I think her time is drawing near

[JulieandBarney]

Diana, that's great news !.....It seems like she may have turned a corner ......just keep up with the little and often.....good old Shelly is a fighter......xx

[pandorawarlord]

this is good news, glad she had some breakfast and a good nights sleep

[Diana]

I had to rush back to PAH to exchange something and my mum gave Shelly two small pieces of beef and she ate them. Its very confusing right now. If we can carry on for a few more days, weeks or months even giving her little but often then I shall for sure...but if it is not enough and she continues to lose weight, I rather as many say let her go a day to early then a day to late. Currently my parents and brother are not inclined to let her go just yet, I am more leaning to letting her sleep because although little but often is great, if she is losing weight, then we are fighting a losing battle.

She just had a syringe of milk...do you guys think I should give water instead? I voted milk as cat milk is food but also liquid, or do I go half cat milk and half water?

This time last week Shelly barely ate and she was hiding and running. Now she isnt, so that is a good step. The next step is to get her eating a bit more.

[Kay]

if you had a firm diagnosis, and knew she was terminally ill, then it would be easier to know when to let her go - but as you have basically been told there is nothing wrong with her, it must be worth persevering for a while longer, to see how she goes

[JulieandBarney]

With my Barney, he is reluctant to drink water, though it's always there for him, so I give him Kitten milk, which is not as thick as the basic cat milk I also add some warm water to his food, he will lap it up then, he seems to do fine with this...x

[Diana]

That is the issue, we just don't know what is wrong. All tests came back OK, all that is left is possible Neuro problem. If she had a brain tumour, the most common system is seizures, but Shelly has had none of them. Cats are never just cats are they, they are family!

Bloods were taken about 36 hrs after she started losing her appetite at start of Sept before she got better again, bloods havent been taken this time round as they did it once before and all was great. I thought of doing bloods again but as she hasnt ate much or drank other then what we syringe into her, taking more bloods can make her more weak. If they were taken now, surely it would show something cause she hasnt been eating or drinking but i don't know it it will get to the route of it all. We could try a drip at the vets, but what good would it do if it builds her back up, only to drop again a few days later, we have short term solutions but nothing long term where we can control it all enough so she has a comfortable life. Besides, the more short term solutions we try the more we stress her, I don't want that for her.

Not knowing is the worst.

[JulieandBarney]

It must be awful Diana, the not knowing, it would drive me crazy. I am with you though, not wanting anymore invasive tests, which would stress her even more and may not even give any further diagnosis than you already have. For now, personally, I would take it a day at a time and hope that you can build her strength back up a little, just giving her some quality time at home for now, though I know you must feel as though you aer stuck between a rock and a hard place....x

[JulieandBarney]

Take a look at the link below Diana, which I have just been reading, I know its about cats with CKD but its a good article on how to tempt cats to eat when they are ill and what food best to give them, mentions eggs and baby food:-

http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

xx

[bobbys girl]

At this point you'll try anything! Eggs sound a good idea - if she will take them. Our kitties don't like kitty milk. But they do like evaporated milk. I know it's full of fat and sugar and some cats can't tolerate cows milk, but when I asked our vet about using it he said if it is the only way of getting them to eat or take medicine then it has got to be good!

I'm sure, if caviar and quails eggs were the answer, you would remortgage the house to provide them for her!

[Crewella]

I do really feel for you, not knowing if you just need to get her over this bit so that she can recover, or if she's failing and nothing will help her, must be awful. More tests does seem like a pointless exercise now, and it doesn't seem right to stress her further right now, I agree. Thinking of you today and glad she had some breakfast. Perhaps just trying different things in itself might be helping to tempt her. (((hugs)))

[JulieandBarney]

How has Shelley been tonight Diana ? ......x

[Diana]

She OK, looking more alert tonight. And she came when I was preparing food but again she wouldnt take to it, she then nibbled a mouthful of my Timo's food and then went away. We just syringed some milk into her and will do again later. Shell walked around all the bowls looking as if she was ready to eat and meowing athough its a horsey meow atm...but when we try, she just looks at it, and she is grinding her teeth again when she does have a tiny bit of food.

