Six Little Pounds.
She weighs just six pounds now. Not even six pounds, really. Closer to 5.7lbs. I am caring for a fuzzy, affectionate tumor with feet.
However, the vet gave me a mandate: SaraBelle can eat anything she wants to. So to get her weight up I am basicly doing the equivelant of stuffing her with Doritos and TastyKakes: She's getting lots and lots of cat treats. She has been eating them happily, and while I am certain she eats her cat food, she needs something in addition to that.
I'll get her weight up, I swear it.
posted by telescopemerc @ 7:34 PM
2 Comments:
From the following website: http://www.vetinfo.com/cwghtloss.html
You might want to try contacting this vet yourself...just a suggestion. Good luck, Sven. ((hugs))
Not eating
Q: Cat was vomiting routinely and not interested in food. Vet workup indicates
low protein and low white cell count. Weight went from 10.5 lbs to 9.4. X-rays
show nothing. Changed food to Limited Diets both dry and canned. Cats appetite
returned and started eating normally. Vet perscribed metronidazole250 in pill form
and Hi-Vite Drops. No problems for 2 days then cat got very upset at pill time and
started fighting pill. After pill she had siliva dripping from her mouth for 5 minutes.
She would hide. Stopped eating entirely for a day. Next day she wouldn't eat the
Limited Diets but got her to eat Tender Vittles and canned Friskies with no vomiting.
Quantity consumed was 3 tablespoons per day. Hand fed the Tender Vittles. She is
still drinking water normally. Vet said to stop all medication and get her to eat. What
can be done at home to stimulate appetite.
A: It is very important that cats continue to eat when weight loss is occurring
for some reason. If they stop, sometimes even for short periods of time, they
can develop a liver disorder (hepatic lipidosis) which is a serious problem.
The following things help to stimulate appetite without the use of medications:
Encourage your cat to eat. Pet it and talk reassuringly. Cats will sometimes
respond to encouragement.
Warm the food. Many cats prefer food that is warm.
Feed your cat something it really likes. There is a time for giving in to
cat's finicky desires and this would be it.
If upper respiratory disease is present, a nasal decongestant can increase
appetite -- ask your vet about this suggestion for medication advice.
If your cat has kidney disease or is geriatric, potassium supplementation
can help increase appetite.
Diazepam (Valium Rx) is a pretty consistent appetite stimulant for us.
Periactin (I can't remember the generic name) may also work. These
would have to be used by prescription from your vet, though.
Don't ignore the lack of appetite. Let your vet know this is going on if your
cat doesn't respond very well to the things you can do at home to stimulate
appetite. Even a few days of not eating can cause problems
Mike Richards, DVM
She does have an appetite, but I think the food she has been eating was vomited up during some of the queasier treatments. Plus the cancer has probably been interfering with digestion and such.
The good news is that she has been happily gobbling treats all day. And while she's still sleeping most of the day (even by cat standards) she was happily playing with a new cat toy on a stick thing I bought today.
She's still SaraBelle.
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