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Hey, I've had quite a few cats, and several of them have experienced similar issues at one point or another. If finances allow, I would really recommend getting those blood tests and maybe an x-ray, since there are LOTS of issues that can lead to a cat avoiding eating (and ultimately developing liver problems), from a loose tooth to serious end-stage organ disease.

But if further diagnostic testing isn't possible (or doesn't tell you what's up), you're pretty much doing the same course of treatment I've done for several kitties, sometimes as palliative care, sometimes until they recovered completely. So if you decide to keep doing what you've been doing, here are some things I've learned along the way.

First, I wouldn't feed her less. It's hard as it is to get enough food into a syringe-fed cat. Instead, consider asking the vet to prescribe appetite stimulants or maybe anti-nausea pills, which shouldn't be too prohibitively expensive. You can ask them about over-the-counter meds that might work too.

As far as the bathroom troubles go, I'm wondering if the struggle is due to dehydration. You can sorta-kinda estimate if a cat is dehydrated by pinching the scruff at the back of their neck - if the skin doesn't snap back into place immediately, she's at least a bit dehydrated. You can try giving water via syringe, on its own or mixed with food. I'd double check with the vet on either of these, but you can also give her Pedialyte or do the subcutaneous fluids more frequently. I had one kitty who needed fluids almost daily to stay comfy at one point. (If you end up needing to do fluids long term you can buy them online, last time I checked Amazon had them in bulk cheaper than they were at the vet.)

There may be some things you can do to entice her into eating as well. I noticed you tried a couple kinds of cat food & baby food, which is a good start. Next try mixing in water to change the consistency, or spoon feeding it to her. I've had success with both. You can also try more fish-flavored foods, which tend to be smellier and more appetizing. Some specific products that have worked for me include cat milk, lickable treats like these especially in fishy varieties, and fish flakes added to any kind of food. I've had good luck with this brand of food as well.

You can try offering canned tuna, deli meat, or other smelly human foods. It'll smell super appealing and could help get her back in the habit of eating. But I'm not sure I'd advise it, since the sodium content isn't good for cats, especially if they're going through something like kidney failure.

Last but not least, try to stick to a regular-ish routine with the syringe feeding and anything else you're doing, and consider whether there are any recent changes in your life that could be bugging Lily. Cats can be so sensitive and easily thrown off, and it's not totally unheard of for a bit of stress to make a kitty hesitant to eat.

Lily is such a cutie, she looks just like my 11 year old girl who I just lost last December. I hope you two get through this and have many, many more happy years together. If you need any support or think of anything else you might need help with, let me know. Best of luck, and virtual hugs to you and Lily both.

I think the playpen you have linked will do the job. I, and other foster parents I know like this one . It has solid walls so kitties can not climb it and tall enough that kitties cannot jump over it. Make sure they have PLENTY of toys, but don’t keep any in there that they could get tangled up in or hurt themselves. I don’t like to keep the string toys in there with them. A litter box, access to a water bowl, I like to stick stuffed animals in there as well. Kittens this age, especially in a litter, are pretty good at entertaining themselves. Play time should still happen to burn out some energy. This is my favorite age! Good luck and enjoy the kittens! Also, if you’re on Facebook and are looking for more resources, join the page “Orphan Kitten Bottle Feeders and Fosters.” It’s full of very knowledgeable foster parents. Feel free to message me with any other detailed questions.

Edit: I realized you said you did already buy the playpen, which I think will work perfectly fine at this age. Same setup, pretty much. Just make sure they have some things to do, a place to go potty, and a water bowl.

3 inches depth is a good rule. I scoop the box completely every couple of days, and replace the litter completely every month-ish or if I notice that odors are lingering. I found that getting a good litter scoop took away any reluctance to clean the box I might have had; it just makes the task a lot easier.

Late to the party, but I think you may be buying unnecessarily expensive litter. Pet products are like anything else; the sky's the limit on what you can spend and there will always be a brand ready to sell to high rollers, but unless you're spending that much on a large (25lb+) bags then you can probably look for new litter.

I've been using Swheat Scoop and World's Best Cat Litter for ten years and have consistently found them to be affordable, high quality and low-maintenance. They are plant-based (wheat and corn, respectively), so if opened and then left unattended in a pantry they can attract critters, but they clump well, they don't have any sort of chemical odor that might turn your cat off, and best of all they're flushable—I'm an apartment dweller so being able to scoop the litter whenever I want to without the chore of taking it downstairs to the garbage each time is a great incentive to change it as regularly as my cats need.

Anyway, hope that's helpful! $30/bag if your cat doesn't explicitly need something special that's in that litter is way too much.

My suggestions would be Feliway Diffusers and Nature’s Miracle Calming Spray, which calm your cat down and ease anxiety and their overall mood and behaviors. This might ease him upstairs, or at the very least make him calmer. He might be in your basement simply because he likes it there, not that he’s scared. If you adjust the upstairs into something that he would like better, maybe he will spend more time up there. Or maybe he just likes the cool, quiet atmosphere of the basement. Does he come upstairs to eat or play?

One thing about the diffusers is that they do heat up a lot, so keep them away from things that are very flammable!

If he's slowly warming up to you and improving as time passes, he will hopefully continue this trend. It's only been three weeks. If he starts biting you just say "no" and stop petting him or walk away. Maybe try just sitting next to him for a while without petting him and see if he will come to you. I know you said you play with him, but make sure you are tiring him out during each play session. Wand toys are great for this because your hand is nowhere near the toy part so he will eventually associate the toy with biting and not your hand. This is the absolute best wand toy in my experience.

