1.5 yr old cat not eating

[4horses]

One of my cats has been completely off his food since Tuesday. Marvel is 1.5 years old. Has a history of having occasional loose foul smelling stool. Occasionally has blood in stool. Usually I change brands of food and the issue goes away. I had thought it was food intolerance because I would switch brands and everything would be back to normal.

I took him to the vet and had x rays done… Didn’t really show anything concerning. Started treatment with Cerenia and he has nibbled food at one meal and drank water off the food but he looks uncomfortable. He looks excited about eating but when you put the food down he turns his nose up. Urination was normal starting out but has tapered off (with the lack of eating).

I have been calling the vet and they suggested bloodwork and fluids but the bloodwork takes at least 2 days to get results. No one is available to do an abdominal ultrasound until next week… My other option is to go to an emergency or urgent vet and see if they can do some more advanced diagnostics. I’m planning on taking him in the morning (as he is otherwise bright if lethargic).

Would it be better to let my regular vet handle this or just go for the more advanced diagnostics? As gastroenteritis is usually a self limiting condition… But we don’t have a diagnosis. It could be anything.

[OzarksRider]

I’m not a vet and I don’t know your cat, so take my comments with a grain of salt. First, some questions:

Does your cat go outside?
Does he have diarrhea now?
How long has he been having episodes of diarrhea?
Has he ever been treated by a vet for the diarrhea?
Has he been wormed recently?

Foul smelling loose stools could be caused by Giardia, bacteria, or viruses. If this has been going on for a while, it could also be making him feel bad enough to lose his appetite. If he’s not peeing, he’s probably dehydrated so having the vet give him some fluids is a good idea. Getting him re-hydrated may also help stimulate his appetite. A shot of vitamin B12 could also perk him up. And if your cat is still having diarrhea a course of metronidazole may cure it. Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is used to treat Giardia and some bacterial infections, and it also has an anti-inflammatory effect on the gut. It’s always been a wonder drug for my cats when they’ve had diarrhea.

Blood work can tell you how his organs are functioning, but those tests won’t identify what is causing the infection (if that’s what it is). For that, you would need a stool sample to test for parasites, and those tests are often not reliable. This is because the organism would have to be in the section of stool that was tested in order to be detected. So a stool test could tell you for sure if the cat had a parasite, but it could not tell you for sure that he didn’t have one.

Do you trust your vet? If you do, then IIWM I’d let him or her start treating this and only go for advanced diagnostics if you don’t see results pretty soon. They can start treating him before they get the test results and hopefully get him feeling better.

[Simkie]

I’ve never found Cerenia very useful alone. My go tos for inappetence are pepcid, then zofran, then mirtazipine.

When I stack those and the cat still says no, it’s pancreatitis and needs antibiotics & steroids.

[rubygirl1968]

I can’t add anything that @OzarksRider and @Simkie already said, but I hope your kitty feels better soon.

Hopefully he can get some tests done tomorrow and fluids so you find out what’s wrong.

[4horses]

His last stool was of normal consistency but looked like it had some blood in it. Fecal test was normal and I already gave him fenbendazole the first day this started.

I’m leaning towards colitis or pancreatitis. Something makes me think this isn’t just your typical parasitic infection. He is indoor only and I’m pretty consistent about deworming regularly.

The vet practice I use is good but you typically get whichever vet has an opening that day so I am not super trusting of them. Hopefully I should have some answers soon enough.

[3PonyFarm]

I hope you get some answers soon!

[Simkie]

@4horses

He is indoor only and I’m pretty consistent about deworming regularly.

An indoor cat shouldn’t need regular deworming. Blood in the stool is definitely not normal.

Did they run any bloodwork? Radiographs would not be my first thought at all for an inappetent cat without vomiting. Were you concerned about a foreign object? Why? Does he eat weird things?

[OzarksRider]

How is Marvel today? What did the vet say?

[MunchingonHay]

The blood in the stool. Is it red or black?
Red could be because he is straining to go potty. Black and I would be running him to the ER vet.

Are you feeding a kibble (dry food) along with a canned wet?

I am not a vet, but isn’t pancreatitis brought on by a high fatty diet? Are you feeding him scraps?

I hope he feels better soon.

Marvel is a great name btw.

[4horses]

He has pancreatitis and is FELV positive. I’m pretty upset with the adoption agency. They swore he was tested and all cats are supposed to be Felv/FIV negative before being placed for adoption. This means my other cats are all exposed… I’m trying to find a location that will just run the felv snap test but it’s $50 for the exam fee and $45-$60 for testing for each cat. I’m going to be looking at a $400-$800 bill just to test everyone and vaccinate the healthy ones … in addition to all Marvel’s medical bills. And with the possibility they can test positive later on means additional vet bills going forward.

To say I am devastated doesn’t even begin to describe the situation… honestly it would be cheaper to just drop all the cats at the shelter and surrender them, not that I would do that but now I’m going to have to figure out how to manage a household with positive and negative cats. Do I euthanize the sick ones? Hope the vaccines will be enough to cover the health ones? If they all test positive I’m probably just going to start euthanizing as they develop symptoms because I can’t be dropping $1000 on each cat for medical expenses.

Marvel’s vet bill yesterday was $1000 and they wanted to keep him hospitalized for a couple days. I picked him up this morning and he’s high as a kite. Not sure what they gave him but he is rolling around like a cat on catnip. Thankfully he doesn’t appear to be painful and they gave me IV fluids and gabapentin for pain medication going forward. Cerenia for vomiting and mirtazapine as an appetite stimulant.

