I just brought Salty home...

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2002
I just brought Salty home...
17
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 4:46pm
I spoke with the vet and she said Salty isn't eating again. She gave her a shot of penicillin this morning to cover the broad spectrum of possible bacteria that may be missed by the Baytril. She had two more nebulizer treatments today. I went to see her at about 2pm after talking to the vet on the phone. Her temp came down within normal ranges recently (thank God) but she is still very congested and made a horrible coughing noise I'd never heard a cat make before. She still labors to breath. The vet felt she should come home with me to a quiet, familiar environment so maybe she'd relax and want to eat. I am to give her the Baytril pill and 1/2 of the Albon pill tonight to treat her URI and her parasite (which is now causing her to have some loose stools). They showed me how to give a cat a pill so she hopefully won't foam up at the mouth on me. I am to try to get her to eat anything. Now she's surrounded in her room by scrambled eggs, canned beef cat food, baby food, dry food, and water. So far she hasn't touched a thing. I am desperate to get some food in her. Does anyone have any ideas how to entice her to eat? I don't know what else to try.

I am so grateful that the vet only charged me $80 for the nebulizer treatments. She didn't charge anything for the staying over 2 nights or for shots, or food, etc. I think she feels very bad for poor Salty suffering so much.

I am to call the vet in the morning and tell her how she is doing. If she won't eat I may have to take her back in for force feeding. I don't know why poor Salty is having such a hard time beating this thing. It doesn't help that she's also fighting an intestinal parasite, as well as healing up from her spay operation.

I am going to keep a close eye on her and I'll keep you all posted on how she's doing. Your thoughts & prayers mean so much to us!

Do you think Misha would be a good new name for her? Does anyone have any other ideas? I want it to be a pretty name with an appropriate meaning for such a sweet girl.

(((((Hugs to All)))))

Suzy


Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 4:56pm
Poor little Salty is really having a rough time! Poor little thing.

I don't know if you've tried this yet, but you could take a little dab of the baby food and smear it on the tip of her nose. Her natural instinct will be to lick it off. If this works, continue to do it until she has had a decent amount to eat. It is time consuming, but hey, if it gets her to eat then it will be worth it!

((((((hugs))))))



Powered by CGISpy.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2002
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 5:04pm
Thanks for the idea! I will try....I just gave her yet another plate of food...some Fancy Feast chicken. I will keep trying.

(((Hugs & Purrs)))


Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 5:40pm

Awww, poor little girl.


Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2002
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 5:59pm
Thanks for the suggestion! So far I haven't been able to get her to eat anything, even if I rub it on her nose. She moved her head away and makes a gagging noise. I need something strong smelling. The sardines didn't work. Nothing else has, either. Maybe some liver cat food? I will go out tonight and get more different foods. I have to keep trying. Dh will be home in an hour & a half & then he'll help me give her her pills. After that we'll go out kitty food shopping.

I will ask about the nebulizer. Thanks for the feedback on her name. I think she deserves a nice one after all this. :-)

((((Leslie))))


iVillage Member
Registered: 06-07-2004
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 8:11pm
I wish I had an answer for you,but all I can do is offer my prayers. I think Misha is a sweet name for her...

God bless

Ann

 

Ann

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-21-2004
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 8:45pm
I went through a problem with a cat not eating. The vet told me to give her meat flavored baby food on a spoon. Perhaps you could try spoon feeding her. I was able to wean the cat from the spoon feedings quickly once she started eating regualrly.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2002
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 9:01pm
((((Ann)))) Thank you for the prayers. They are all we need :-) Thanks also for the feedback on her name.

Suzy >^..^<


iVillage Member
Registered: 05-20-2003
Fri, 06-18-2004 - 9:36pm

Hope you can get Salty interested in some food.

MMFallSiggy2010.png picture by greykits

Avatar for hummynbrd
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Sat, 06-19-2004 - 1:16am
Having just had some unfortunate experience in this area (we recently lost our beloved Leo after he flat out stopped eating and we decided to let the vet help him die - he had cancer, though, so it wasn't just a run of the mill infection), I may have some insight for you. If your kitty really won't eat a thing you offer, you might want to ask the vet about some special food. Our vet had us give our cat Hill's Science Diet a/d food. Leo was already on his usual prescription k/d for kidney problems, but he wouldn't touch it anymore. Supposedly a/d is made to be especially appetizing to sick kitties. We were instructed to mix it in to his regular wet food, as it can apparently cause diarrhea if too much of it is eaten at a time. Leo would eat the a/d mix up until fairly close to the end of his life... there finally came a time when he just wouldn't touch a thing. I don't know if a/d food is something your vet uses or recommends, but you might want to ask about it if kitty continues in this mode.

Best of luck - I know how hard it is to have a cat that won't eat.

Amy

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2002
Sat, 06-19-2004 - 2:07am
Thank you so much Amy! I am very sorry to hear about your Leo. It is heartbreaking. I lost my first cat Missy that way....she stopped eating and her organs failed. I don't want to see that happen to poor Salty. She's only 1 1/2.

Our vet does use Science Diet, so I will talk to her in the morning. Salty would not eat at all....I tried force feeding her a tiny bit with a syringe but she just growled (which is unusual). I have given up. I think she needs medical help to be force fed or given some sort of feeding tube at this point. I don't want to "wait and see" any more. I will tell the vet I can't handle watching her starve all weekend...she needs help NOW. (Sorry I'm so frustrated at this point....it's so painful to see her like this. I know you went through the same thing and know how helpless it makes one feel to not be able to help). I am here in her room sleeping on the floor so I can hear if she has any severe breathing problem during the night. She's wheezing a bit, but pretty much just sleeping. I have the seven plates of different food in here along with water and some chicken broth. I can't wait till morning to call the vet and see if I should have her hospitalized over the weekend.

Thanks so much for the support and advice. I'll keep everyone posted. (((Hugs)))


Pages