I've had 2 auto feeders for my cat.

The first one was similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Portion-Automatic-Feeder-brushed/dp/B005O324ACand my cat broke into it on the 2nd day. The bowl detaches from the feeder part for easy cleaning which is nice, but the part where the food comes out is not covered by anything, which is how my cat managed to break in. He stuck his paw up the chute where the food came from and was able to wiggle his paw around to get all the food out.

The second and current one is similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Majestic-Diamond-Automatic-Feeder/dp/B00JIWW3VUand it's been fantastic for the 2 or so years we've used it. The one I have doesn't have the water attachment, so I think they've upgraded models or something. For this one, the bowl doesn't detach, so it's not as easy and convenient to clean but still doable. This one does have a little plastic guard where the food goes into the bowl which prevents my cat from breaking in. The lid that covers the food reservoir latches nicely and can't be broken into unless your cats have opposable thumbs ;) unfortunately I don't remember how the lid on the first one attaches

One concern I have for you and your cats is that they might not be happy to share food from the same bowl, but if your cats are ok with that then you should be fine. Hope this is helpful, let me know if you need more!

Cat tax (including auto feeders): https://imgur.com/a/bGpI4NQ

Some cats are CRAZY food-driven. I've got 4 cats, and 2-3 of them (depending on their mood at the time) are food-mad. And all but one definitely prefer their super expensive prescription dry food over wet food.

To make it less of a food-panic and introduce play, our vet recommended these to stop the scarfing. They work beautifully!!

That, and slo-bowls

And Puzzle Bowls

Keeps them all from scarfing it down so they eat slower, don't "scarf & barf", and it reduces desperation at the next meal time.

Good luck!

I think it's awesome that you're being attentive to her and watching her, but it doesn't sound like you have evidence that she's bored - yet. In my experience, bored cats are nippy or destructive.

Give her time to get used to being on the balcony - seriously, it can take cats six months to warm up to things sometimes. She might surprise you any day and start enjoying it.

Three things that have helped my city dwelling cat:

1. Putting kibble in "wobblers" like this -- you can also experiment with small kongs like dogs use.
   
2. Creating "cat tv" at a securely closed and locked window by putting a bird feeder on the other side of the glass. HOURS OF FUN.
   
3. Switching around scents on his little nooks and crannies in the apartment, like lining one of his sleeping spots with a t-shirt I've worn, or putting a little catnip in a new area.
   
   You might also be inspired by this video - this guy went no holds barred on ensuring his cat had plenty of brain work every single day.

My first cat has been a journey and a great learning experience.

My most important piece of advice is to be consistently patient. Young cats are wild af. Stay calm. Don't cuddle or put your hands on your cat too often. Practice this for YEARS. Seriously... Patience.

Giving the cat space, a scratch pad, and some time outside sniffing around in the grass, chasing birds, talking shit to squirrels... This and plenty of patience, time and being gentle with the cat—I used to pet her more like a dog but kitties are fragile!—has turned our Kitty into the sweetest little cat.

Kitties are magical. Treat your cat with respect, listen to what he has to say, and take your time!

Best,

My cat isn't interested in matatabi sticks but loves matatabi powder! Worth a try :) Good luck!

That sounds incredibly frustrating! Maybe try a slow feeder or a treat ball. Cats are hunters so making them work for their food can help them eat slower and keep them entertained. I hate to suggest buying something new when money is tight but my treat ball was under $7. I don’t use a bowl for dry food at all anymore, I have a few different types of slow feeders.

Here is the treat ball I have: treat ball

Good luck!

Definitely ask the cat sitter to hang out for at least half an hour - even if they're just watching TV it's good for the babies ot have them there (but if you're paying them they should be happy to actually play with the cats). In terms of interactive toys, my cats LOVE this. Even my grumpiest cat goes wild for that guy.

Almost definitely a tick! At the pet aisle of my local grocery store, they sell this tiny little green... thing to quickly and easily remove them. My cat is so patient when we use it, it takes maybe half a second, and it was pretty cheap! Here's a link to it on amazon.

The only thing I can think of is a small Cat Stool thing,

It looks like this link from amazon

https://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-Scratcher-Construction-significantly-alternatives/dp/B00JK0BXRA/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=infinity+cat+stool&qid=1571153730&sr=8-1

Similar but not the same thing.

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I have another one of these things still new in the box, but the last one I had was perched and drilled into the wall to give them a high vantage point. I can't really do that in my new house, However, I still have their old Cat Tree, and a couple new spots I feel like they might like.


I'll look into some new toys for them today.

> He is roughly a year and 3 months old

congratulations you have a teenager. on avg i consider years 1-3 as their teenage years.

if he's not fixed get him fixed this week it will help alot

my boy aged 3y4m has mellowed out alot since turning 3, his nickname was Asshole, meanwhile my kitten just entered his teen years 1y4m he's great except he's addicted to his cat wand as soon as he wakes up he goes over to it and starts crying (I'm not exaggerating).

best advice I can offer is to tire him out before bedtime by playing with him and/or get him a playmate around the same age (best idea)

Also check out Jackson Galaxy's videos heres a nice playlist

as for the wires, my girl (~8y) used to destroy wires so I put nylon sheathing on any wire she could get to tho she has stopped in the last couple of years. alot of people recommend spraying the cables with a citrus spray

I buy flea meds for my cats from amazon for less than $30. It would be the best way to get rid of the fleas. If you want it, here’s the link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LWLTXVS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yC62Bb7ZKA0RZ