And my lovely new kitten that I just adopted a few weeks ago is exposed as well.

I’m betting Marvel was positive from the moment I adopted him.

[Peggy]

Nothing to add but hugs, sympathy, and jingles for lots of negative tests.

[Simkie]

I’m so sorry, that’s shocking news

From what I recall, it’s not terribly difficult to manage FeLV pos & neg together? It’s been awhile, but aren’t deep bites how it’s transmitted most often?

I’ve never had any luck managing pancreatitis symptomatically–I’ve always needed antibiotics and steroids. If things don’t shift pretty quickly, don’t be afraid to ask the vet for treatment. We usually use covenia (which is a long acting abx injection) and pred.

[OzarksRider]

So much to say here, I don’t quite know where to start.

First, don’t necessarily blame the rescue. The FeLV tests aren’t perfect, and it’s very possible to get a negative result even though the cat is infected. For example, if the test is done shortly after the cat has been infected the virus may not have had time to replicate enough to be detected. Or, sometimes the virus can “hide” in the bone marrow where it won’t be detected by a blood test.

Second, don’t panic about your other cats just yet. One of my cats is FeLV positive. I took him in as a stray and had him neutered and vaccinated, including the FeLV vaccine. He spent the first year fighting a stubborn middle ear infection and getting into scraps with my other cats. Then he developed anisocoria (uneven eye pupils), and my local vet referred me to the vet school for a CT scan because she thought the cat might have a brain tumor. It turned out that he had the feline leukemia virus. Like you, I was shocked and devastated. I thought I would have to euthanize the feline leukemia cat and all my other cats were surely doomed. That was five years ago. The FeLV cat is still here and seems healthy and happy except for his weird eyes. None of my other cats are sick, and they still share water and food dishes with the FeLV cat. I just make sure they stay current on their FeLV vaccine. I never tested any of them for the virus, because what would be the point? By the time I knew my cat was infected he had been sharing food and water dishes and getting into fights with the other cats for at least a year. Either the others were already infected, in which case I couldn’t do anything about it, or they were immune.

I know that veterinarians always recommend that you test before vaccinating because supposedly the vaccine won’t do any good if the cat is already infected. However, the vaccine also won’t do any harm (well, except for maybe transient lethargy/fever/loss of appetite and a rare risk of a vaccine related sarcoma), so you could just vaccinate and save the money you would have spent on testing. If you have a relationship with your vet you might be able to buy the vaccine from them and vaccinate the cats yourself, thereby saving the cost of a vet visit. Or you might find the vaccine available online, although it’s hard to find single dose FeLV-only vaccines.

There’s no way to predict how this will all play out with your cats, but it may well not be as bad as you fear. My fingers are crossed for you. I’ve been there and know how it is

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

I’ve had FeLV cats. First, the chances of spreading it are pretty small - it’s usually through saliva, from deep bites. If your cats don’t fight, this is easy to manage.

Then - some FeLV cats get sick - and some don’t. I had 2 siblings from a litter who both were positive. One developed the mouth ulcers and I eventually had to euthanize him. The other is going strong and shows no symptoms at all (at 8 years).

So it’s not always a death sentence, and it’s manageable.

Which brings me to my first question - did the vet look at his mouth? If not, I would. Second - I hope the vet did some subQ fluids to stave off dehydration. Third - I would ask for mirtazipine as an appetite stimulant.

Honestly, if your vet isn’t able or willing to do the diagnostics, I would take him to the ER vet, or your local vet school (if you have one). Two days for blood work? My vet never takes more than a few hours.

[keh]

I’m really sorry. I’m hoping the rescue didn’t knowingly place a sick cat. If you can’t afford his treatment, I would return Marvel to the rescue. At the minimum, I’d reach out to them. Most rescues are stretched thin financially, but they may be able to get you a discount at their vet.

Do you need a diagnosis on your other cats? Or would those funds be better spent on treatment if they become sick? I apologize for my ignorance as I’m not educated about FeLV.

Jingles for you & Marvel. I’ve dealt with pancreatits in my late dog & it’s not fun. Thank you for rescueing. You made a difference in his life, for the better & you certainly didn’t deserve this diagnosis.

[3PonyFarm]

Jingles for good news for all the kitties.

[barngirl77]

Actually FeLV is a disease of friendly cats and is spread via close contact, i.e. sharing food and water bowls and mutual grooming. On the other hand, FIV is spread via fighting and bite wounds.

[4horses]

I reached out to the rescue for clarification on their testing policy in kittens. The person who emailed me back said they test kittens over 13 weeks, but their website says all cats are tested prior to being placed for adoption. So either they need to update their website or start informing adopters if they aren’t testing all cats prior to adoption.

I just adopted Hayley from them a few weeks ago. It’s real a shame because she’s a young kitten that has now been exposed to a deadly disease and kittens are more susceptible to begin with.

I have all the cats isolated in different rooms now and they will stay that way until I can get them tested. I picked up Felv vaccines today from tractor supply… Not my first choice for vaccines (who knows if they were kept at the right temperature?) but I can order the booster shots from valley vet.

Marvel has just started eating mushy food so I’m giving him Pedialyte with his food rather than poking him with needles for subQ fluids. He did have enlarged lymph nodes on his ultrasound. Is that typical of pancreatitis or should I be worried he has cancer started? I didn’t get a chance to ask the vet. May have to call them.

I just lost my last old cat 6 weeks ago. I was looking forward to having a break from vet bills and sick cats. Here I was thinking I was in the clear and enjoying the new kitten… It certainly puts a cloud over everything.