Poorly cat - won't eat

[Elizabeth110100]

I don't know what I'm looking for other than words of reassurance but I'm really worried about my 2.5 year old cat.
He's been 'off' for a couple of days and yesterday wasn't eating and he just looked sad. I took him to the vet and they said he had a bit of a temp and gave him an injection. The vet said he needed to eat.
I shut him in a room with wet food, dry food, water and a litter tray. He ate some dreamies before I went to bed so I was hoping he'd be ok.
I got up at 5am (worrying myself sick all night about the cat!) And he's thrown the dreamies up and still not eating.
I'll have to call the vet again but need to go to work (I'm a teacher) and also panicking about money. I cancelled my pet insurance last month over an argument with them and meant to get new pet insurance in the New year. Only I didn't get round to it.
The vet said if he hadn't eaten they'd need to do blood tests.
I'm so worried about my cat and now about money.
I'm massively kicking myself for not being quicker with the pet insurance.
I know there's nothing anyone else can say but I just needed to get it out! I don't want my kids to worry so I'm worrying enough for everybody 😭😞

I’m sure cat will be ok! Sounds like he’s got a stomach bug. Best thing to do is starve it out anyway. Let him rest and try some food later on today. X

Really? The vet said if he doesn't eat for two days it can be really bad for cats and make him far worse.
The vet's is really stressful for him and I don't think that's making him want to eat to be honest.
I don't know whether to ring back the vet's today or leave it and see.
It's so hard to tell with cats 😞

My 2 yr old cat was poorly with similar last week. He refused to eat for 24hrs, which is very unlike him, and threw up 3 times. We took him to the vets where he was given 3 antibiotic injections for a viral infection. He also had a high temperature. A couple of hours later he started eating again, the vet had also given us some gentler food which he enjoyed. He was sick again a day later, but now seems back to his usual self.
I'd definitely call the vets again, maybe one dose of antibiotics wasn't enough?

Sorry pressed send too soon! Just to add, hope he's feeling better soon!

He might be associating his usual food with feeling off if it's a digestion problem. Might be worth giving him small pieces of cooked chicken which will be easier to digest and might be tempting. My two love the chicken juices from chicken, so might be worth trying immediately after it's cooled down.

Also, most supermarkets and pet shops do Webbox chicken or salmon yogurt tubes - 5/6 in a box for around £1.20 - not saying he's end of life, but my last two would still have these in their last few days.

Cats don't really like having their water by their food, so might be worth leaving a couple of bowls saucers of water in other parts of the house - that might encourage him to drink - he can live without food for a few days but good to get liquid in him one way or the other. You could try pinching the back of his neck, if the skin doesn't go straight back down that's a sign he's dehydrated - in which case I'd have a chat with vet over the phone.

The injection should kick in during the day, so I'd try these this evening and tomorrow morning. At that point if he's still not eating, then yes get him checked out.

My cat didn't eat for about 6 days and was constantly vomiting up bile. I was really stressed but he was OK (despite not eating for so long). Eventually hospitalised and they said his bowel was inflamed. We switched to hypoallergenic food and he's been thriving ever since! I'm not saying your cat has this but it's quite common for cats to go off their food and be subdued when they're ill. Hope he's better soon and you can get insurance quickly.

You really DO need to speak to the vet. It is not normal for a cat to vomit and not eat. Pay on your credit card.

Cats not eating for a few days can be really dangerous. So suggesting that he 'just starve it out' is really bad advice.

It is dangerous for cats not to eat for a few days. Hence the vet showing concern. A blood test might be needed to check lots of things - but kidney issues, for example, can make cats feel very nauseous and unwilling to eat.
One of mine was very poorly last year after eating something unpleasant and after a few days and several vet trips, the vet gave her an antihistamine to try and stimulate appetite. Kitty was losing 500g a day by not eating. Luckily it worked.
The magic food combination for us was yogurt lick e lix and a few prawns. Warming their food sometimes helps as it increases the smell of it.

We are seeing the vet this evening. They wanted me to do an earlier appointment but how can I when I am supposed to be teaching in the day? I feel absolutely wretched

It's horrible when they're ill and it's not obvious what is wrong.
My sickly cat was the same age as yours and had youth and otherwise good health on her side - she has made a full recovery.
Fingers crossed that the vet gets to the bottom of it soon.

Hope cat is OK op.
Have you tried some cut up chicken. Or mine like cheap frozen white fish from Sainsburys which I simmer in water.
It's horrible when they don't eat.

My cat didn't eat for a couple of days. Gave her tuna or cooked chicken and she wolfed it down.

Could you cook him a bit of fish or chicken to tempt him? Cod always worked well with one of my old cats.

I get your stress about the bills. I took my cat to the vet yesterday, as I was worried about him. Blood and a urine test cost £170.00, plus £40.00 for some pain medication for his arthritis.

Vets are so expensive, and I have no pet insurance, either. Luckily my cat, who is 17, has had a pretty blessed life and never had any major illness. If I got another cat, though, I would definitely take out the pet insurance next time.

Thank you all.
He went back to the vet and she gave him an anti sickness jab and some special food. His temp is normal now so she thinks he's stressed as I had to shut him in a room to see if he was eating (I have other cats).
I'll wait for him to recover from the vet trauma and try it.
I really hope it works, this is horribly stressful.

How is your cat now? I hope he's getting better.

Any change?

He ate a few mouthfuls of tuna this morning. I'm not sure if he ate anything today as I've let him roam with the other cats on advice of the vet.
He had a little poo this morning and is definitely drinking water.
He seems a lot brighter all of a sudden this evening. Rather than huddled on the armchair, he's walking around and meowing to go outside.
He's not tempted by the tuna I put down just now though.
I spoke to the vet again today and they said if there's no change, to bring him back tomorrow. I have an appointment booked in case I need it. I'm just hoping now he obviously feels a bit better that he'll just eat.
It's so frustrating and worrying.
Thanks for asking 🙂

He's eating!! He didn't want the tuna or the posh cat food or the booked fish but he did want dry cat biscuits.
The relief is immense.

Great news!

Yay! Fingers crossed he continues to perk up.

He's completely better, he's lost quite a bit of weight as he was small to start with but hopefully he'll catch up soon.
I've never been so relieved to see him eating. Thanks for all your comments, I was really anxious. I am now looking for new cat insurance!!

My poorly cat managed to lose about a kilo over a few days of not eating - weight was literally melting off her, it was really worrying. Once she started eating again though she was like a machine. Regained the weight in the same span if time she lost it!