she can’t donate, but my ears have been costing so much and I’m not better yet. We are sending you good thoughts though.
Good to hear that Gracie is home again. Since I’m neither cat owner nor vet, I hope that you’ll find something to coax her to eat and drink again soon.
chsw
Hill’s Prescription Diet, AD formulation, is used for both dogs and cats when appetite is an issue. Available only from a vet. There is also a food by Innova/Evo for cats that might be good; we have had excellent results with the dog food formulation and it might be particularly good for an animal on the mend.
What never has failed for me and all the sick cats I”ve known is Gerber’s chicken baby food- not Heinz or any other brand, and not turkey, not chicken with gravy, and not beef- but chicken.
To get them started sometimes, I would place a bit on the tip of their nose. If they are having a really tough time, I would dilute the baby food with water, so they could drink. If Gracie will drink, it’s a good thing, even if she won’t eat for the time being.
Reading your comment: I would also keep Gracie separate from Tig. She needs to relax and just be loved specially. She needs a room of her own and some time to get over the trauma of the vet. My cat Vincent, was especiallys tressed by being at the vets. I would have to help him come down to earth, and reassure him, for several days. He was a very sensitive boy. Sounds like Gracie needs extra tender care (without the jealous Tig!)
One other thought: is it possible she has a food allergy?
There is a canned Imes food that you have to get from the vet. It is a formula that is very easy to digest and if I remember correctly it is called “anorexic” or at least is for cats who won’t eat. When Chloe had her bout of inflammatory bowel disease she was not in the habit of eating wet food at all. She inhaled this. They can only eat it for a short time as it does have a high fat content. But, it helps prevent the severe fatty liver syndrome cats can get if they rapidly lose weight. BTW, the stomach biopsy they did for Chloe was through a scope, not an open one. Hope Gracie feels better soon.
I am so glad to hear that Gracie is home. Hope you can keep your appointment with the vet specialist. Perhaps a homopatheic vet might be something you want to consider. Good luck.