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Iniko isn’t Eating

Jenni

Site Supporter
Hi all! I need advice again. Iniko, an F3 who is 5 1/2 months old, has basically stopped eating. She was in heat earlier this week, so I wasn’t overly concerned then, but that cycle seems to have passed and she is still not interested in eating. She has been a notoriously picky eater, so it has been difficult to figure out if this problem is food related or something else (especially since she is 100% normal & crazy energetic otherwise), but when I did finally get her to eat on Friday she started vomiting the food up hours after she ate.

I took her to the vet yesterday because of the lack of appetite, vomiting, and I could see that she lost weight (she has lost 1/2 pound in less than a week); I was worried about a possible obstruction. They ran tests, took X-rays, and found nothing. The fecal did show parasites, so they treated for that and also gave her a fluid bubble to flush her system.

When I got her home she actually ate some roasted chicken once she calmed down! She ate two small plates of that (the last plate was around 5pm yesterday, but she hasn’t eaten since. As I mentioned earlier, she is acting perfectly normal, but not eating and the subsequent weight loss is very scary. I have tried everything short of giving her mice or chicks to get her to eat (even the freeze dried chicken -aka “kitty crack” - doesn’t work).

I am very worried that her eating habits are going to cause a problem. I’ve never dealt with intestinal parasites, is this something that just takes some time to clear up (and perhaps I am overreacting)? Should I try mice or chicks to see if that stimulates her appetite? I’ve joked with my husband that maybe this is just her way of making sure I stay home with her and give her 100% of my attention .
 

DumaLove

Site Supporter
Staff member
What parasites did they find?
And I don’t recall your back story, but why wouldn’t you just give her mice or chicks to get her to eat if you’re worried?
 

Ninja-n-Bear

Site Supporter
It could be the parasite. My boys were treated for roundworms recently, and prior to that Ninja had not been finishing his portions. They both behaved normally otherwise. The day they got dosed, and the day after, neither of them ate much. I hope that all it is!

I'd offer the whole prey options, because you never know! Ninja was fairly picky until we went to raw. Bear just eats. Unless we get new furniture, then he hides for a day LOL.
 

Jenni

Site Supporter
What parasites did they find?
And I don’t recall your back story, but why wouldn’t you just give her mice or chicks to get her to eat if you’re worried?

I have thought of the mice/chicks, but every time I go to buy them she starts eating lol. I believe I am going to buy some tomorrow though. After talking with the emergency vet today (who has a lot experience with exotic animals) I believe this is the best course for her. No real reason I haven’t tried it yet other than I didn’t think that an F3 would really want “live” prey. She is my first Savannah so I am definitely still learning (at the expense of my wallet naturally), but I am willing to do anything for her!
 

DumaLove

Site Supporter
Staff member
I have thought of the mice/chicks, but every time I go to buy them she starts eating lol. I believe I am going to buy some tomorrow though. After talking with the emergency vet today (who has a lot experience with exotic animals) I believe this is the best course for her. No real reason I haven’t tried it yet other than I didn’t think that an F3 would really want “live” prey. She is my first Savannah so I am definitely still learning (at the expense of my wallet naturally), but I am willing to do anything for her!
I would NOT condone feeding live prey!!! I assumed you were referring to frozen feeder mice and day old chicks.

Also what parasites are we talking about? Some can definitely mess with their appetites, as well as the treatment for them.
 

admin

Paige
Staff member
No live prey...we get chicks and mice frozen. Any reason she isn't spayed? Hormones can cause inappetance as well...you might want to try some tuna water on her food...some chicken baby food, something like stella and chewys, etc


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Jenni

Site Supporter
I would NOT condone feeding live prey!!! I assumed you were referring to frozen feeder mice and day old chicks.

Also what parasites are we talking about? Some can definitely mess with their appetites, as well as the treatment for them.
I am referring to frozen...realized I typed it as live rather than whole but couldn’t figure out how to change it after it listed to the forum. I have a bird at home so live prey would be disastrous, and it is just not good all the way around.
 

Jenni

Site Supporter
I am referring to frozen...realized I typed it as live rather than whole but couldn’t figure out how to change it after it listed to the forum. I have a bird at home so live prey would be disastrous, and it is just not good all the way around.

Oh, and she has coccidia, which I understand is fairly normal in kittens. Nothing terrible and fairly easy to get rid of. I had her spay g appointment scheduled for October, but since she went into heat early we are definitely bumping that up to the next available appointment.
 

Brigitte Cowell

Moderator
Staff member
What medication did the vet give for the coccidia? Some tend to make them a bit queasy too... so it helps to know what meds she was given.

Paige's suggestions are good ones. I find with the baby food (chicken and water as only ingredients) that if you warm it up and then offer by the teaspoon for some reason even when they are really ill they will take a half-hearted lick or two ...and sometimes that starts them eating again too. A lick turns into ten turns into searching for more food...

I'd also suggest a good probiotic, I like Proviable, but others swear by Florastor for helping to rebalance the intestinal tract after they've had an infection and also after antibiotic treatments.
 
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