my cat refuses most of the food; lost weight

[Alwood]

I thought I posted it yesterday, but don't see it appearing anywhere...

OK, my cat Vas'ka (neutered male, 17 year old, tuxedo cat), has bee
progressively refusing all sorts of food, yet he feels hungry and kee
asking for food... He's lost 6 pounds withing a year (14 down to 8 now)
He lost his front teeth (and we suspect his vision and smell sense go
worse too). We tried dry food, soft (canned) food, high-caloric gel,
all kinds of treats, baby food, tiny chopped pieces of raw chicken, et
-- step by step he stopped eating any of that. With some canned food h
would just lick out the liquid part and leave the rest untouched. He i
terribly hungry and keep crying for food, but cannot handle any of it..

I took him to the vet a few days ago; they made a blood test, here i
the "nothing burger" result:

"Overall, no major issues were identified. He may have some very, ver
early kidney changes happening and shows evidence on the CBC test fo
stress, but overall, the biochemical tests were normal. In a cat that i
otherwise healthy, this would be great news. In a cat, like Vasia, wh
has lost a great deal of weight, it just means that whatever is causin
the weight loss is not going to be easy to identify. I would suspec
dental disease may play a role, but even then, I think we are missin
something aggressive, like cancer. We should do some additional testin
to try to find the answer. X-rays (about $***) or ultrasound (Abou
$***) may be recommended as the next step.

No advice about food; and no clear idea of possible course of actio
following the result of those tests. Most likely something drastic, lik
surgery. The costs of the new tests, although they are pricey, are no
the issue; I'd do that. My issue with all that is -- is worth to subjec
Vas'ka to pain and dismal life quality for the rest of his remainin
life which would be most likely not very long anyway? Please share you
thoughts, advice, or experience...

And any ideas about a possible different food we perhaps missed..

Great thanks! -- Alwoo


--
Alwood

[John Doe]

Post by Alwood
I thought I posted it yesterday, but don't see it

appearing

Post by Alwood
anywhere....
OK, my cat Vas'ka (neutered male, 17 year old, tuxedo

cat),

Post by Alwood
has been progressively refusing all sorts of food, yet

he

Post by Alwood
feels hungry and keep asking for food... He's lost 6

pounds

Post by Alwood
withing a year (14 down to 8 now). He lost his front

teeth

Post by Alwood
(and we suspect his vision and smell sense got worse

too).

Post by Alwood
We tried dry food, soft (canned) food, high-caloric gel,
all kinds of treats, baby food, tiny chopped pieces of

raw

Post by Alwood
chicken, etc -- step by step he stopped eating any of

that.

Post by Alwood
With some canned food he would just lick out the liquid
part and leave the rest untouched. He is terribly hungry
and keep crying for food, but cannot handle any of it...
I took him to the vet a few days ago; they made a blood
"Overall, no major issues were identified. He may have

some

Post by Alwood
very, very early kidney changes happening and shows
evidence on the CBC test for stress, but overall, the
biochemical tests were normal. In a cat that is

otherwise

Post by Alwood
healthy, this would be great news. In a cat, like Vasia,
who has lost a great deal of weight, it just means that
whatever is causing the weight loss is not going to be

easy

Post by Alwood
to identify. I would suspect dental disease may play a
role, but even then, I think we are missing something
aggressive, like cancer. We should do some additional
testing to try to find the answer. X-rays (about $***)

or

Post by Alwood
ultrasound (About $***) may be recommended as the next
step."
No advice about food; and no clear idea of possible

course

Post by Alwood
of action following the result of those tests. Most

likely

Post by Alwood
something drastic, like surgery. The costs of the new
tests, although they are pricey, are not the issue; I'd

do

Post by Alwood
that. My issue with all that is -- is worth to subject
Vas'ka to pain and dismal life quality for the rest of

his

Post by Alwood
remaining life which would be most likely not very long
anyway? Please share your thoughts, advice, or
experience...
And any ideas about a possible different food we perhaps
missed...

I am sure you know that you cannot just change a cat's
diet overnight. So that makes the situation even more
difficult.

You can euthanize him. Personally, given my situation, I
would consider all of the other cats that need help. Some
of them in the area do not have an eating disorder but do
not have enough food and they are in need of basic things.

The one time I had a beloved cat euthanized, it was
instantaneous. It could not have appeared to be less
painful. I still wonder how it can happen that quickly.
But some people have other experiences. I had no interest
in holding her, I wanted her to have every possible chance
of things going well, so I refused and let the vet tech
hold her. I suppose making sure a real vet does the
injection is a good idea.

[Peter W.]

a) Tooth loss: Painful in and of itself. Chewing anything will be an agony. You can do nothing about it at this point.
b) Severe weight-loss (Catabolisim): Nerve pain, tremors, muscle pain. Short of force-feeding, there is nothing you can do about this, either.

17 years is a very good run for a cat that has had sketchy vet services, and a moderate run for a cat that has had excellent care-and-feeding. You have no guilt here, at all. Give the cat a soft landing, mourn his passing, and move on. He will thank you for it!

[Alwood]

Post by Peter W.
a) Tooth loss: Painful in and of itself. Chewing anything will be a
agony. You can do nothing about it at this point.
b) Severe weight-loss (Catabolisim): Nerve pain, tremors, muscle pain
Short of force-feeding, there is nothing you can do about this, either.
17 years is a very good run for a cat that has had sketchy vet services
and a moderate run for a cat that has had excellent care-and-feeding
You have no guilt here, at all. Give the cat a soft landing, mourn hi
passing, and move on. He will thank you for it!

Dear Peter W., great thanks for medical part, and for the "end run
advice. I'll though try some more; in particular I found in a regula
supermarket something that they call "stew for 10-year old cats an
older" (chicken, fish) in small vials -- it is essentially almost a ge
with tiny very soft morsels of fish or meat -- and so far my cat i
happy with it, he leaves his plate cleanly licked... Will see how i
goes; I hope he will be able to go with it for as long as a few months
we'll see...He is a very smart and loyal cat; his eyes alone say a lot
and he is a part of family, so I'll be trying to do everything possibl
to help him go on as far as it takes. The only thing I'll not subjec
him to, is a surgery... Thanks again


--
Alwood

[Peter W.]

As long as he maintains a steady weight, and is responsive, go with it. I am sure you are aware how well animals mask pain, and if this decline has been gradual, you might miss this. Make this his time, and make him feel loved.