I have a ~13 year old cat, adopted stray 12 years ago. (We're in the US, can afford vet, is fixed.) She's totally indoors (condo), a couple pounds overweight, arthritis. She has some allergies (chicken and some medications) and has had picky tummy issues on and off over the years. She also overgrooms her belly, and has been for several years. She takes one 5mg tablet of prednisolone a day and a small amount of gabapentin for her arthritis.
On this last Saturday she overgroomed her belly bald (again), and on Sunday didn't have an appetite. I thought she might have a hairball because she was doing a little only saliva type hacking, but nothing ever came up.
On Monday she continued to refuse to eat, aside from a couple treats. Otherwise acted like her normal self.
Tuesday I took her to the vet. They did an X-ray to check for obstructions and a physical exam. They gave her an anti-nausea pill and said to return in the morning for her to get bloodwork and a GI scan which included sedation.
That night she acted a little hungry, but we were told not to feed her.
The next day she got the work ups, with no conclusions besides possible IBS due to observed thicker intestine walls. Blood work came back with no issues and good kidney values. Took her home that night, she was still visibly sedated, still no appetite.
This morning it seems like most the sedation wore off, but still no appetite. She has been drinking some water. I called the vet and picked up nausea medicine they prescribed. She took it 5 hours ago and she still has no appetite and is lethargic (I guess I would be too after practically not eating for 5 days). I finally convinced her to drink the water from a tuna can (not ideal I know, but I'm desperate) and eat maybe a tablespoon of the meat, but that's it. She won't take anything else, treats or otherwise.
I plan on calling the vet again in the morning and thinking I'm going to ask about her getting an IV, as I'm getting really concerned. Not sure what else to do.
Looking for advice, anyone had a similar issue? Should I try another vet (she's been going to the same one for all 12 years), should I ask for other tests or treatments? Could I try feeding her kitten formula or is there another kitty-ensure type thing I could try to give her since she seems a little more interested in drinking than eating? This is so unlike her, she normally has a healthy appetite, slightly too much so, so this is a huge swing in the other direction. I'm super worried. Thanks for reading.