When to go to the vet advice...

[Lanie]

We took our 10 year old female cat to the vet yesterday. She had stopped eating and was sleeping a lot. The vet looked at her, did a fecal, took her temp (105), felt her belly and checked her teeth. She has ulcers on her gums and bad tater build up so she recommends having her teeth cleaned soon. She thinks that the not eating is due to a painful mouth. She prescribed Clavamox, Pro-Pectain, Metronidazole and Profender MED. So far today she has eaten a little bit twice, maybe a teaspoon each time, but nothing like her normal eating. She only drank a little water as well. My question is, how long should I wait before going into panic mode and taking her back to the vet? We plan to have her teeth done within the next week or so, (as soon as I raise the money). But her not eating much makes me sick with worry and with tomorrow being Friday our vet is closed Saturday and Sunday. Should I wait until Monday?

[Janey]

Hi and welcome,

If it were me I would ring your vets and ask them. I hope that she’d eating again soon, bless her.

[Crewella]

It might also be worth trying to mash up her food with a little warm water to make it more appetising and a little easier to eat?

[Kay]

I had to puree food into a soup for a cat with an ulcerated tongue - it still obviously stung when she lapped it up but it stayed in her mouth for the least possible time - white fish would be a good choice because there is no salt in it, or chicken

and ironical though it sounds, some cats with bad mouths find it easier to eat biscuits rather than wet food, because they swallow the bits whole and there is no moisture to irritate the ulcers

is the sleeping a lot likely to be due to lack of food? does she show signs of having an appetite? if it's a question of getting the maximum nourishment into her in the smallest amount, the vet can sell you special food for sick and convalescent cats which might do the trick

the meds may kick in soon and make all the difference, but if they don't she will need to go back to the vet as going without food for several days can cause serious liver damage

[vic23]

Hello Lanie,

I have been in a similar situation recently with my cat, Daisy. Although her symptoms are different, I have had to play around with her food for different reasons. All the suggestions others have made above are good. I would also suggest trying to tempt her with something different or more of a treat to encourage her to eat. Someone told me recently that there is a new food by Gourmet that is like a soup, which cats apparently love and will be easier for her to eat.

With regards to panic mode, I do the same heading towards the weekend when my cat is ill. However, remember that all vet practices must provide an emergency out of hours service, so you will always be able to get hold of someone in an emergency (granted this will cost). They may not have an emergency telephone number, as their normal number may redirect out of hours or there will be an answerphone message giving you the out of hours number.

Just keep an eye on her and trust your instincts. Keep working on getting some food into her through a process of trial and error, although this can be frustrating.