Overview:

Anorexia is the loss of appetite for food. It is not a disease, rather it is a symptom of a disease or underlying problem. It may begin as a decrease in appetite at first, moving onto a complete refusal to eat.

It is very important to seek veterinary help if your cat refuses to eat for more than a day as they can quickly develop hepatic lipidosis which is life threatening.

Hepatic lipidosis is caused when a cat becomes anorexic, the body begins to use fat stores as fuel. These fat stores are sent to the liver, to be broken down to supply nutrients.  Unfortunately, the liver sometimes becomes overwhelmed & is unable to process this fat as quickly as necessary, leading to a build up of fat in the liver, which  interferes with normal liver function.

What causes anorexia?

There are many causes of anorexia, some of which include;

• Abscess
  
• Addison's Disease
  
• Anemia
• Bacterial infection (Bordetella)
• Certain medications
• Coccidiosis
  
• Dental or mouth pain (gingivitis, tooth abscess, stomatitis)
• Feline diabetes
  
• Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)
• Gastrointestinal disease
• Glomerulonephritis
  
• Haemobartonellosis (Feline Infectious Anemia)
• Heartworm
  
• Histoplasmosis
  
• Hypercalcemia
  
• Inflammation
• Injury or trauma
• Intestinal obstruction
• Ingestion of poison
• Kidney failure
  
• Neoplasia (abnormal cell growth)
• New or unpalatable diet
• Pancreatitis
  
• Portosystemic shunt
  
• Pyometra
  
• Stress (some possible causes of stress include; moving house, loss of companion, new pet/person in the house, hospitalisation, being boarded)
• Viral infection (Feline Herpesvirus, Feline Panleukopenia Virus, Calicivirus, FeLV & more)
• There are many more possible causes of anorexia which haven't been covered here.

How is the cause diagnosed?

As you can see, there are quite a lot of possible causes of anorexia in cats. Your veterinarian will perform a complete physical examination of your cat & obtain a medical history from you. Additional symptoms may give clues as to the cause of anorexia. However, your veterinarian will probably wish to run some tests. Some of which may include;

• Database (complete blood count, biochemical profile, urinalysis) to check for metabolic disorders, inflammatory/infectious diseases or neoplasia.
• Physical examination to check for wounds, abscesses, internal or external masses. Abdominal palpitation to feel the size & shape of the organs.
• A complete oral examination to look for gingival or dental disease, check for foreign body.
• Abdominal x-ray & or ultrasound to check for abnormalities in organ size & shape, gastrointestinal obstruction or neoplasia.
• Thoracic (chest) x-ray & or ultrasound to check for abnormalities in organ size & shape, cardiac disease, inflammatory infections/diseases.
• Fecal exam to check for parasites.

If a possible causes is suspected, more specific tests may be required to confirm diagnosis.

How is anorexia treated?

Treatment is aimed at finding & treating the underlying cause of anorexia.

Fluid support: To treat dehydration. Fluids may be given intravenously or subcutaneously.

Nutritional support: This may be provided via a feeding tube,  hand feeding or appetite stimulants.