Technology0 min ago
my cat won't eat
27 Answers
my lovely cat has been diagnosed with kidney disease.He was in the vet hospital had all the checks and been on the drip etc. When he came out his blood count was a bit better and he is now on tablets and special KD food,At first he ate all the kd different foods,biscuits,packets and pate and took his tablet with no trouble but now he refuses all of it..This morning I had to force open his mouth and throw the tablet to the back of his mouth and make him swallow it.The vet said i could give him tuna in spring water and also chicken if he didn't eat his KD .At first he ate this but now he paws me goes to sit by his food bowl but whatever i try to tempt him with he sniffs and walks away.i have tried hand feeding him but without much success. We go to see the vet again on Tuesday.i am at my wits end ..It's just as if he knows he is ill and wants to give up.Can anyone help me plse Ilove him so much and don't want to lose him.
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by oops!!!. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
Try warming his food a little in the microwave (just for about 15 seconds) This will bring out the smell and may tempt him to eat.
When cats have kidney disease they are often hungry but when they get near food and start to eat it makes them feel sick so they give up.
Will he eat the food he used to eat before he was ill? Personally if he will, then I would give it to him and not worry too much. It wont hurt him. He is on medication after all. A lot of cats won't eat KD!, but vets will always try to sell it to you.
If he refuses to eat altogether then you will have to seek advice from the vet again.
By the way, you can get a little 'pill popper' type syringe which will shoot the tablet down an animals throat quite nicely without too much trauma as you don't have to force the mouth open too wide.
I feel for you. Unfortunately, kidney disease is quite common in cats, but if it can be controlled, from lots of experience, he might well have a good few years of enjoyable life yet.
Best wishes.
When cats have kidney disease they are often hungry but when they get near food and start to eat it makes them feel sick so they give up.
Will he eat the food he used to eat before he was ill? Personally if he will, then I would give it to him and not worry too much. It wont hurt him. He is on medication after all. A lot of cats won't eat KD!, but vets will always try to sell it to you.
If he refuses to eat altogether then you will have to seek advice from the vet again.
By the way, you can get a little 'pill popper' type syringe which will shoot the tablet down an animals throat quite nicely without too much trauma as you don't have to force the mouth open too wide.
I feel for you. Unfortunately, kidney disease is quite common in cats, but if it can be controlled, from lots of experience, he might well have a good few years of enjoyable life yet.
Best wishes.
Dear LoftyLottie,
Thanks for all the advice it is really inspiring to know other cats refuse KD and can live a few good years too.Just last night I cooked him some tiny chicken breast filletts and he ate a good portion of them ,as you say ,they were warm and he enjoyed them.
No he won't eat his normal food but he has had more chcken this morning so I will make sure his food is warm from now on.
Thanks also for the "Pill poper"advice i will get one of those too.
I bought him some tuna fish last week and cooked that but didn't give it to him warm and he refused it.next time I will try it warm and see what happens.
Thanks again for your time to reply with all that invaluable advice i feel much better now and it is much appreciated good friend.xxx
Thanks for all the advice it is really inspiring to know other cats refuse KD and can live a few good years too.Just last night I cooked him some tiny chicken breast filletts and he ate a good portion of them ,as you say ,they were warm and he enjoyed them.
No he won't eat his normal food but he has had more chcken this morning so I will make sure his food is warm from now on.
Thanks also for the "Pill poper"advice i will get one of those too.
I bought him some tuna fish last week and cooked that but didn't give it to him warm and he refused it.next time I will try it warm and see what happens.
Thanks again for your time to reply with all that invaluable advice i feel much better now and it is much appreciated good friend.xxx
I have an elderly cat that we have to give tablets too daily, and she found it really stressful if I tried to force the tablet on her. I find it much easier now to dissolve/crush the tablet in a little hot water, then mix it with a couple of tablespoons of her food. When she's finished that, I'll give her the rest.
Often she's off her food, but I've found that since I started giving her a little bit (with the tablet in), followed by the rest later, she seems to eat more of it overall.
Hope that helps.
Often she's off her food, but I've found that since I started giving her a little bit (with the tablet in), followed by the rest later, she seems to eat more of it overall.
Hope that helps.
Thank you Ava ,
That is a great help too.My cat is eating a little more now that I have warmed everything up slightly.
He is still only on chicken but if that satisfies him I am happy too.
I have hidden the tablets in the chicken bits,but will get a "pill popper" too as Loftylottie suggests above.
Many Thanks for your friendly advice xxx
That is a great help too.My cat is eating a little more now that I have warmed everything up slightly.
He is still only on chicken but if that satisfies him I am happy too.
I have hidden the tablets in the chicken bits,but will get a "pill popper" too as Loftylottie suggests above.
