If you follow the Bearbottom facebook page, you know that there’s been a bit of drama here this week. It started Tuesday night just before dinner. I noticed Burton was not his usual happy self.

He didn’t want to eat (even his treats), he wasn’t purring and while still responsive and perky, you could just tell he was under the weather.

It’s happened before – and almost always he eventually hacks up a hairball and is fine shortly after. I figured he’d be back to normal by the morning.

But he wasn’t. Wednesday ticked away. He didn’t eat breakfast, he refused all treats. And very unlike him, he just wanted to lay outside in the catio in the heat (this last week has been crazy hot).

He tried to vomit several times, but nothing came out. I started to get worried about a stuck hairball or other obstruction, so I called the vet.

We got him in the next day and I explained everything to them. He had no fever. They took blood. They did Xrays. None of it showed any obstruction, or other reason he would stop eating. They gave him a medicine to settle his stomach, they gave him some subcutaneous fluids because he was dehydrated, and gave me an appetite stimulant to give him when we got home.

He did seem to improve a bit once he was home for a while, but he still wouldn’t eat.

Friday was pretty much more of the same. That is, until in a little bit of despair, I got his favourite brush and started brushing him. That really perked him up. He even started purring! I hadn’t heard him purr since Monday.

Hopeful, I grabbed the jar of treats I have in the bedroom (for getting good quilting pictures). As soon as I grabbed it, he ran right over. But he STILL wouldn’t eat them.

Knowing the weekend was coming, I called the vet again and explained he still wasn’t eating or drinking. The vet said the options were IV, or I could try to syringe feed him. I opted for syringe feedings, so I popped out to get some prescription food and syringes from their office.

When I got home, I gave Burton an ultimatum…. either he eats on his own, or I turn him into a kitty burrito and feed him like a baby. I put a dish of the new food down in front of him. He sniffed it, but still didn’t eat. Then I got an idea, I took a finger-full and rubbed it over his nose and mouth so he would half to lick it off.

And he did.

And then he started to eat the food! He only ate a few bites, but I was thrilled. I gave him a minute to see if he would eat more, but got nothing. So I picked up his brush again and gave him a few more strokes. Within a few minutes, he started eating again.

We repeated the sequence – Eat. Stop. Brush. Eat. Stop. Brush. And I managed to get him to eat about half a serving of the food. About an hour later, he ate a couple treats Dave gave him.

He’s going to get another dose of the appetite stimulant today, but I’m hoping we are on the far side of this little dramatic interlude!