Wits end with Rascal

[kammy]

Noofies I am at my wits end with this little tortie princess. She is the extremely overweight 13 yr old cat that came to me through an ex.

She doesn't want to eat again. Won't give me a clue why. She had bloodwork done and it came back ok. A few things were on the high end of normal but still in the normal range. (liver, kidneys) and could be considered the stress of her coming to my house.

She did have indications of an infection so the Vet gave me Clavamox for her. Well after 4 days she started vomitting on it. It's been since then that she hasn't wanted to eat anything but the gravy from fancy feast, rebound and A/D. Possibly upset tummy but she has been off the Clavamox long enough that it should be better.

I thought maybe a tooth but the Vet got a good look in her mouth and said her teeth were ok. Maybe she missed something.

I have a funny feeling if you try and read her all you will get is, "Leave me alone, I want to go home".

Any ideas?

[Noofies]

Can you try force-feeding her a couple of syringe-fuls? Sometimes all it takes is one or two to kickstart their desire to eat.

[kammy]

That's why I got the a/d. She is a perfect Tortie princess in all that she does and she will not tolerate being force fed. She will eat A/D on her own but not regular cat food. In fact after I posted that she wanted some dinner and again wouldn't touch a thing till I brought out the A/D.

[Noofies]

Ah, so she's playing you. Got it. Tried mixing A/D and her regular food? Maybe pour a little A/D-and-water "gravy" over her other food? Mix something new and intriguing into her regular food - like half a crumbled hard-boiled egg yolk, tiny bits of cooked chicken liver, a spoonful of yogurt or cottage cheese on top, a little sardine, mackerel, or salmon?

Does she get along with any of her new housemates? A little competetion for food can be a powerful appetite stimulant.

[kammy]

She Just looks at Blackie and he runs in fear. The others she gives them one low growl and they carefully back away. She rules and expects total obediance. Never saw a cat take over like that before.

This morning she didn't want the A/D. Wanted to bury it instead. So I took it up and she was quite upset with me. She likes her rebound milk too. I might try putting that over her food and seeing if she will eat it. I will have to try the other stuff tonight after I get groceries.

I really wonder like she is playing me right now. I swear she wanted fancy feast gravy again this morning and was a bit upset at her choice of meals. I can't keep giving her just the gravy though. Gets expensive.

[kammy]

She is eating some dry with a touch of A/D on it. I think she should be eating more but at least she is eating on her own. We have had one more episode of vomitting. Naturally it was on my once white comforter. That seems to have settled down. I do wish we knew what was causing it. I think stress is playing a large part.

Competition helped a lot. Ernie has decided to reclaim his room and get to know her. Well when he saw her food he went over to eat it. She snarled and finished it up on her own.

Last night both Ernie and Squeak got in bed with her. Things were fine until Squeak got a little two cuddly and wiggled over for some snuggles. She is not a snuggler and told him off. How dare he touch her! She decides when and who may have that honour.

[Noofies]

It sounds like she's finally decided it's time to settle in. She'll come around. I'm sure the vomiting is due to stress, I'll bet you see that diminish over the next few months. And I'll bet her appetite picks up gradually too.