That's the thing...is this just really bad patch that will pass or is it something very serious. Maybe it is an infection that just does not show and it will pass....but how long do you wait? Shelly been like this since last Thursday. But during her stay at the vets Monday and Tuesday morning, she ate like a horse... And come Tuesday night, she wont touch it??? I dont understand.

[MarkB]

Eggs are an excellent food Diana. If she likes them, that is good. The protein in them is the most highly digestible protein.

As my vet always says - The best food for a poorly cat is one it will eat.

Fingers crossed she is on the mend. They really can surprise us at times.

[JulieandBarney]

It does sound quite positive Diana...I had a spell with Barney a while ago when he literally sicked up everything I gave him for no reason, the vet could find nothing wrong with him at all, but to me he seemed quite poorly.....after a lot of testing different foods, it seemed that the ones containing fish triggered his sickness and lethargy ....Felix have a food which is meant to be chicken, but actually contains fish too !! It took me a while to work out what was wrong when the vet couldn't ! .....Barney is apparently at least 9 years old now.......maybe its a food intolerance or allergy causing this for Shelley...........x

[JulieandBarney]

Totally agree with Mark too Diana.....good advice....x

[Diana]

Hmmm food allergy, wouldn't that come with other symptoms such as vomiting or dirrahea? Shelly has none of those. Eggs...yes I have not thought of that, will give that a shot. Although Shelly looks better then she has she is not eating a decent meal. And with weight dropping you gotta decide when enough is enough, not for me but for her.

[Jacks]

But during her stay at the vets Monday and Tuesday morning, she ate like a horse...

Diana, if she can eat like a horse at the vet, then there's something else going on. That doesn't sound like a girl who's going into decline, except that if she doesn't eat she will lose weight of course. What is different at the vets than at home? The type of food, the time of food, the type of bowl, the company of other cats, the location of the food bowl (room, height from the floor etc), the smell... There has to be some reason why she's so reluctant to eat. Will she eat treats in other parts of the house? Have you tried feeding her somewhere else or does she have a standard food area?

I can't remember if you've got any other animals in the house, but is it possible she feels uneasy for some reason?

I think a bit of detective work is in order - in the meantime I wouldn't worry whether something is fatty or not - she needs the calories and proprietary cat foods have essential vitamins and minerals as well, so if she's going to eat eggs for example (maybe lightly scrambled without milk??) she will need something like Lick-e-lix to provide other essential vitamins, if she likes that sort of a treat. I'd be as creative as I could be.

Thinking of you and Shelley x

[JulieandBarney]

Diana, you know Shelley best, and you will know in your heart the right thing to do, as you say, you can not watch the weight fall off her constantly, the same happened with my Moms cat Molly a few weeks ago, though she was much much older, though I have to say Jacks has hit on a massive good point here, "eating like a horse at the vets" which I completely missed....I would perhaps dig a little deeper if you can....x

[Diana]

That is the strange thing. She ate well at vets, then we brought her home with the food she ate at vets and she dfnt want it. We have two other cats, I wouldnt imagine she is is stressed. I have changed the bowls twice in last two weeks and also tried feeding her anywhere and everywhere, even her favorite spots.

She ate 1 mouthful of scambled eggs this morning and that is it.

Nothing has changed at home to upset her.

[pandorawarlord]

is there anyone who has some Nutridrops (for cats ) who could get it across to Diana, while we try and think this puzzle, I have been looking on internet but it seems you have order and get it posted.

[JulieandBarney]

"she just looks at it, and she is grinding her teeth again when she does have a tiny bit of food ".

Just re-reading your posts Diana and this also stood out...I understand that the vet may have ruled out any dental issues ? This sounds like it may be painful for her to eat, maybe she was eating well at the vets as she was on painkillers more often whilst there ?

[Diana]

In May Shelly had a dental, she had two teeth removed and the rest cleaned. She was eating perfectly fine after that. I thought, if she had trouble with her teeth for instance like a bit of teeth was left behind...surely the issue would have arise then and not just now? It's been months since then and she was eating fine...having dry and eating her Seraquin which is very hard.

