Cat with food aversion. Please help.

[Circe]

Hello,
I'm hoping that someone here can give me some ideas.
Sorry this is going to be long, I just want to give as much info as possible.

My cat Arte has been unwell since Saturday. At first we thought she was trying to vomit a fur ball. She doesn't do them often, when she does, it takes a while.
She wasn't eating, still drinking, and vomiting small amounts of liquid about every hour.
Over night I heard her playing with her paper bag and I thought she must've had a vomit and be better.
I went to work on Sunday, and left her with my OH.
Mid morning she started vomiting after drinking, so he found a vet open and they gave her Iv fluids for 3 hours- until they closed, did an abdominal X-ray which didn't show anything, and ran bloods that are all in normal range. No signs of kidney/ liver / pancreas problems.
When I got in several hours later, she was still vomiting and looking very unhappy, so we took her to a 24 hour emergency vet who gave her an anti emetic pill and a painkiller injection. She seemed brighter, so we bought her home.
Monday morning, she still looked unwell again. No vomiting- just lethargic and not her usual perky self, so we took her back to the second vet and she had 24 hours of Iv fluids, painkillers, anti emetics, and a laparoscope ( which was normal ) and a repeat X-ray of her upper body.
She was able to come home yesterday lunch time. The vet had just given anti emetic pill and an appetite stimulant.

Well. Now our problem is that she refuses to eat anything.
Husband has just managed to hand feed her a couple of pieces of chicken, but that is all, and she has had a mouthful of whiskas.
The vet has said she will need a feeding tube tomorrow if she's not eating- which we will do if needed, but obviously, we'd prefer if we could get her to eat.
We've tried her usual cat food, a gastro health food from the vet, sardine paste, tuna. All looked at and sniffed, but refused.
She has also eaten a small bit of donut that my OH gave her. She seems more willing to try food from him at the moment, I think because I give her pills at the moment.
Has anyone got experience of getting a cat to start eating again ? Or even if feeding tubes in cats ?
Thank you
Oh. Just to clarify she is drinking and no vomiting since Sunday night - it's wedsnesday night here now.
Kx

 

[Blanche]

I would try her with tiny meals of human food ( such as chicken breast, ham, salmon and all other fish). I would start with around a teaspoon every hour or so and then gradually up the amount and the time between meals. Don't overload the stomach at the moment as it may make her feel uncomfortable and put her off eating again. Warm food often encourages them to eat better too. My cats also love some cheddar ,though its not ideal for cats , a bit grated over the top of food can encourage them to eat. I've also noticed my cats get an attack of the munchies after having some catnip, my cats favourite is Cosmic Catnip. Not sure if CC is available in Australia but you may be able to get some online. Good luck.

 

[forumuser123]

May seem odd but try mashed up pilchards in tomato sauce.
I used to foster for Cats Protection and this worked a treat with cats who wouldn't eat.

 

[Blanche]

I meant to put chicken thighs and legs and not breast as it is greasy and more tasty.

 

[highlandponygirl]

Has she injested something toxic? Sounds like a reaction to something she has eaten. My cat had a similar reaction when I gave her her spot on flee treatment, she was really poorly within 24 hours and was at the vet on IV drip, painkillers etc Thankfully she made a full recovery, but like you, getting her to eat was a nightmare ( I was the evil pill feeder too! ) At first I had to force feed her with liquidised food in a syringe, with limited success, not something I want to do again. I found plain, non smelly, food was more welcomed. I made my own boiled chicken or beef mince for her or some plain scramble eggs with a little butter through it to tempt her.

I hope she recovers soon.

 

[be positive]

I wonder if chewing is hurting now or if her throat is sore so as she is drinking ok would try something liquidised to get her started make it like soup so she can lap it rather than eat it, as smelly as possible so strong fish could be ideal, a tiny amount at a time and remove any she does take.
I am more experienced with horses not eating but the principle is the same, high energy, as tasty as possible and never pushing or overfacing in any one meal, no idea if it is suitable for cats but honey and egg worked for one horse that was unwell, it was syringed in and helped keep his energy levels up he seemed to like the honey and it does have healing properties.

 

[Circe]

Hello,
Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
Be Positive. My OH thinks that her mouth or throat are sore, so I might have to speak to the vet about some painkiller. She hasn't had any since monday morning. I will certainly try liquid/ maybe some gravy.
forumuser123, will definitely try some pilchards. She usually loves sardines in tomato,
We have probably been expecting too much maybe then Blanche, I was ( probably stupidly ) thinking she would take a mouthful and decide she was hungry, so would tuck in as usual. my OH has had a little luck with chicken breast, I'll get some thigh and see if that's a little more tempting.
We've been quite careful to try not to pressure her. If she isn't showing interest, we take the food away after a few minutes.
She is a little bit odd, and can be quite fussy and get upset easily if her routine is upset. I will get some catnip for her in the morning, as she certainly likes catnip toys,so might work.
highlandponygirl. I'm 99% sure that she hasn't eaten anything she shouldn't. Shes an indoor cat, and I haven't bought anything new into the house, and we don't have pot plants/ flowers.
Scrambled eggs is certainly an idea we can try.
Kx

 

[Midlifecrisis]

My Siamese had this problem about a week after having his yearly injections...I used chip shop fish...sliced ham and the new cat soups which now he is feels better was the worse thing I could have done as he loves them and I'm stuck with pampering to his newly found tastebuds.

 

[highlandponygirl]

Hi OP, how is Arte? Hope she is doing better now.

 

[Circe]

Hello
Yes. She seems a lot better now thank you. She ended up being tempted by warm BBQ chicken thigh ! She's also eating a bit of whiskas, both things I'm not going to give her long term, but in the short term I don't care as long as she eats.
She's back to her cheeky self as well, which is a huge relief.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
Kx