Cat not eating well

Hi everybody. I just came across this site by accident. What a great source of information. I have a 15 year old cat named Harry. Harry has always been a small cat. He only weighs 6.9 pounds...maybe less now. For the past day or so, Harry has not been eating very well. I checked his teeth and there was a big blob of tarter on one of his back teeth. I managed to pop most of it off but there's still a bit between that tooth and another. I'm gonna take him to the vet. I figure his tooth problem might be the source of his not eating. JT

 

Welcome to the forum! =P~

Hope Harry makes out well at the vet.

 

hi jt! good luck with your kitty. im not sure, but i think i heard somewhere along the way that you have to be careful about taking tartar off a cats tooth. for some reason i want to say that it could introduce bacteria into their systems and cause infection.

but!! i am not the expert and could be wrong. a good resource on this forum for "tooth" education is chessmind. he will probably see your post and respond. he is pretty tuned in to the forum. lynn and little maxie. (that's max in the picture)

 

Well it turns out that Harry has an infection of some sort. He was running a fever. The Vet gave him a shot of antibiotics and vitimins and sent us home. We are to go back for another visit Monday. When we got home...Harry was very wobbly....having trouble coordinating his back feet. i called the Vet who said it was normal reaction from the shot, the trip and the fact that Harry is 15. I just hope he feels better soon so he'll eat something. JT

 

hi jt. hope harry is doing well. i dont know...just sharing my experience, not exactly medical fact. but i had a cat that just died in march. he lived to be almost twenty. he wasnt wobbly at 15. my guess is it is the shot. but i would watch him... and if he is "wobbly" still today, i might consider taking him back if they are open or going to emergency.

my cat otis that died started to get allergic to his annual shots at about 13 years old. but that is different from the shot harry got. i mention it cause otis got wobbly after his vaccination. ultimately he stopped getting those.

but continued wobbliness is not a good sign from my experience. he will probably be fine. otis used to get antibiotic shots from time to time. they seemed to help alot.

good luck. keep us posted!

 

Hi JT. Welcome to Auspet. I'm sorry Harry is not feeling well. Where is his infection? I don't know what kind of food you feed Harry, but if he's having pain in his mouth you may want to just let him eat as much soft food as he wants. What did the vet have to say about his teeth and gums? I hope Harry feels better soon. Poor kitty.

 

The Doc didn't say where the infection was. He took Harry's temperature and he was running a fever so he gave him a shot of antibiotics with vitimins and told me to come back to see him Monday. As for Harry's teeth, the Doc said they looked very good for a cat of 15. When we got home this morning Harry walked and walked around ...a bit wobbly. That'w when I called the Vet back. Anyway, He's calmed down now and is laid out on the wicker chase in our great room. Thanks to everyone for their concern and advice. I don't need to tell any of you how much ole Harry means to me. He's the child my wife and I never had.......but that's a familiar story I'm sure. Thanks again Everybody. JT

 

totally understand the "child" thing. here is a picture of otis (who was almost 20 when he passed in march) and max.

do you have any pictures of harry? you can find the info on how to post pictures on a few of the recent posts.

 

Hi JT. How's your little furbaby doing? I would also love to see pics if you have any!

 

Doing much better everybody. Harry is sitting my lap as I tap this out. He slept for about 6 hours this afternoon and that got rid of the wobbles. This evening he ate some tuna fish. So I'm feeling better about my foxhole buddy. JT

 

I am sad to report that Harry has had a relapse. He is not doing well at all. He has not been eating and is now so weak he can hardly walk more than six feet at a time without laying down. My wife and I have been giving him "Hi Vite Drops", a vitimin supplement with liver and iron. Half a dropper full once a day was prescribed. We have to pry his mouth open and drop the liquid in. He swallows okay but it hasn't brought back his appetite. The only thing he has eaten today are some Friskies treats...about half a dozen. I'm probably repeating myself from an earlier post but Harry is 15 and only weighed 6.9 pounds before he got sick. He had an infection. The vet did not know where. He gave Harry two anti-biotic shots within three days and Harry did not react well to either...ie wobbly....difficulty walking etc. For a while he seemed to be coming around...now this relapse. I really feel like he's going downhill rather quickly.

 

i am so, so sorry to hear about harry and his relapse. sometimes it is something else that has not been diagnosed yet. has he had a full blood screen to rule out kidney disease, thyroid, diabetes, leukemia, etc? sometimes in the blood screens they can determine other problems because different levels might be off. i will say a little prayer

 

I'm sorry to hear about Harry's relapse. Hope everything is okay.

 

I'm so sorry about Harry as well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and saying a prayer.

 

Harry died today. He was 15. My wife and I are devastaed. I suppose Harry was the child we never had. If its possible for a cat to be your soulmate, Harry was mine. The truth was, I didn’t rescue Harry all those years ago from a gutter in my hometown. He rescued me. He filled a tremendous void in my life. I Loved him dearly. When I die, I hope Harry and I can be together again.
My thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. God Bless all of you. JT

 

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Harry will be sorely missed. You are blessed to have had each other for so many years. My husband had a beloved grey tabby named Kitty who had lived to be 15 as well. Kitty stopped eating for a week and would only drink water. He had spasms and died when we were in school. We never got to say good-bye. Yes, Kitty was my husband's soulmate as well. My deepest sympathies. :cry:

 

I'm so sorry for your loss. :cry:

 

awww im so sorry to hear about that. im sure harry will be just fine. i really cant think what could be wrong with little harry, but hey, im only 14! gud luck

 

Thanks to everyone for your comments and opinions. I won't do anything about adopting a new cat until a little more water has gone over the dam so to speak. I'm still researching things. I do think another kitty is in my future but I have not yet made up my mind about getting a kitten or a cat that is a year old or so. I think its good to raise them from a kitten but I also know that a cat that is a bit older might be more settled and thus not as rambunctious. Whichever way I go it will have to be an indoor cat. Anyway, thanks again to everyone. This has been a tough weekend for me. The grief comes in waves and Im sure the waves will become less intense and further apart. It will end and life will be normal again. It'll just take me a while.

JT