Cat Chat Feline Forum

I'll be as brief as possible. My Moggy (his name) won't eat after a visit to the vet. I adopted him two weeks ago from the SPCA. Background: he was a stray and taken in but surrendered because of vomiting and diarrhea issues. This was about 2 months ago. He had extensive dental surgery. when I adopted Moggy I probably overdid his food and he started vomiting. I then gave him frequent small, bland meals which stopped the vomiting but he developed severe diarrhea. He was becoming secure and lap loving but I took him to the vet for a checkup 2 days ago and he hasn't eaten since except last night he ate cat treats in bed with me. also, he hardly comes out from under the bed.
What can I do to get him to eat again? will he ever regain trust in me?
PS: the vet found nothing wrong with him and I forgot to mention that he is a 12 yo male.

Whereabouts in the world are you? It sounds at first glance like the rescue gave you a sick cat.

Will he eat cooked chicken? Tiny scraps, at room temperature. If that fails I would try a semi-liquid treat like Lik-e-Lix. Will the rescue help?

I'm in New York. He started eating treats only. He won't eat the beef and/or turkey baby food that I was giving him nor would he eat Fancy feast. All food is given in very small amounts, since I've had him (two weeks) he's eaten, then thrown up, had diarrhea for which I've given kaolin/pectin, stopped eating, throwing up again, now nibbling a few treats at a time, plus spending most of his time under the bed.
I feel awful because, while he's a sweet cat, I am 79 yo and the full time caregiver for my husband who has dementia.
PS: He also wouldn't eat the Hills Prescription diet food for sensitive tummies nor chicken slivers and chicken broth.
Thanks for your suggestions and for listening to me. If you can think of anything else I'd appreciate it.

Did the vet or rescue do blood tests, as well as an examination? There are so many things that can cause that sort of symptoms it is hard to know how to proceed without a diagnosis, especially if it is a long standing condition. If he won't eat plain cooked chicken, or any of the soft cat foods you have offered him, I would talk to your vet about anti-nausea medication, and possibly a hydrolyzed protein food. If pancreatitis, liver failure, kidney failure, blockage etc have been ruled out, and he has a long history of D&V, food intolerances are a possibility.

Blood work was fine. vet said he couldn't find anything wrong with him and to try the Hills Diet for a month which he won't eat anyway. I haven't heard yet about the stool sample.
His background was awful. He was found and taken in as a stray about 6 weeks ago. Woman surrendered him to SPCA for vomiting/diarrhea issues. Had extensive dental surgery. SPCA says vomiting and diarrhea issues resolved. I adopt him. All in about 6 weeks time. I guess if I can't fix this I might have to take him to a cat specialist.

I wonder if a raw diet might help? Have you tried him with raw chicken?

could his mouth still be sore from the dental work? Does he seem to want to eat but can't?

If the treats he eats are hard, I would be inclined to try him with a small kibble dry food - a kitten one perhaps - experimenting with kibble will be less wasteful and you can leave it down for longer

my 12 year old rescue has refused to put even the merest morsel of anything other than hard treats and dry kibble in her mouth for over a year, and she is doing very well - as is my bank balance!

He started eating last night. He was screaming at me in the kitchen so I opened a jar of baby food and gave him about half the jar and he gobbled it up. Later, before bed I gave him the other half which he also ate. Same for breakfast. I haven't checked for vomiting yet.
Since I've never had this problem before I have to figure out how to proceed. Will baby food beef and turkey give him enough nutrition?
I bought some soft treats which I haven't given him yet but the ones he likes are quite hard. The vet said his gums looked good.
will small bits of raw hamburger be OK?
Might try raw chicken but he wouldn't eat slivers of cooked chicken thigh.

Excellent news that he has got his appetite back. Baby food is OK short term, but is not really a balanced diet for a cat - too low in protein and calcium, and lacking essentials like taurine. I'd try different complete wet foods (check that they are labelled as meeting all nutritional requirements - "complete", rather than "complementary"). If he is eating baby food he might prefer pate types, or the lumps mashed up if you try the gravy or jelly ones. Cats are renowned for loving a food until you bulk buy it, and then deciding it is inedible, so wait a while before buying by the gross!

A little raw hamburger steak (beef only, no seasoning and especially no onion) will give him more protein, which would be good, but could kick off diarrhoea etc. -

To +7Paper

I see a posible language problem !!
I believe in American English, gross means something yucky or revolting. In Briish English, gross means 144 items( ie 12x12 ) as in a carton or box full of things.

To fjm

Sorry to jump in, but what you wrote could have been misunderstood

"Two peoples divided by a common language..."!

I bought more baby food since he's eating and keeping it down. Hamburger is thawing in the fridge so I will add that slowly. He is eating some kibble now, also. I'm going to add things very slowly and in small amounts so as not to upset the apple cart -- the vomiting and diarrhea were hard to deal with.
I know about cats suddenly turning their noses up in disdain after buying a previously much loved food. It has happened to me a lot. But, that's what keeps us on our toes.
Cats, gotta love 'em.