The Inappetent Hospitalised Cat: clinical approach to maximising nutritional support

Inappetence is one of the most common presenting complaints in clinically ill cats requiring hospitalisation. When prolonged, poor food intake can lead to malnutrition and may be associated with impaired metabolic function, immunosuppression, compromised wound healing, and increased morbidity and mortality. It is important to recognise that inappetence or anorexia is always secondary to another condition, and that treatment goals should be targeted at the primary condition. The current emphasis in the nutritional support of hospitalised inappetent cats is to provide more effective means of increasing nutritional intake--for example, by initiating enteral nutrition via feeding tubes-- rather than rely solely on traditional approaches such as increasing palatability of foods or using appetite-stimulating drugs.

Cats that are ill enough to require hospitalisation are at increased risk of becoming malnourished because of the combined catabolic effects of their disease and poor nutritional intake. This article highlights some of the problems encountered in treating inappetent cats and discusses a clinical approach to providing better nutritional support.

Inappetence and anorexia are associated with a myriad of clinical conditions in cats and can be seen in individuals of any age or breed.

Provision of nutritional support to cats may involve the use of feeding tubes such as naso-oesophageal or oesophagostomy tubes. In cases where enteral nutrition is not feasible (eg, cats with gastrointestinal failure), parenteral nutrition should be considered.

Various studies have documented the high prevalence of inappetence or anorexia in clinically ill cats. Additional studies have linked poor food intake in cats with serious sequelae such as immunosuppression and hepatic lipidosis. More recently, techniques for providing more effective nutritional support, such as oesophagostomy tubes, have been clinically evaluated and shown to be associated with minimal complications.