2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please Help!

2/10

I'm still here, I'm just in a pretty dark place right now and trying to figure things out on every level of my life it seems. :cry:
Tommys numbers pretty much, well they speak for themselves right now. Last night was his last dose of Clavamox so hopefully he'll come down since I've been reading that Clavamox can actually mess with a kitties numbers. :sad: I've tried to brush at least some of his teeth this week (what he will allow for now).

OT: Belle, my 16yr old orange tabby threw up last night, and some time during the night and also this morning. This mornings pukey was white or clear bile, I couldn't really tell, it was still dark. I have offered her 5 or 6 different cans of food but she wants no part of it. My DH said that he did see her get a drink from the fountain this morning and right now she is sleeping. She got her blood work done the same time Tommy did last week and it showed no real change from the last one 6 months ago. She does have early CRF but no other real issues. She probably weighs 6lbs, maybe, and It shows. :cry: She isn't on any medication, I have tried, forti flora, freeze dried chicken crushed up and put it on her food but she just walks away. Until this morning, there have been no real issues with her eating, ever! Could she just have a sick tummy and feel better in a while? I know I don't feel like eating after I've been throwing up. @-)
I have spent the past hour pouring over old posts both here and on FB about Cerenia, Ondansetron and Cypro and I think I have overload. I already forgot where I read that one of these you are not supposed to give if the kitty is vomiting.
When you give your kitties Pepcid, it's supposed to be "regular strength" right? 1/4 tab once a day? If my memory serves me. How long can a kitty go with out eating before I really start to panic more than i already am? I forgot to add, how on earth do you give any pill at all, no matter the size if they won't eat? I'm not a big fan of putting it down their throat but I do know that your not supposed to ever "dry" pill a cat, that you are supposed to follow it up with a little water at least? Is this still correct?
I already have a call into the Vets this morning to call me back about getting some appy stim and anti nausea drugs. Are there any OTC appy's that you can give your kitties? I also have some B12 that I give to Tommy already and the vet told me last week that I could give it to Belle. Should I hold off on that till I hear from the vet? And if and when I do give it to her how much for a 6lb little grandma kitty should I give?
Thank you all so very much for any input you can give.
Prayers and Big Hugs to those who need them :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

I'm sorry Belle isn't feeling well - I so understand your panic!

I can answer the Pepcid question...it's a 1/4 of a 10mg basic tablet - nothing fancy, straight up famotadine. I don't have as much experience with the other meds, but I know you don't want to give an appy stimulant to a kitty who is nauseated. If you do give one, my preference is Cypro, and as I learned from Zener's beans, a little goes a long way, despite what the vet's prescribe. They give a crumb. I had to use it once with my civvie Noah, and I gave him less than 1/4 tablet, even though the vet said to give him 1/2, and 1/4 worked well - he ate, but wasn't frantic.

I would try to take a deep breath (I know, easier said than done!) and wait for the vetty to call back. She may just need a little time to get over the pukus, and once her tummy settles, she'll be ready to eat.

Sending tons of prayers your way. Please keep us posted!

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

You don't want to give an appetite stimulant (e.g., cypro or mirtazepine) to a kitty that's nauseated. Cereneia and ondansatron are both anti-nausea/anti-vomiting meds. Either of those or Pepsid is fine to give if Belle is nauseous or vomiting.

Just to clarify, bile is not clear. It is yellowish (yellow brown) and has a very distinct, unpleasant smell. If Belle is throwing up bile, it's a vet visit. If she has thrown up once or twice, try the Pepsid. If she's thrown up more than that, get her in to see the vet. Vomiting can further dehydrate your kitty and it throws off electrolytes which only makes her feel worse.

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

I'm sorry that your civie isn't well :sad: . Chyna started not eating just like that and I ended up spoon and finger feeding her. Then we started Pepcid AC, I did talk to the vet about it. I started with 1/4 tablet once daily for Chynas CRF (we're up to twice daily now). I'm terrible at pilling. Pepcid AC can cause foam and is bitter tasting, so we started using pill pockets (that you can get at Petsmart or similar stores) wrapped around it. Now I buy pet size gel capsules for the pepcid and wrap the pill pocket around that. I've read of people giving it shoved into the middle of a treat or in a piece of unsalted butter so it slides in...I haven't tried those ones.

