No, this post isn’t one of those kinds of posts-no announcements. Fat Kitty was not quite himself this past week or so. Historically he’s been a gorger. He inhales his food (literally) and overeats and then throws up. This has been the way it is since he was a kitten when I rescued him. I think the psychology behind it is that he was a homeless kitten for the first 7 months of his life and food was scarce. So he is forever worried that he won’t get enough food.
As a result he routinely throws up when he’s eaten too much. This isn’t abnormal. But last week the vomit was a little more frequent and more in volume. I wasn’t too worried until my friend Star checked on the kitties while we were in Seattle for the weekend and she noticed he wasn’t “quite himself.” When we got home I noticed he wasn’t quite himself either. Subdued and quiet, not as playful or mischievous and the biggie: not eating much.
When I get home from weekends away Fat Kitty is glued to my side like velcro and follows me around like a puppy. He wasn’t doing that Sunday night. And Monday he still wasn’t eating. I was worried sick all day at work and found it hard to focus, honestly. All I could think about was my baby. He’s most definitely my baby–my first, my favorite (I know, I know), my soulmate. I love this little guy–all 16 pounds of him.
I made an appointment with the vet and took him in after work. The exam didn’t show anything wrong with him, but the lack of appetite was troublesome to the vet. They were so great at Banfield–the nurse and the vet were amazing with my kitty and myself. (Even though the vet had to say about a dozen times that my cat was fat. :()
He didn’t have a temperature but they wanted to rule out some other stuff. They took him back to do blood work. Unfortunately, they had to sedate him to do so. The test results came back an hour later and they were all within the normal ranges. Thank the Goddess!!!! It was such a relief. Diabetes has been on the back of my mind for a few years now because of Fat Kitty’s weight. I’m glad it came back normal.
Monday night I brought him home and he sat in the office next to the cat food and stared at the wall–completely stoned out of his mind from the Ketamine! Poor baby! So as it stands I’m watching him to see how he does. I stayed home from work on Tuesday so I could monitor my baby. I was really too worried to leave him for more than a few hours at a time.
We cuddled and we played for a bit. He ate throughout the day but in small doses. He napped a lot, drank water and seemed to be okay–just kind of mopey and subdued. I’m a nervous wreck. Michael suggested that maybe he’s just slowing down finally. He’s acted like a kitten his entire life–with energy and mischief to spare–and he’s 9.5 years old now. So maybe….?
I’m glad he’s eating again, even if it’s not a lot. I hope he gets out of this funk soon.
QUESTION: Any ideas? It’s nothing medical so…??
Laurie
Lisa, I hope Fat Kitty feels better soon! My dog did that one time, he’s a big eater and would woof down his food in like two seconds! But I took him to the vet too when he was not eating for about two days, and they couldn’t find anything wrong either. He hold me it may be a virus or he may of eaten something that didn’t agree with him. He gave him some sort of shot (can’t remember what it was), but after a couple of days he was back to himself! I’m sure Fat Kitty will be fine and back to himself in no time! He may of eaten something from the floor (I know my dog will eat anything!) and it didn’t agree with him. It’s good sign if he’s eating some and drinking water! Sending good well wishes for him!
Lisa Eirene
Thanks Laurie. 🙁 I’m a wreck. I hope my baby is ok.
Maybe you are right and he got a bug or something that doesn’t show up in blood work. I’m not sure. I am really diligent about keeping things out of the house that could potentially make the kitties sick. No houseplants or flowers, I’m a nazi about medications possibly falling on the floor, etc. He could have eaten something weird like cardboard. Who knows….
Kalin
Maybe it’s just the weather changing? Takeout is normally a very independent feisty cat but when it gets cold she’s suddenly way more chill and cuddly. She’s actually sitting on my lap right now without kneading the crap out of my arm (which is normally the only way that girl will cuddle me!)
Lisa Eirene
Maybe. He’s an indoor kitty and pretty cuddly. I’ve never noticed in the past that he became more-so in the winter. But maybe….?
Jill
I don’t know what is wrong with Fat Kitty- but I do know how scary it is when our pets are sick. I hope Fat Kitty feels better soon!
Lisa Eirene
Thanks Jill. I’m worried and scared. I know that our animals don’t live forever but I want this little guy to….
Esther @ Esther Fox Dot Com
One of my kitties does the whole food inhaling/puking thing. She gorges, especially on wet food and then picks a spot in the apartment to puke. Though I am not entirely sure why, because my husband has had her since 5 weeks, and she’s coming up at 6 years old now. Maybe it’s from when she had a canine brother, that she had to compete with him or something. I dunno.
I do know that the possibility of Fat Kitty slowing down is probable. One of my other cats, Precious, used to act like a total kitten, but he’s a lot more subdued now, coming up on 9 years old. But Fat Kitty could also have a bug, as mentioned above. Hopefully he’ll be back to normal soon!
Lisa Eirene
Thanks for sharing, Esther. Maybe you are right in that he’s just getting older and slower. I’m glad he’s eating again, even if it’s not as much.
