Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My senior cat (15yr old) has not been eating well for a year. He used to weigh 14lbs and now is down to 10.5lbs. He has lost 5oz of weight since his last vet visit in March. The vet has done a full blood panel and checked his entire body and everything is normal except for arthritis on his rear hips. He has been receiving Solensia once a month since March. I have noticed some improvements in his overall behavior but not much in terms of eating.
He won't eat any dry food and pretty much the only type of wet food he will eat are those Churu sticks that have mousse inside.
The vet is also suggesting starting with some gabapentin to help with possible pain but I'm not sure I want to go down that route.
That's a lot of weight loss for a cat. Did the vet examine his teeth?
We had an elderly kitty who took gabapentin for several years toward the end of his life (he lived to age 20), and it helped him quite a bit with his mobility and pain. The dose kitties get for pain usually has to be compounded (Benny got 10 mg versus 100 mg for humans). It improved his quality of life and IMO was worth it. It also has far fewer side effects/problems compared to other pain medication options.
Have you tried adding any of those "toppers" to the wet food, or even Fortiflora?
What I always give my animals if they don't want to eat is human baby food. The little glasses, Gerber, I think about $1 each glass (?) and if they like it, mix it with the regular food (because it gets expensive.)
Yeah, 15 years is old but I knew cats who lived 20+ years.
My vet was alarmed when my cat dropped from 12lbs. to 10lbs. in a year, so that is a huge % weight loss for your cat. Does he show signs of having sore teeth, like chewing only on one side or drooling?
Those churu sticks are only meant to be a snack. Have you tried putting bone broth on top of dry food?
There's nothing wrong with his teeth according to the vet. They were cleaned in 2021, so plaque is minimal. I have noticed that he eats in a strange way. He will move his head around sometimes when he eats wet food. He never eats dry food. So maybe he does have some tooth aches or mouth pain that isn't visible from the outside.
It's really upsetting because he is in good health and has good blood panels but if he won't eat, that's a major problem.
Good recommendation for the baby food. I will give that a try. At this point I am willing to try anything to get some calories into his body.
What I always give my animals if they don't want to eat is human baby food. The little glasses, Gerber, I think about $1 each glass (?) and if they like it, mix it with the regular food (because it gets expensive.)
Yeah, 15 years is old but I knew cats who lived 20+ years.
I haven't tried Gerber but I will. During some recent periods when River was off her feed and I thought it was The End, I gave her some tuna. Mmm mmm good. She at the tuna, soon was back to standard cat food, and though old and skinny she's eating well and craves together time with me.
I know she's essentially on hospice. I also worked hospice as a social worker and as a volunteer. Though they weren't my patients I heard of an occasional patient getting kicked off hospice because the care was so much more intense and, apparently, effective, that the doc could no longer certify that that person was likely to die within a certain time period. That time period was three or six months IIRC.
River has definitely bounced back. Still old and frail, still full of love.
Your cat lost 1/3 of his body weight since the last vet visit in March, he seems to have issues with his mouth and is only eating wet food. "It's really upsetting because he is in good health and has good blood panels but if he won't eat, that's a major problem."
When do you consider an animal not in good health?
When my son's cat became a picky eater and lost weight, she's a small cat, he discovered that she would eat expensive food like Blue Buffalo. She was rejecting people grade food from Japanese restaurants.
You need to take your cat back to the vet and tell the vet about everything that is going on.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