Many Thanks for your friendly advice xxx
Awww...I hope your cat has plenty of years ahead of him yet, oops. I had one with the same problem, and he just wouldn't eat the special food that the vet put him on. No wonder - it was all pretty bland. It was like us having to eat cornflakes for every meal! Frantic with worry, we gave him chicken in small amounts, and only ever gave him water to drink. The poor thing then suffered from something horrible, which I won't tell you about, but he got over it all and lived for another two years. That was good. He was 16 when he passed away, so the best of luck to you and yours - x
Hello Ice Maiden
Thanks for the kind words about my cat.He is about 10 years old ,he came to live with us 7 years ago ,he kept coming into the garden at first then more and more frequently and eventually he became our cat.I made enquiries locally had anyone lost a cat ,but no one had ,so we decied to take him onboard.So we all went down to the vet to have him checkd over and have his vaccinations done and the vet said he as about 3 years old then.He is a lovely affectionate cat ,always purring contentedly,head butting us all the time,gently pawing us rubbing himself against us and nicely letting us know what he wants.We love hin so much too. and want to do what's best for him.I am glad to hear you had16 years with your lovely pet and also sad to hear of her illness towards the end but to hear she had 2 more years gives me hope for my cat too.At the moment he is eating his chicken having his tablets and drinking his water and so I feel much better about him generally.I hope it continues.With all the support from you caring people on answerbank I don't know how I would have got through the last few days so a big thank you Ice maiden and all my good friends above.
xxx
Thanks for the kind words about my cat.He is about 10 years old ,he came to live with us 7 years ago ,he kept coming into the garden at first then more and more frequently and eventually he became our cat.I made enquiries locally had anyone lost a cat ,but no one had ,so we decied to take him onboard.So we all went down to the vet to have him checkd over and have his vaccinations done and the vet said he as about 3 years old then.He is a lovely affectionate cat ,always purring contentedly,head butting us all the time,gently pawing us rubbing himself against us and nicely letting us know what he wants.We love hin so much too. and want to do what's best for him.I am glad to hear you had16 years with your lovely pet and also sad to hear of her illness towards the end but to hear she had 2 more years gives me hope for my cat too.At the moment he is eating his chicken having his tablets and drinking his water and so I feel much better about him generally.I hope it continues.With all the support from you caring people on answerbank I don't know how I would have got through the last few days so a big thank you Ice maiden and all my good friends above.
xxx
Hi Lofty Lottie,Good morning to you too ;))Nice weather eh!!!
I will mention that injection to the vet...Thanks again x
By the way It's Wednesday we go(tomorrow)not today I was not thinking straight when I said Tues. in my first post.
He still refuses his KD but I don't worry about that now after all has been said about it.I thought it was imperative he ate it you see.
He's ok with his tablets at the moment and the warm chicken is going down well ,fingers crossed eh!!!
I really do appreciate your and all above's concern and indeed I wil keep you posted on his progress.
xxx
I will mention that injection to the vet...Thanks again x
By the way It's Wednesday we go(tomorrow)not today I was not thinking straight when I said Tues. in my first post.
He still refuses his KD but I don't worry about that now after all has been said about it.I thought it was imperative he ate it you see.
He's ok with his tablets at the moment and the warm chicken is going down well ,fingers crossed eh!!!
I really do appreciate your and all above's concern and indeed I wil keep you posted on his progress.
xxx
Hi. I've just lost my beautiful cat Bonnie after nursing her through 2 years of renal failure, she was initially given 3-10 months so she did well. I have a few tips. There are few different types of renal food, maybe you can find one that is a bit more palatable for your cat. It is said that cats on a renal diet can last twice as long as cats that have a normal diet so it's worth persevering. Maybe try a different brand. Although as people have said previous to this post, the disease makes them feel like they've a hangover so often food is something they just can't face. I've always been told tuna is not good for renal failure cats, just the tuna water mixed with the food. A little white fish here and there would be okay though. Or try mashing in a little senior catfood (lower protein & phosphorus, "the baddies" than normal catfood) with the renal to give a bit of flavour to get through these bad times but then try to get them back onto renal food asap. My cat was often off of her food. It's important to get them to eat something whatever it is as after a couple of days the kidneys can produce chemicals that further destroy themselves if the cat doesn't eat. The vitamin injection that my cat had was Vitratrace injection. Apparently the Vitamin B can kick start the appetite. It seemed to work for Bonnie until the late stages of her illness. Steroid injections can also stimulate the appetite, but can have side effects so this is more of a last resort. Also, my vet recommended Nutri-plus gel which contains vitamins and calories as a supplement for when they are not eating, this got us through a few food crises too. You can buy that online without a prescription. I know you can't name websites but if you search tanya and renal you will find tons of info that really helped me through the last two years. It's an exhausting roller coaster ride but with your effort he can be with you for quite a while yet hopefully..... All my best wishes to you....
