Cat not eaten for over 24 hours

[Tiredandwired2]

Hi all, my cat hasn't eaten for over 24 hours and I am worried about hepatic lipidosis.

Has anyone had experience of their cat not eating for 24-48 hours.

the out of hours vets is £320 for the consultation alone without treatment and I can not afford this and the teeth treatment he eventually needs.

I think he avoidance of food is linked to his teeth and it's not covered by insurance.

I Have a vets appointment on Monday but am I putting him at risk by waiting this long? I am looking out for signs of deterioration and he is drinking fluids

Any advice welcome

I’m afraid I don’t know about the hepatic lipidosis but could you get hold of the cat food soup, or the very soft yogurt type cat food to see if your cat has any interest in that, to rule out teeth issues before you see the vet?

If you think the teeth are the issue, try “cat soup” - wet food mixed with water and blended. Then at least there’s nutrition available. Tooth stuff is so rarely covered by insurance - fingers crossed for you.

I have tried felix cat soup. Bought some today and also tried lick e lix but he has no interest in it. He usually loves lick e lix. I was thinking teeth but it may be that it's something else entirely. The reason I'm thinking it's his teeth is because the last few days he seemed to eat cautiously most the time and he threw up his food and the cat chunks were whole so I don't think he is chewing it.

I'm booked in with PDSA on Monday for reduced fee treatment and they seemed not to be too worried about the fact he wasn't eating, just as long as he was drinking. Think I'm working myself into state because I'm juggling between what I can afford and what I would ideally want to do (take him to see a vet right now). Thanks both. I will definitely try his usual food blended

Bless you - it is hard.

Water is the most important thing at the moment, I wonder if he would drink tuna water, would have some nutrition possibly and tuna is very smelly and could entice him.

Great idea. I will try that. Fingers crossed

Oh dear, my cat didn't eat for 3 days a few months ago. I kept offering lic a lix and finally he took it on day three, we had been to the vets and she wondered if he chewed a mouse with poison maybe. She gave some paste but he wouldn't take it. She also said to try warmed chicken skin but it was a no from the cat!!

If he is drinking, have you got any cat milk?

Poor cat. If he’s got toothache no wonder he’s off his food. It’s agony.

@SunshineandrainbowI haven't got cat milk. I didn't think of trying that. I will try and get some in the morning.

The advice is so conflicting. Emergency vet say he is at risk of complications if not seen because he hasn't been eating and then PDSA say as long as he is hydrated he can wait until Monday.

He's moving around fine. Think he is fed up of me distrurbing his sleep by offering constant food

When our last (very greedy) cat suddenly went off her food I had a feeling it was her teeth - she did take tuna, and I also poached a chicken breast and gave her that with a lot of the “broth” to make it wet.

Between seeing the vet and having treatment (also ££ and not covered by insurance!) we had Metacam to give her and she was back to eating her usual food fine. After the dental we had to keep on with that plus a spray like Corsodyl.

It’s such a worry, especially when it’s the weekend. Our insurance has a 24/7 helpline where you can speak to or video call a vet nurse which can be a useful sense check - do you have access to anything like that?

Have you tried something REALLY tasty like a bit of soft roast chicken? Definitely ok as long as he’s drinking
or you could poach a bit of chicken in water and blend it

Hepatic lipidosis is a risk and once it starts can progress rapidly. Our cat developed it after not eating due to a flare up of stomatitis / IBD and ended up needing tube feeding and we very nearly lost him (not to mention the huge vets bill). I was out of the country, cat #2 was eating both dishes of food and OH wasn't paying attention until it was very nearly too late.

Try anything you can think of to get him eating, our boy likes tiny slivers of cold raw chicken and anything with butter or mayonnaise on it. Not ideal but anything to get calories in until you can get him seen.

I'm currently hand-feeding mine ham to get him to eat. He loves it

(Please say a prayer that he has a treatable condition and not cancer)

What is it with cats tonight? Ours is unsettled because our neighbours are having a very loud party (as am I tbh) and barely ate any of his dinner which makes me anxious! He did consent to a chicken lollipop and some Dreamies though.

Of course the out of hours vets say he should be seen, they want your money. Listen to the PDSA. Is he drinking? Did he take the ham?
I'm sorry it is such a worry.

🙏 I hope so. It's such as worry though isn't it. The unknown is the worst. Really hoping it's something easily treated

Thank you, I'm waiting on blood test results and just hoping it's not cancer - the vet thought he could feel something in abdomen :/

In your shoes I would monitor closely and avoid the emergency vet if possible, if you can keep your cat hydrated. If he starts to look weak, lethargic or other symptoms kick in run him down there.

Fingers crossed for you

He is drinking. It was @Dolphinosep0tatoesfeeding hers the ham. I have managed to syringe some felix soup and licki lix into him. Blended food warmed up wasn't touched. No luck with tuna or tuna water either. Cheese was no too!

He has also had a bit of diarrhoea this evening which was Jelly like, same colour as the jelly soup I gave him a few hours ago. I am now thinking maybe it's not his teeth. Maybe digestive upset. He is a hunter and I often find mince, birds etc he has caught.

I will let him rest for now and try food again in the morning.

Mice, not mince! It's been a long day

I really hope you get good news. Our last darling cat did have intestinal lymphoma (stomach cancer) and her only symptom was vomiting, no food aversion at all if that helps.

We had her back and forth to the vets numerous times before pushing for further tests, but she was never off her food or lost weight so the vets were never overly concerned about her. In fact the visit before I demanded more investigations were done she had gained weight and the vet called her a “chonky girl”. Her bloods were fine but the referral specialist place found the mass after extensive scans etc.

Our pdsa will see as emergency over weekends at reduced rates Can you call back if he’s no better tomorrow Hope he picks up soon

My cat will lick food off my fingers or a teaspoon when he's poorly. Hope all is ok OP bloody emergency vets are outrageously expensive.

Thank you everyone for the advice and support. It really helped. He starts eating some food this morning. Such a relief

Oh thank goodness! x

Arh thank goodness. Such a relief. I remember being so upset when my cat wasn't eating, he was also very withdrawn, not purring and smelt awful