Cat not eating.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Emma is not doing well. When a cat decides not to eat there is almost always a medical reason for it. I have certainly had cases like this where blood tests don't show me much, yet I know that there is something going on.

Is Emma having any bowel movements now? If she is not eating much it can be hard to tell, but do you see any stool at all? If she is still constipated then this can cause a lack of appetite. You can talk to your vet about possibly adding something like Miralax granules to her food. (Don't do it without checking with your vet first.) This can help her to move stool along.

Unfortunately, sometimes when a cat stops eating and there is no obvious finding on tests there can be an underlying cancer somewhere. This can be a tough one. If this were my case and if your budget allowed for it I would probably be recommending an ultrasound to look for any obvious sign of cancer.

Another possibility is pain. Cats do all they can to not show pain. A cat that has pain though will often not eat. You could ask your vet if trying a short course of a pain reliever such as Metacam could be worthwhile. Although, you did mention that she had a pain reliever so this is probably not what her problem is.

Is Emma eating anything at all? If her appetite is extremely small then she is at risk for getting something called fatty liver. This is a very serious condition and it can be fatal. It is definitely important to get her to eat, but if she is not eating even though she is on cyproheptadine then I am worried that there is something really serious going on.

You can try adding a small amount of some meat flavored baby food to her food to see if that stimulates her appetite. Also, trying a canned cat food like Fancy Feast that is heated up for a few seconds in the microwave may help improve her appetite. Fancy Feast is not the greatest nutrition but sometimes it does the trick in getting cats to eat again. Sometimes if we can break the cycle of inappetance then the cat can just decide to eat well again.

However, at 14 years of age, if she does not start eating soon we really need to consider that this could be a very serious issue.

I hope things improve soon.

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. There's nothing wrong with offering a taste of Vienna Sausage every now and then but I wouldn't want it to be her main source of food. Most likely it is high in sodium and not great for her kidneys. But, if it sparks her appetite then that's a good thing!