Brie @ Brie Fit
This happened to Southie earlier this year and the problem was her TEETH. She had to have most of them removed and the biggest sign was that she was lethargic and slowly stopped eating because chewing hurt her. Our vet missed it the first two times we brought her in, and I finally kind of figured it out on the internet of all places.
I’d check his mouth when you get home…see if his gums are inflamed and purple at all, and if there’s tartar build up and bad breath. He will probably also NOT want you touching it. If it’s the case I’d bring him in ASAP–Southie’s turned into gum infection that hit her body pretty hard.
(She’s fine now! Eats dry kibble almost-toothless, ha.)
Lisa Eirene
I wondered about the teeth thing too! The vet checked his teeth and gums really closely and said he looked good! I hope that’s true. I might try giving him wet food tonight to see if he eats more of that.
Lori
Both my cats did the gorge and barf. My older cat was the worst. Sometimes kitties just get a little mopey or feel under the weather. As long as he is eating now – all is good. Even if it isn’t as much as before. Cats feel stresses as well, and you went away recently – and if you have been bringing home a lot of work stress as well, you might not realize how much it can affect the kitties.
Lisa Eirene
My kitty gets very anxious when we go out of town. He usually gets over it in a few hours. If that’s the case, it’s sure lasting longer than normal. But I’m glad he’s eating a little bit. He slept with me last night, so that’s good too. He’s not keeping to himself too much.
Deb
I know this is the last thing you want to think of, but did they rule out a blockage? One of my cats ate a bunch of plastic aquarium plants and egg shells and didn’t poop for a week- just threw up what she ate. Finally she threw up the plastic and everything was fine again. My friend’s cat on the other hand… she had a more permanent blockage and after months of throwing up and then losing weight/suddenly not eating, had to have major surgery and they removed a lot of her intestine to fix it.
If he’s not feeling better soon, take him back in. Watch to see he is eating and pooping and make notes. The vet will need to know anything you’ve noticed.
Lisa Eirene
You’re right…not something I want to hear. BUT he is using the litter box and everything was normal. I’ve been checking it for diarrhea to see if he ate something. But if he is still not doing okay in a few days I’ll take him back to the vet. I keep small stuff and bad stuff away from the kitties or not in the house just to be on the safe side.
suzanne
Snuffy our very spoiled 10 year old cat is an inhaler/puker as well! We’ve tried everything to slow him down eating but he does what he does since we’ve had him at 8 weeks!
I did invest in a carpet cleaner though 🙂
I find cats get a lot more stressed than dogs over the smallest things. Maybe with age he simply missed you more and was stressed. Hopefully he’ll be back to normal asap!
Lisa Eirene
Maybe! He gets mopey and anxious when we leave but he usually snaps out of it pretty quickly. This is lasting much longer than normal. 🙁
Roz@weightingfor50
Hi Lisa. AWWWW. Poor Fat kitty. And poor you. I know how worrysome it is when our kitties aren’t themselves. Maybe the little man ate something that just has to pass through. (that happened to Neva earlier this year – we’re not sure what she got into, but wasn’t herself for a few days as a result. We were worried sick but she slowly got back to normal. I wish the same for your boy! Keep us posted!!! BTW…he’s BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
Lisa Eirene
How long did it take your baby to perk up?
Thank you! I might not be impartial but I happen to think he’s ADORABLE! 😀
Sally
Awww Sorry to hear about your kitty 🙁 I know it can be so frustrating when you don’t know what’s going on, yet you know that there is something wrong…. I unfortunately have no useful advice. I have 2 cats myself, and one of them got sick when we moved across the country, and he became super needy and wanted to lay on me the whole time (which he never does). And he looked terrible, then he started sneezing, then he was good. I guess keep doing what you’re doing, trying to get him to keep eating, and wait it out. It’s great that you took him to the vet, that way you know that there’s nothing bad going on…
Hope he feels better! (hug)
Lisa Eirene
Cats are very in-tune to people’s moods and stressors. I could very well be that Fat Kitty was picking up on stuff.
Laurie
Lisa, how is Fat Kitty doing? Hope he’s feeling better!
Lisa Eirene
He is doing sooo much better! I’m so happy!
Laurie
That’s great!!!!!
Allison
I’m sorry your kitty isn’t feeling well! One of my cats is a gorger too. He weighs 18 pounds and is affectionately called Big Boy. He had a similar episode where he wasn’t eating and just wasn’t himself. The vet did an X-ray and found that his bowels were majorly backed up. No obstruction–he was just very very constipated. They gave him a medicine to clear everything out (at the vets office thankfully) and then he was fine! That was a couple of years ago and hasn’t happened since. So it might be worth having them check that.
Lisa Eirene
“Affectionately” LOL — I only use the name “Fat Kitty” for the blog, but yes, it’s affectionately that too!
He is feeling MUCH better and up to his old antics. I may never know what was wrong with him, but I’m happy he’s good.