She had never turned her back on a treat before
- col-teri-stein
- September 10, 2020
- 863
I didn’t get much done at home this week because my cat was sick. Kitty was a little more of a recluse this week, but otherwise, she was her normal self. That is until I noticed she wasn’t eating. I had given her a few of her favorite Salmon-y treats with the crunchy shell and soft, delicious center and then went to fold laundry.
When I came back, all the treats were still there, and kitty was gone. This was a first. She had never turned her back on a treat before. So then I got worried, and kitty is 13 years old, so more to worry about there. I started paying attention to see if she was eating. Normally, I dump a bunch of cat crunchies into her bowl and don’t pay that much attention to what she is eating until she needs a refill.
I watched the bowl of crunchies, and they were not disappearing. I was feeling sick because my cat was sick. Trying to get her to eat now became a full-time effort. I was following kitty around all day instead of vice versa.
I tried canned cat food. She smelled and licked it but didn’t eat. Tuna produced the same result. Evaporated milk was a no-go. Extra treats, no way.
Kitty was drinking, but I wanted to make sure she would stay hydrated. I started giving her chicken broth, but at 15 calories a cup, that wasn’t going to keep her going for long.
Time for a trip to the vet’s office. Kitty has been an indoor cat all her life, so she hasn’t been out much. When she does go out, it’s not pleasant for her. So she didn’t take well to being shoved into a pet carrier and then placed in the back hatch of the car.
Pitiful meows ensued for the entire length of the trip.
Kitty: Meeroooowwwwwww!
Me: You’re going to be fine.
Kitty: Meeroooowwwwwww!
Me: Yes, it’s going to be OK.
You get the drift. Six miles each way of this. Except when the car stopped, then kitty stopped complaining. Apparently, only bad things happen when the car is moving.
From an examination, the vet couldn’t find anything wrong with kitty, so we opted to try some “jumpstart your cat” shots. The shots consisted of Vitamin B12, an antibiotic and a steroid. The little furball was actually pretty well-behaved throughout the whole office visit.
Home we went, and kitty was extremely happy to be back in the house. The pitiful meows ceased, and she bounded from the carrier as soon as the door was open.
I opened a container of the canned food and dished some out into a bowl. It hadn’t been an hour yet since kitty got the shots. I didn’t know how long it would take the shots to have an effect, if any, but I wanted to be ready. My cat had obviously lost some weight from the ordeal, and she needed to eat.
As soon as I set the bowl down, kitty started to chow down. It’s a miracle! I was so happy. I texted my husband and my sister and called the vet to report the progress.
She even ate some of her dry food and more chicken broth. But now kitty’s favorite hangout is by the refrigerator. She is fully aware of the measures we’ll take to ensure she eats, and most of those goodies are coming out of the fridge.
It’s still too soon to tell if the “jumpstart kitty” shots will totally solve the problem, but I’ll be busy for at least another week following my cat around and tempting her with all kinds of tasty things to try to keep her eating and gaining weight.
When a pet is sick, it just knocks your whole world on its side. There was something else I was thinking of writing about, but after all this turmoil, I can’t remember. Maybe next time. Right now, I gotta go feed the cat.