Just so you know, we did all of the tests and biopsies, he's been on a battery of medications and antibiotics. He wouldn't eat or drink, so we've been force-feeding him food “shakes” of cat food and evaporated milk with the prescribed herbal feline immune boost powder added, and unflavored Pedialyte. He seemed to be improving, so we stopped force-feeding him (he was urinating and defecating in the litter box), but his appetite was still somewhat lacking.
he began to decline and get thinner and dehydrated again. We began force-feeding him again, small portions 3X a day (to reduce vomiting) and two syringes full of Pedialyte every 2-3 hours. He barely has enough muscle mass to support his frame. In the new “shake” I added to the usual mixture an egg, some omega-3 supplement for cats and some unsalted butter. He seems more hydrated, but has bad halitosis and no strength and isn't putting on weight.
isn't working to encourage hunger. -Any further advice on what to do? He is not on any steroids.
vet is a proponent of raw feeding, however the vet put him on a prescription diet of a/d cat food (they said he was eating on his own when we picked him up after a weekend on an IV). Right now the cat food in his “shake” is Nutro's chicken and rice. I read an article that rescued starving dogs at a shelter got fed chicken broth and rice every few hours, so this was my reasoning. I also have a liquid lysine supplement, which is supposed to by highly palatable, but he shows no interest in it. I tried a can of tuna, but he wouldn't eat that, either. We have two other old cats, one of them is quite fat and a gorger, so I can't really leave attractive food out unless I keep the cats separated (then there's my chow-hound Great Dane). The last thing the vet recommended when we called him a few days ago was catnip to stimulate his appetite, but that's not working. I am unsure if his system can handle any drugs at this point, but I will call the vet back. He had some oral neoplasia.
were no malignancies in the tests, so he was placed on antibiotics.
believe it was an opportunistic systemic infection (he was kenneled along with our other pets while we visited family up north). The antibiotics were all used up and his sores had healed, but he seems to be having a relapse.
I can worry about treating a possible recurrent infection I first need to get his hydration level and weight stabilized, or any additional antibiotics will be for nothing.
now it seems that the level of consumption in his system is on par with the amount of nutrition and fluids I am trying to feed him, so maybe I should up the dose, but then the vomit issue comes up if I get too ambitious with the feedings. It may be very likely he is going into renal failure, but I am trying to reverse the trend with a lot of fluids. I had a miscarriage just before this happened, and between those bills and $1.2K for this cat we are financially tapped out. I did feed him Benebac, also. I took him in today, the vet felt that he was trying to check out and I wasn't letting him.
only thing he could do that was 50/50 would be to place him back on an IV in the hospital for a few days again and see, but that was more money than I had to put in for such an uncertain prognosis, so I let him go and had him euthanized.
you for the advice offered.