I know you said you have info overload...but Tanyas site has a page on it too, halfway down on treatments for stomach acid that talks about pepcid and anti-nausea, if you haven't read it already and are interested it's here: http://www.felinecrf.org/nausea_vomiting_stomach_acid.htm

I hope Tommys numbers get better now that the Clavamox is done. Sending many hugs to you! :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

I'm sorry to hear that Belle is feeling sick, I hope it's just from the vomiting. If she was drinking the clear vomit could be from the water.

We just started cypro for Tess and starting up on just 1/16th of a tablet. When you get it dow to that size it's just about dust, really to small to spit out. I think it's bitter though so we put it inside a soft treat since she doesn't like pill pockets. Your could also mix it in baby food and syringe feed.

Another thing to try is the "Liver Shake" Often cats will eat this when they refuse anything else, but you can syringe it too.

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

Thanks you guys for the hugs and comforting words and advice so far. I just got off the phone with the vet and he said that I could give the Cerenia at home if I wanted to but warned me that it does sting and the cat will scream bloody murder. :cry: For Belles size he said a dose of 1/4cc Cerenia each shot. He also said they keep it in the fridge to help keep the sting down, but I don't know if that works or not. Did not want to hear that. He also said that it is a 24 hr shot and that I could give it up to 4 days but no longer, he was going to look into it more. He had not heard of Ondansetron but was going to look into that as well.
Sienne, I just want to have the Cypro here for when and if I need it. I did read after I posted this that indeed you do not want to give it to a cat that is vomiting. Sorry If I didn't know that bile was clear or not. I just knew that it had no brownish color to it so i called it clear. :?
Amy, thanks for the info on the Pepcid, I'm going to get some as soon as I can today.
Rachel, thank you for the clever ways of trying to pill. I don't do that very well either. :sad: Where do I get the pet sized gel capsules from?

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

Hi Lauren, I get them from here: http://www.thrivingpets.com/index.php/gelatin-capsules.html but in a pinch you can get the human sized ones (usually #0) usually from a local health food/vitamin store. That's what I used at first while waiting for my mail order and just cut them to smaller pieces...I use the #5 and #4 now.

Chyna doesn't like the pill pockets much, so I roll them in freeze dried treat crumbs ;-) And give her a few treats after.

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

Here's another source for gelcaps: http://www.capsuline.com/index.php?...s&sid=ojv4ofu5nfe8bgf31tic5mqlu7#.Uv5oRs50AzI

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

I have no advice to add to what the others have said, but I want to offer my support and one comment. If a kitty goes two days without eating anything, he/she needs to go to the vet immediately. I made that mistake with one of my kitties last year, and it had dire consequences.

Sending good appy and tummy healing vines for Belle and lower BG vines for Tommy. Hugs to you! :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

Oh thank you all again for coming and visiting and offering support and ideas and advice and yummy shakes. :smile: I have a little good news, at least I think so. At 11:45am she drank a good bit of water from one of the fountains and she has kept it down and just now I offered her a few choices of wet food and she picked one and decided this time to eat a little, maybe a couple of teaspoons mixed with a little water. It's something....

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

Wonderful! Prayers continue from here!!

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

Great news Belle is eating a bit. I hope it's the start to larger meals. Now it'll be easier to get meds in. :YMHUG:

Now Tommy, about those numbers - down a level please. Paws crossed the last of the Clavamox clears out of his system soon.

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

Lauren --

You might want to try baby food. It goes down easy and it's gentle on the tummy. Either Gerber or Beechnut Stage 2 -- they are meat and broth only which is what you want (i.e., no veggies).

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

If she'll play at all, it may help trigger appetite a bit (hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep behavior cycle)

 

Re: 2/14 TommyAMPS405 2.R, +2 473 Civie Not Eating, Please H

aw, what a lousy start to your day. :YMHUG:

so glad to hear Belle ate a bit - a couple of teaspoons is a great start. you wouldn't want her to start with too much if her tummy's been off anyway. hope she continued eating little bits today.

tommy . . . ugh - wish i had great advice on his numbers. i'd be aggressive, personally, to try to get him down. you have the tools and know how to use them. maybe his tumor has geared up. it can do that.

mostly i just wanted to lend you a little moral support. we're with ya and cheering Tommy & Belle on.