Need help w/ my cat, please

Hi y'all. My sweet girl, Callie, who is 9 years old is failing. For the last couple of months, we've been going to the vet on a regular basis because she initially started having "accidents" around the house. She would be laying down and urinate where she was laying. The vet treated her for a UTI / Kidney infection. I changed her food to a sensitive systems and hairball combination because she's a puker and a hairballer. She seemed to be doing okay, but then it started again. The vet put her on 28 days of antibiotics and she is consistently losing weight. She still drinks water, but doesn't want to eat. I didn't want to put her on wet food, but at this point, I'll do anything to save my baby. She doesn't seem to be having accidents anymore, but I just can't stand to see her so sad and unhappy. She just lays around and hides from me and everyone else in the house. This cat is my heart and I need some suggestions on what else I can do for her to get her to eat and put some weight on. I did get her to eat some tuna and the juice yesterday. But she's even snubbing treats!!!! Does anyone have any suggestions for food that I can try that she might eat? Or vitamins that I can give her? Anything? Thanks in advance! Cheryl

Cheryl, I'm sorry to hear that Callie is unwell. Her behavior is indicative that she isn't feeling well. Did your vet do a full workup to identify any other potential issues? The last time my baby, Boady, behaved like that she was constipated. But then she wasn't having accidents, only the hiding and feeling lousy behavior. But I digress. When Boady is in a blue funk I have one treat that she will always eat. It's freeze dried chicken or Salmon by Liv-a-littles. I buy them from an online store called "nature of the pet". They are high in protein with no fillers.( http://)store.yahoo.com/natureofthepet/health-food---treats--cat-treats.html I hope that Callie feels well soon. - Sharon

My male cat has had problems for awhile now. He is on two prescripton foods one for bladder one for kidneys. I give him Laxatone for hair balls once in awhile. He too has lost weight, but at least he's using his cat box again. I had him on anti inflamatories and anti biotics for over a month. He is 11 years old now. He already had major surgery for a blocked bladder two years ago last month. We love him and we've had him since he was a baby, but his retirement years are a little rough on all of us. Hope your kitty is doing much better.

Hi Cheryl I suggest putting your cat on a high quality dry food. I use Solid Gold Catzen Flocken for my four cats. That's all they get. You can get it delivered to your home at gooberexpress.com. I hope Callie gets well soon. Valerie in Scottsdale

I have a 17 yo cat who has had kidney problems for 5 or 6 years now. She drinks a lot of water (and I always make sure to have plenty of fresh water for her) and will eat moist or dry food. But due to the fact that she needs as much moisture as possible, I feed her Science Diet canned food (she likes gourmet turkey best). It has lots of moisture in it. I also give her about 1" of Petromalt every week to help her with constipation. But sometimes -- for no reason that I can understand -- she doesn't feel like eating and gets very puny. At those times she will sleep in the closet or under the bed (animals in the wild do this to hide from prey as they're too weak to defend themselves). I know it's very stressful for you. When I feel her spine become bony, I take her into the vet and ask them to give her an IV. I take her in that morning and pick her up in the evening. She still won't eat on her own when she's home, so I have to force-feed her. Your vet can give you a special tube to do this (it's like a syringe). Just squirt it into the sides of her mouth, near the back and then close her mouth so she must swallow. Get as much into her as you can, taking your time so she doesn't get stressed out from being forcefed. It usually takes me a couple of days but she finally returns to normal every time. There's nothing you did wrong -- she might just be constipated or just have aches and pains from the kidney problem -- we can't really know. You just have to deal with the symptoms. [If you have multiple cats, it might be a good idea to close her off from them until she's feeling better -- my other cats tend to pick on her when she's feeling down.] Good luck! Cheri