Forgot to say also, please don't take Bonnie's 2 years as an indicator for your cat. Although she did brilliantly for ages bless her, Bonnie was 14and half and fairly well progressed with the disease when first diagnosed. Your cat has time on his side hopefully as he is quite a lot younger then Bonnie was. Although it can't be said for all cats, some cats respond really well to treatment and can go on for a surprisingly long time given the right treatment, especially if younger when diagnosed. Only time will tell, and you can only do your best. Good luck with all of it.
HI guys and welcome dear blanx
Thanks again for all the wonderful advice I have received again from you lovely caring people.
Pusskins is eating well at the moment enjoying his chicken ,fingers crossed,
I have some tablets from the vet to help him with his appetite too.We went to the vet last week and he still weighs 4.4 kgms so he hasn't lost any more weight and I am hoping when I weigh him this Friday he has put some back on.He weighed 5.6 kgs last yearI
I got that pill popper Lofty and have used it today ,it is good . When I advanced towards him with it he looked at me as if to say "gimme a break" I told him gently it was for his own good he didn't show me any claws ...just wriggled a bit it went down a treat ,so I guess we are still friends.
The vet thought he looked a lot better .He is going about his cats life as normal,, with all the tips and great advice I have received from you all. thanks soooooo much xxx
I have written it all down ,special thanks to Blanx for that super answer it is invaluable, I hope someone else somewhere who is as desperate as I was finds us all on here and takes heart from all the help I have received from you dear friends.I cannot thank you all enough xxx
I was sorry to read about your lovely Bonnie blanx ,It is inspirational reading how you gave her those extra years with your loving care.I am hoping I am as sucessful as you ,She certainly had a loving home,I can tell.
By the way blanx i will mash a little KD in his chicken too and see how we go on with it.I have tried it before but just mixed it in( he left the KD ate the chicken) I didn't mash it in so that could do the trick.
We go to vets in a month for another blood test and I am hoping it has stayed the same as it was when he came out of hospital after the drip.It was much improved then.
I can hear him miawing to I'll say toodleoooo for now.I'll
See what he's up to. Many
Thanks again for all the wonderful advice I have received again from you lovely caring people.
Pusskins is eating well at the moment enjoying his chicken ,fingers crossed,
I have some tablets from the vet to help him with his appetite too.We went to the vet last week and he still weighs 4.4 kgms so he hasn't lost any more weight and I am hoping when I weigh him this Friday he has put some back on.He weighed 5.6 kgs last yearI
I got that pill popper Lofty and have used it today ,it is good . When I advanced towards him with it he looked at me as if to say "gimme a break" I told him gently it was for his own good he didn't show me any claws ...just wriggled a bit it went down a treat ,so I guess we are still friends.
The vet thought he looked a lot better .He is going about his cats life as normal,, with all the tips and great advice I have received from you all. thanks soooooo much xxx
I have written it all down ,special thanks to Blanx for that super answer it is invaluable, I hope someone else somewhere who is as desperate as I was finds us all on here and takes heart from all the help I have received from you dear friends.I cannot thank you all enough xxx
I was sorry to read about your lovely Bonnie blanx ,It is inspirational reading how you gave her those extra years with your loving care.I am hoping I am as sucessful as you ,She certainly had a loving home,I can tell.
By the way blanx i will mash a little KD in his chicken too and see how we go on with it.I have tried it before but just mixed it in( he left the KD ate the chicken) I didn't mash it in so that could do the trick.
We go to vets in a month for another blood test and I am hoping it has stayed the same as it was when he came out of hospital after the drip.It was much improved then.
I can hear him miawing to I'll say toodleoooo for now.I'll
See what he's up to. Many
Morning oops!!!, Very cold and frosty one here. I have two cats and two dogs. My 'zoo' used to be much bigger, but I have had to learn to resist taking on every waif and stray that came my way. It was getting to the stage where I couldn't afford human food!!
The cat that 'types' is on the go all the day. We believe she may have some foreign cat, like siamese, as she is very dog like in her ways. She is always with me and always curious and playful. She really does try to type. It fascinates her. She is also extremely clumsy and breaks everything in sight!!
Like blanx, I will refer back to this thread from time to time to see how things are going and, of course, to say hi to you!!
Take Care
LL XXX
The cat that 'types' is on the go all the day. We believe she may have some foreign cat, like siamese, as she is very dog like in her ways. She is always with me and always curious and playful. She really does try to type. It fascinates her. She is also extremely clumsy and breaks everything in sight!!
Like blanx, I will refer back to this thread from time to time to see how things are going and, of course, to say hi to you!!
Take Care
LL XXX