A piece of teeth that may have been left behind under the gum surely would show on X-ray..trouble is shelly isn't well enough to under-go another round of that and being knocked out as there is a high risk we could lose her. It's very difficult right now and confusing.

Just to add.....Shelly ate a bit of gourmet an hr ago and she is eating a tiny bit more. I literally only put out a tiny bit...size of a 50p piece or just bit bigger. She has had 2 syringes of milk today and will get another around 2.45pm.

[nannymcfee]

Diana, i have been on this site before but reading through your thread,every day checking how things are,decided to post this,as your cat sounds like me

I am human :0) BUT i had 2 filings in May, and after a few weeks felt unwell,but could eat, this gradually became worse, flu like symptoms, couldn't swallow even saliva etc.... i had a serious infection that had spread to jaw etc, so eventually in August i got anti biotics,but they have given me terrible oral thrush, i had the teeth out at emergency dentist a week ago, and on more anti biotics, and a different thrush medication, but the thrush makes it so i have a very dry mouth, still cannot eat anything at all apart from soup....( 5 weeks now ) i am tired all the time, and would love to eat but can't!!!!!, they are now testing me for diabetes too as cannot work out why my immune is so low since the original filings, and referring me to dentist hospital as i cannot breathe through me nose now too....
I just wondered can cats get oral thrush and sinus problems?

[Diana]

Sounds very similar. Well I know for sure that Shelly was eating fine right after her dental, it's been 5 months since her dental. That is why I am not sure it's something in her teeth cause I would have been sure it would have shown much earlier. Plus, after thinking...if there was any problems in the mouth wherever under the gum line or nor, surely signs would appear in the mouth such as swollen gums...or colour change? And none of these have shown.

Shelly just munched half a cat treat stick and then stopped.

[JulieandBarney]

Hi Diana...the more I read of what you say about Shelley, I would put money on it being a dental problem, she tries to eat, grinds her teeth, then stops, she is obviously in pain in her mouth, I know what you say about her last dental being fine, but it would not necessarily mean than she wouldn't get any further problems, she may have an infection which is not giving obvious signs outwardly.

[nannymcfee]

It was May 19th when i had the fillings, only started feeling really ill end July/August....

i wonder if Shelley has a severe infection that has made its way to her jaw/throat like mine, my xrays only showed up that the fillings were near the nerves, but my tongue had started to feel like it was burning,

sometimes if bone is left following extraction it cannot be seen on most xrays, but can make it so painful and cause severe infection deep seated.

I really would ask them to check her again re her dental, and give more anti biotics ...

[Diana]

Yeh I get what you are saying Julie. I at time think it's possible issues on her teeth/mouth. The obstacle I am facing is one....there are no direct signs that something is wrong with her mouth/teeth....two, we can't risk knocking her out again as she is weak enough as it is. She has to be build back up before they do that. We were told that her going under is now very risky due to her condition.

I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

She is also dropping her food a lot, the tiny amounts she does eat.

[JulieandBarney]

Definite dental problem Diana, if she is dropping her food, I had this issue before with my old cat 'Tom' he was very hungry but was in so much pain trying to eat, he dropped his food from his mouth all the time. Could your vet feed her until she is stable at all ? Its awful for you and it sounds like poor Shelley really wants to eat....xx

[Diana]

It seems she does want to eat yes. I can imagine the vets will try what we have...the only way to get her eating again is....a tube? But I don't like the idea of that at all...bless Shelly, I doubt she would either.

I am awaiting a call back from my vets, but I will give them another bell and explain the latest. The vet we have been seeing is off til tomorrow which is when our apt is booked, so I gotta chat to someone asap.

[JulieandBarney]

I think there may be other methods Diana, its awful I know, but she must get some nutrients into her, it may just be a severe tooth infection which can be cured, she is so lethargic simply because she has no food inside her, we all know the hell of toothache, I certainly would be unable to eat if doing so caused me great pain too..I pray that this is the case for little Shelley....thinking of you...xx