My cat isn’t eating

[Rosiebuds]

Posting here for traffic.

I got her from a rescue centre around 9 years ago. She was around a year old then - so she must be about 10. She was found as a stray so they didn’t really know her age, however they estimated it to be no older than a year.

Shes never been a fussy eater. She’s an outdoor cat and she hunts.

Since Thursday, she hasn’t really been interested in her food, she’ll go and sniff it then walk away, we’ve tried cooking up fish, giving her ham, changing her food. Nothing has worked. She’s still drinking water.
The only thing she’ll eat reliably at the moment is dreamie treats. So we’ve been feeding her those.

I will be taking her to the vet but they’re not back open until Monday also I’m unwell myself at the moment with a virus. So not well enough to drive there and the vets is around 30 mins drive away as our local one closed down (I get vertigo due to my inner ear).

She likes chicken and always stole it off our plates so we might try and get some to cook up for her today.

She’s still her usual self and wanting to go outside, sitting on our laps purring and came up to greet us this morning.

cats are very good at hiding it when they're unwell. Please try and see an emergency vet - do you have a friend or relative who could take the cat for you?

Yes, go to a vet asap. Hope she's OK.

Just try and find an emergency one, it's more expensive but I don't think you can wait till Monday.

Vet ASAP. We use Vets4Pets who tend to be open on weekends and can give you details of a local emergency vet if needed.

Sniff and walk away can mean they are hungry but nauseous.

There are things that help get them to eat like raising the bowl, sitting with them, pretending to eat yourself (yes really)

But I would worry without a diagnosis.

That said one of my monsters decided not to eat, massive stress and expensive trip to emergency vet and nothing wrong except she fancied a Dreamies only diet. She was disappointed.

Cats get very, very sick if they don't eat properly - even if their illness is nothing fatal to begin with. They don't last as long as humans with little to no food. Please consider getting an emergency vet.

The nearest emergency vet is an hour away. We live rurally. I’m not sure I can manage the drive. And we have no family support nearby. Really not sure what to do, as she’s eating dreamies I thought that was good as she’s actually eating something.

Could a neighbour be feeding her ? Cats are good at persuading people they don't have an owner & getting fed by them.

You say we. Who else lives with you? Can they take the cat?

@Bristolinfeb
Yes my partner but he’s at work.

@bolwin1
My next door neighbour has a cat flap and they’ve told us she’s gone in there in the past, so I guess she could be eating their cat’s food?

You really should get her to a vets today. Even without thinking about the underlying cause, cats can very go into liver failure from even a couple of days of not eating, which can be fatal. Dogs and humans are much better equipped to go a few days without eating. I'm really sorry you're poorly and getting her there is going to be logistically difficult but I really would strongly advise you to find a way, whether that's a friend or a taxi or your partner.

Don't let yourself be sidetracked by thinking she might have been eating at a neighbour's. Unless you have any evidence of this better to assume she hasn't been.

Sorry to not give a reassuring post - but what you are describing does require urgent vet attention.

@Rosiebuds hi I hope your wee cat gets better soon keep us posted

@rubiesthatigaveup

Wouldn’t the dreamie treats she’s eaten count as food? She had about 10 this morning.

The cat that I had before the current feline incumbent, gave up eating his usual food. I tried everything from fresh cooked salmon, cooked chicken, his favourite treats. After two days of food refusal, I took him to the vet, who diagnosed liver failure. He was pts there and then.

Hi Op

I went through this with mine (14) in November. He'd want to eat but didn't. He lived off those dentalife treats (didn't like Dreamies). We went for about 5 weeks trying various things - blood tests, urine tests, anti sickness, pain killersz antibiotics etc. I had more food here than Pets at Home! Eventually a scan showed liver cancer, and I let him go the next day. Broke my heart as he was still happy, iykwim, still jumping on us, purring when cuddled etc. He lost so much weight by the end though, he was just skin and bone. I made the decision to let him go before it got to the stage that he wasn't happy and could no longer get on the bed etc.

I hope your outcome is better, but he does need to see a vet. My friend had similar issues with her 15 year old cat last year - we thought he was near the end, and she was on the verge of booking that appointment. He'd had renal issues for ages. But miraculously he turned around and is still here today, eating well.

Keeping everything crossed for you.

It's obviously better than nothing, but I wouldn't be happy with it alone and I'd be worried that she would deteriorate quickly.

I'm perhaps bruised by my own experience. My cat spent 5 days at the vets in intensive care with pancreatitis, which all started with me noticing she was off her food. I thought it was because it was hot and she seemed otherwise fine so I waited to take her in. I wish I'd got her there immediately, obviously so she hadn't got so unwell and didn't have to go through such intense treatment, but also for my wallet. Had I got her there sooner painkillers and an appetite stimulant alone could have worked, as it was she had two types of feeding tube. It totally maxed out my insurance and I was very out of pocket on top of that.

I stupidly cancelled my insurance when I switched banks the other month, and kept planning on re-instating it, but never did.

We are also on UC and a low income. I had a look on PDSA and Blue Cross and there isn’t any option for those in our particular area. So not sure how we will afford a huge vet bill. Really stressing to be honest.

why not ring the nearest PDSA and talk to them? i know it sounds a logistical nightmare but you can't afford an emergency vet (i know how eye wateringly expensive they are) and you don't have insurance so it really is your only option.

When I put my postcode into the PDSA site this is what comes up:

@Rosiebuds did u manage to speak to a vet yet?

Can you get some Lik-e-Lix or/and a mousse-like food such as the one made by Gourmet which looks like a pyramid and has a sauce on top?
We have had very poorly cats who regained their appetites with both of those.
Your cat could have dental problems or a cold and this could have put him off his food.

But I would get your cat to the vet ASAP, especially if he's not drinking. Every day that passes will be making it more difficult for him to recover as damage will be done to his organs. Please make the drive to the vet or call them out to you.

Hi I spoke to a vet. I’m taking her in on Monday morning. She’s had some rotisserie chicken - we shredded it up really small and she ate some. She’s also drinking water. So they said as she’s eaten, albeit small amounts (and some cat treats) that Monday morning would be ok to bring her, unless she goes downhill.
She has been grooming herself this evening and scratched at the carpet (!) but she’s still less vocal and more reserved than normal.
She was rubbing her face up and down my DP’s leg this evening.

Our cat completely stopped eating for a few days, then would only eat 2 or 3 Dreamies a day for several weeks.
We took her to the vet multiple times, including for sedation and scans to see if she had a bowel obstruction, and they couldn’t find any reason for it. They gave her injections to stimulate her appetite but they didn’t work.
I was preparing myself that she would die, and then she slowly started eating normally again. It was a very scary and expensive month.
She would sniff at food and maybe lick a bit but then recoil from it. She wasn’t drinking much water either.
So don’t give up hope. It was completely out of character for our cat but she did make a full recovery from whatever it was.

So it wasn't just that you were unable to drive her to the Vet on Fri or Sat - due to illness / vertigo / partner working etc.

it's actually because you can't afford the Vet's bill because you cancelled the insurance.

You may find it cheaper then to have her pts rather than treated, or you may be fortunate enough to sign her over to a cat rescue and they will take responsibility for her Vet bills and eventually rehome her - if she is well enough to be rehomed.