on-again, off-again eating

[Alice_in_VA]

Hi people! This is my first time at this site. I discovered it while researching what could possibly by going on with one of my cats. His name is Mingo, and he's 11 years old. He's been quite healthy, but for the past few months he'll eat well for several days, then go anywhere from 1 to 3 days hardly touching any food. I've taken him to a vet who's run tests, but so far nothing is positive. This past summer he wasn't eating well at all, but luckily I found out by accident that he had 2 bad teeth which were pulled. He ate much better after that, but now he's doing this on-again off-again pattern, and has lost half a pound. He only weighs about 8 pounds now. Nothing has changed in his life. Oh, he also vomits about once a week quite regularly. I've tried a digestive enzyme but it doesn't seem to help. Can anyone help me identify this?

[Piparskeggr]

Our Miss Teia was not eating for a few days towards the end of October, vet needed to give her an enema to clear her stoppage, was a huge hairball.

Her appetite has returned to normal as has her poop frequency.

[CML2014]

Hi Alice,

I agree with ZQ, but would like you to take another look at the teeth, Sometimes vets do not remove the roots and this will cause continued pain. Please ask for x-rays to prove the roots have been removed. There could also be some other teeth in need of removal. Dental disease in elderly cats is very common and painful.

[Alice_in_VA]

Thank you Zodiacqueen! I was rather wondering if constipation would affect his appetite since his eating problem seems to be related. But since I have 2 cats, I can't always tell their poop apart. I'm currently waiting for the results of a pancreatitis test, but somehow I sense that it may be GI-related. And thank you for suggesting an appetite stimulant. I hadn't thought of that.

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, welcome to our cat community!!  At 11 yrs old, there could be a few things going on that could cause Mingo to lose his appetite. Kidney issues-checked with blood work, pancreatitis-also blood work, more bad teeth, and believe it or not, constipation. I had a senior kitty that wasn't pooping regularly and it did affect her appetite. My vet said that there should be 1 poop a day.

If the vet finds that Mingo has none of these issues going on, then it could be that his metabolism has slowed down with age(it happens to the best of us). And, if more than 2 days go by without him eating, contact your vet about an appetite stimulant because you don't want your cat to get feline hepatic lipidosis(fatty liver). This is very serious and can be deadly.

Good luck and please keep us posted!