We have a spayed, 3 yr old female named Miranda.  Last fall, we almost
lost her to some illness we never really were able to diagnose.  We had
been feeding her Science Diet Feline Growth (crunchy kibbles, not canned),
which is what we feed Montague, our 4 yr old neutered male.  One day,
Miranda started having symptoms: increased water consumption, not eating,
and acting agressive with chewing just about anything (except food).
 
Over a two week period, with frequent trips to the vet, she dwindled to
1.1 pounds.  We did bloodwork, x-ray, the full 9 yards.  Her stools got
tarry, so she was placed on Zantac (to settle her stomach) and Flouroxene
(anti-biotic).  This was after trying several other meds.  We believe she
had some kind of intestinal infection/irritation.  She was hospitalized
for a week.
 
Eventually, she got better.  She never went back to Science Diet.  We've
been feeding her a mix of cooked oatmeal, A/D feline, Ferretone, and
Nutrical ever since.  She was up to 2.2 pounds and very healthy ... until
last week.
 
She's back to the same symptoms, increased water consumption (50-70 cc's
per day), manic behavior, and a marked dis-interest in her food.  So
far,no grinding of teeth (which she did last fall) - but she refuss to
eat unless we hold her, scoop up the food, and present it to her on our
finger.  Even the, she's eating less than half her usual amount.  She'll
still get excited about raisins and eat them, chewing on both sides of
her mouth - so I don't think the problem is with her teeth ...
 
Does anyone have any ideas about this?  Obviously, I don't want to see her
get deathly ill again Iif I can possible avoid it ... we've tried leaving
Iams kitten food (crunchy) in a dish, also bagel (one of her faves),
banana, etc.  She simply won't eat anything in quantity without being held.
Thanks for any help!
[Posted in FML issue 1205]