Any helpful advice is welcome as well.
I haven't posted much about Misty on here, even since her issues started, but she could really use some vibes right now. We rescued her about 14 years ago as a kitten and since then, she has been just a wonderful kitty.
Unfortunately, last year, she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and we were forced to get it under control with medication. All was good and well for a while - she was taking her pill pockets, eating her food, and acting normally. We had a few downhill periods along the way, when she started losing weight, but overall, her combination of thyroid pills, appetite stimulant, and heart medication have kept her under control.
This past month or so has been bad though. She's been eating only sporadically and has stopped taking her medications in pill pockets. I saw her a few weeks ago and she was skin and bones - and apparently, she's lost weight since then. She's now sitting at roughly 6 pounds, when she should weigh in at about nine. If you didn't know how much time, money, and love my family was putting into this cat, you would probably think that she was being neglected.
Of course, at the same time, her teeth are in serious need of a cleaning. It's a bit of a catch 22 because it's possibly a factor as to why she won't eat. Unfortunately, in retrospect, we should've done the dental when she was at about 7 pounds, but at that weight, we thought she was just starting to look better and would go uphill from there. She didn't. Instead, she took another nosedive and now she's at 6 pounds AND needs a teeth cleaning.
They've tried force feeding her her pills and her meals. They've tried feeding her baby food, or food mixed with catnip. The force feeding is nearly impossible to do with her meals. My parents have managed to get her most of her medications via an oral syringe or pill popper, but now Misty is starting to hide from them. It takes both of them to do it because she squirms so much. The one good thing is that this cat seems to only know how to run away from her fears and has never once acted aggressively towards a person - even so much as a hiss. Even still, the pill popping isn't something that can continue forever, and because she still isn't eating her food even with the appetite stimulant (more than enough to keep her from actually starving anyway), her weight is plummeting. It also breaks everyone's heart to see her becoming afraid of us again. Otherwise, she has as much energy as one could expect given her weight - she still jumps on the bed sometimes, moves as to avoid the dog, and gets around the house.
I was told she went back to the vet today to discuss her prognosis. The vet is confused, because even without the appetite stimulant, because she hasn't been getting every thyroid pill (my parents can only pill pop the cat once a day, when the thyroid pills are 2x/day medication), she should be ravenous (symptom of the hyperthyroidism). Long story short, they've opted to go ahead with the dental as a bit of a last resort. It's going to be very risky and everyone is going to have to be on top of force feeding her her pills this week, but the vet is hoping that it may be what has triggered this unwillingness to eat. I didn't mention earlier, but she still appears hungry. She begs for her food at regular intervals, but won't give it more than a lick or two when it's given to her. The dental is scheduled for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
I'm very worried for my little kitty and am hoping that her problems might actually be as simple as a rotten tooth. Unfortunately, at this point, even getting through the surgery is another stress. Please please keep her in your thoughts. I'll be home soon and able to help with her medication before she goes in for her dental.
I welcome any productive advice. We've tried dry food, wet food, baby food, catnip before feeding, catnip mixed into the food, and a wide variety of different medications.
here's the little bit from when she was feeling good:
I haven't posted much about Misty on here, even since her issues started, but she could really use some vibes right now. We rescued her about 14 years ago as a kitten and since then, she has been just a wonderful kitty.
Unfortunately, last year, she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and we were forced to get it under control with medication. All was good and well for a while - she was taking her pill pockets, eating her food, and acting normally. We had a few downhill periods along the way, when she started losing weight, but overall, her combination of thyroid pills, appetite stimulant, and heart medication have kept her under control.
This past month or so has been bad though. She's been eating only sporadically and has stopped taking her medications in pill pockets. I saw her a few weeks ago and she was skin and bones - and apparently, she's lost weight since then. She's now sitting at roughly 6 pounds, when she should weigh in at about nine. If you didn't know how much time, money, and love my family was putting into this cat, you would probably think that she was being neglected.
Of course, at the same time, her teeth are in serious need of a cleaning. It's a bit of a catch 22 because it's possibly a factor as to why she won't eat. Unfortunately, in retrospect, we should've done the dental when she was at about 7 pounds, but at that weight, we thought she was just starting to look better and would go uphill from there. She didn't. Instead, she took another nosedive and now she's at 6 pounds AND needs a teeth cleaning.
They've tried force feeding her her pills and her meals. They've tried feeding her baby food, or food mixed with catnip. The force feeding is nearly impossible to do with her meals. My parents have managed to get her most of her medications via an oral syringe or pill popper, but now Misty is starting to hide from them. It takes both of them to do it because she squirms so much. The one good thing is that this cat seems to only know how to run away from her fears and has never once acted aggressively towards a person - even so much as a hiss. Even still, the pill popping isn't something that can continue forever, and because she still isn't eating her food even with the appetite stimulant (more than enough to keep her from actually starving anyway), her weight is plummeting. It also breaks everyone's heart to see her becoming afraid of us again. Otherwise, she has as much energy as one could expect given her weight - she still jumps on the bed sometimes, moves as to avoid the dog, and gets around the house.
I was told she went back to the vet today to discuss her prognosis. The vet is confused, because even without the appetite stimulant, because she hasn't been getting every thyroid pill (my parents can only pill pop the cat once a day, when the thyroid pills are 2x/day medication), she should be ravenous (symptom of the hyperthyroidism). Long story short, they've opted to go ahead with the dental as a bit of a last resort. It's going to be very risky and everyone is going to have to be on top of force feeding her her pills this week, but the vet is hoping that it may be what has triggered this unwillingness to eat. I didn't mention earlier, but she still appears hungry. She begs for her food at regular intervals, but won't give it more than a lick or two when it's given to her. The dental is scheduled for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
I'm very worried for my little kitty and am hoping that her problems might actually be as simple as a rotten tooth. Unfortunately, at this point, even getting through the surgery is another stress. Please please keep her in your thoughts. I'll be home soon and able to help with her medication before she goes in for her dental.
I welcome any productive advice. We've tried dry food, wet food, baby food, catnip before feeding, catnip mixed into the food, and a wide variety of different medications.
here's the little bit from when she was feeling good:
When my Gonzo was diagnosed with FIV after having one respiratory infection after another, we knew it was critical to keep his appetite up. The vet had me give him valium -- a quarter to a half of a pill. 
