Cat Won't Eat

[otarap]

I have a 9 year old cat who is typically very active. Since Thursday night he has not eaten or drank anything. I brought him to the Vet on Saturday morning and they did x-rays and bloodwork and diagnosed him as probably have pancreatitis, but they were not positive as it's hard to diagnose. They filled him with fluids and gave me two antibiotics to give him twice a day. He still wouldn't eat or drink, wasn't even using they kitty litter so I know he wasn't eating or drinking. I brought him back to the vet on Tuesday morning and the vet gave him fluids again and hoped that maybe he was just feeling so awful that he wasn't eating. It's not 24 hours later and he's still not eating. I've started forcing watered down baby food into him to keep his strength up. I'm using the syringe from the medicine. He's not acting like his typical self but he's not miserable either. He seems very unsteady on his feet and just a bit lost, like he's not totally familiar with his surroundings. What else can I do to get him to eat? I read somewhere that maybe I should be forcing some pedialyte into him to stop they dehyradtion. If I keep force feeding him, how much should I be giving him? Any advice I would appreciate. I've been crying for 3 days, I just wish I could help him . Thank you, Tara

[Traci]

Please get your kitty to a NEW vet TODAY. See an emergency vet or a feline-only vet.

What was found on the bloodwork, any unusual enzyme activity? What was found on the x-rays, any evidence of inflammation somewhere?

It's been almost a week since you noticed your kitty wasn't eating or drinking, there is no more time to waste, get your kitty to a new vet IMMEDIATELY, your current vet obviously is not taking this seriously or is not experienced enough.

[Ash]

Please do as Traci says. There is no time to waste!

[otarap]

I made an appointment at a cat only vet today. I'm going to pick up all of the labs and x-rays the other vet did and bring them to the new vet. the x-rays showed something that could be part of Pancreatitis, but they could not say for sure. The blood work showed the white blood cells were low which could also mean Pancreatitis. The vet didn't seemed too concerened with it being cancer, even thought that's what crossed my mind. Thank you for the advice. I can only hope I get some answers and pray that my little furbaby gets better.

[Traci]

If your vet had any concern for pancreatitis, he should have taken this much more seriously. Glad you have an appointment with a new vet. Please update us when you know more.

[otarap]

I wanted to update anyone that read my post.

I saw the new Vet and she also said Pancreatitis and ordered an ultrasound. We took him on Friday for the ultrasound and the Pancreas looked horrible I am told. they said they couldn't be certain there wasn't a tumor because they can be small. The vet pumped him full of IV liquids and gave me new meds and said to take him home for the weekend and force feed and give him the meds and we would decide Monday (today) if he should be put to sleep or not.

Well, 2:30a.m. on Saturday (technically Sunday I guess) my kitty Roscoe was jumping on my bureau and my bed and crying to wake me up. I had never been so happy to be woken up as he does this almost everynight. I'm usually throwing socks at him but this night I was praising him.

The next day he ate a bit, used the kitty litter and was being himself (pain in the neck self ). I talked to the Dr. this morning and we are going to continue the meds for three more weeks and hope for the best. I'm still going to force feed him until he's eating enough. She said he's not out of the woods yet, but she doesn't think it's a tumor because he probably wouldn't have gotten better. I'm just happy that he's happy and comfortable for now.

It's so hard to watch them and not be able to help them while they are sick.

[Traci]

In all this time, did any of the vets do a TLI to confirm pancreatitis? This is a test that needs to be sent to an outside lab for confirmation, it's a test that is more accurate than any in-house lab testing. How is other organ function, such as liver and kidneys??? Was thyroid tested?

Baby food may not be the most appropriate food to force feed....ask your vet about a prescribed diet, since you can't afford to risk him losing significant weight. What exactly her her plan of action? Are you following up with new blood testing?

[otarap]

As far as I know there was not a TLI test done, calling there now to find out. They did check the thyroid and all seemed fine and they repeated blood work on Thursday and it came back normal this time and his fever went from 104.7 to 102.2. Other organ function seemed normal from the tests they ran she said.

The Vet suggested baby food since it is pure protein and not a lot of fat. She said food high in fat is not good for the pancreas. She also gave me some other food, forget the name, for me to give him. I've been switching between the two. After I get a bit in his mouth he doesn't fight me too much so he must like it.

I'm suppose to check in with her daily for now and let her know his progress and she said we'll take it from there. What else do you suggest we should be doing at this time? I have no problem calling the Vet with your suggestions. My first concern is my cat and I want to do what's best for him.

Thank you

[Traci]

Just wanted to get a feel for how this was diagnosed. Most cases of pancreatitis require hospitalization (minimal 2-3 days) with continuous IV fluid support until symptoms reside and food is slowly and gradually re-introduced (bland diet). Your indication of symptoms was only anorexia, I'm not sure about the relation to the unsteadiness prior. I wasn't aware until your last post he also had a fever (may indicate bacterial infection somewhere).

Obviously, he is responding to the new medications. Hopefully, this will address any hidden infections, but I do wonder if a TLI was done, at least to determine the extent of the condition.