What would you do? (**Update 6-18-09 - need your prayers)

[katladyd]

I fed him a high-calorie canned food the vet gave me with a rather large syringe that had an almost spoon-like end. The water was through a syringe a little larger than the ones used to give meds. A spoon would work fine for feeding, though. I picked up a spare syringe for liquids at Wal Mart in the pet section. He started to eat before he drank on his own. Funny. The vet said drinking was more important than eating in the short term. If the syring didn't work for hydrating him, I was given a bag of water and a needle to give him Sub Q fluids. He ended up not needing this, though. My prayers are with dear Sydney, I remember pulling for her when she was going through her chemo. She is one, tough little girl. Give her hugs for me

[jennielynn1970]

Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that Sydney is feeling so poorly. I'm just catching up with things here on PT.

I think the cancer would show up on the blood tests, so I hope that the cancer is still in remission and that there is just another reason as to why she is not feeling well. Hopefully it is just something easy to fix and will not be anything long term or degenerative in nature.

Big hugs to you and to Sydney. All my good thoughts and hopes are going out to you.

[Lizzie]

Kat - I'm glad you are pushing through this, trying everything you can. Sometimes we have to do this and sometimes we win through, which I very much hope will happen in your case.

A can of tuna is quite a bit of food, unless you mean a mini-can? If you decide to force feed her, use AD from the vet (it's VERY high calorie) with a splash of nutritional supplement. I've found that the best feeding syringe to use is a 35cc rather than the larger ones the vet techs use. Mix the AD up with warm water to the consistency of sloppy oatmeal and make sure it doesn't have any tiny lumps that will block the syringe tip. I keep the mug of feed in a jug of very warm water so that as I draw up more feed it's still nice and warm. Expect protests, but she will feel really good when that stuff is in her stomach.

Did your vet give you Mirtazapine? It's very effective and the dosage is really low, something like a 1/4 tablet every three days. The first day, as you might expect, the cat's appetite is very strong and by the third day it's pretty much back to the way it was before the medication.

Do you know if Sidney is dehydrated at all? That will make a cat lethargic and cause inappetance very quickly. To test for dehydration lift up the cat's skin between the shoulder blades with your thumb and forefinger then let go. If the skin springs back right away, it's a good indication that the cat is not dehydrated. Giving sub-q fluids, if necessary, can make a cat go from lethargic to feeling more normal very quickly.

Good luck! Sydney is lucky to have you as her guardian.

[kittykatharine]

So i wrote this super long post and I was logged out of Pettalk and I lost it - so as a synopsis, Sydney seemed better today. She actaully came down to my room looking for food this morning, which is something she hasnt done in a very long time. She still is eating the tuna (and yes the big cans!) and I was able to get her to eat some of the kitten food last night. Between the nutrical in the morning and the tuna during the day I am trying my best to get her to eat anything she can. Thank you so much katladyd,jjenn_librarian, and Lizzie for your positive thoughts and helpful information. I have printed out this page of the blog to bring to my vet in the event I have to force feed Sydney - since she is eating at this point, I do not think this is necissary, however, if her eating subsides then I at least know what to ask the vet to get. My poor little Sydney - she weights approximately 6bls rightnow, whereas she weighed 13 lbs this time last year. She is one of the strongest fighters I have ever seen and I want her to know that her mommy is right along side her fighting for her as well. Weoll, I am going to run home and feed her, I will make sure to give her extra hugs and kissses from everyone at PT!

[katladyd]

You and Sydney are so lucky to have each other The weight loss may be a delayed reaction from all the chemo she went through a few months ago. You both are in my thoughts and prayers daily. Good luck to both of you!

[Catty1]

Good news...better and better.

If you talk to your vet, see what she thinks of Sydney trying the A/D food on its own without the syringe. Mix with a bit of warm water and some tuna, maybe.

Just a thought. She is bound to put a little weight on now.

She just has the SWEETEST face - worth fighting for any time.

[Taz_Zoee]

Wow, I have just caught up with this thread. I am bad and do not come to the health sections very often.
Katherine, if you haven't seen my post about Taz in Cat General, I'll just tell you I know what you are experiencing. Minus the cancer part (at least as far as I know). Taz weighed in at 21 1/2 lbs about 5 years ago. He now weighs 7 lbs. He is skin and bones. I give him sub-q's and it's hard to even pinch his skin to get the needle in. But the fluids have been helping. He seems more alert and more active. He's not eating as much as I'd like him to, but tuna is always a winner. He screamed at me this morning for it.

I also can relate to not wanting to show them how stressed you are. I did my crying BEFORE we gave Taz his first sub-q treatment. I'm much better with it now.

I will definitely be thinking of you and Sydney and hope for the best.

[krazyaboutkatz]

When my Ziggy stopped eating and was in the hospital, they force fed her some canned A/D and I brought some of it home and she ate it here too. It's very easy to mix with water and put in large syringes if you need to force feed her. They also gave her a vitamin B-12 shot and I'm supposed to give her another one tomorrow. This is supposed to help her appetite and maybe it would also work for Sydney. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent her way.