I thought I posted it yesterday, but don't see itappearing
anywhere....cat),
OK, my cat Vas'ka (neutered male, 17 year old, tuxedo
has been progressively refusing all sorts of food, yethe
feels hungry and keep asking for food... He's lost 6pounds
withing a year (14 down to 8 now). He lost his frontteeth
(and we suspect his vision and smell sense got worsetoo).
We tried dry food, soft (canned) food, high-caloric gel,raw
all kinds of treats, baby food, tiny chopped pieces of
chicken, etc -- step by step he stopped eating any ofthat.
With some canned food he would just lick out the liquidsome
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
test, here is the "nothing burger" result:
"Overall, no major issues were identified. He may have
very, very early kidney changes happening and showsotherwise
evidence on the CBC test for stress, but overall, the
biochemical tests were normal. In a cat that is
healthy, this would be great news. In a cat, like Vasia,easy
who has lost a great deal of weight, it just means that
whatever is causing the weight loss is not going to be
to identify. I would suspect dental disease may play aor
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 $***)
ultrasound (About $***) may be recommended as the nextcourse
step."
No advice about food; and no clear idea of possible
of action following the result of those tests. Mostlikely
something drastic, like surgery. The costs of the newdo
tests, although they are pricey, are not the issue; I'd
that. My issue with all that is -- is worth to subjecthis
Vas'ka to pain and dismal life quality for the rest of
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...
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!
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