Vets tend to prescribe three drugs as appetite stimulants. It should be noted that this is not the primary function or even guaranteed effect of any of the three.

1. Periactin is an antihistamine which in many cats has the side-effect of making them hungry. It also has many other side effects (as in humans) such as causing drowsiness, drying of mucous membranes, etc.;

2. Valium is a tranquilizer and muscle relaxant. Like periactin it may or may not stimulate the appetite. Unlike periactin in a small percentage of cats it may unpredictably cause catastrophic acute liver failure. This seems to depend more on the cat than the dose. If a cat has once tolerated valium it may not be susceptible. It seems like a big chance to take when there are alternatives, though.

3. Winstrol is an anabolic steroid. I don't know that it has any immediate effects on the appetite but since it's a growth hormone it serves to stimulate constructive processes throughout the metabolism. It's a bit expensive simply for appetite stimulation, though, and might be overkill if all that's needed is a little coaxing and TLC.

A vet once said that food in the belly is the best stimulant to appetite. NutriCal is handy to have around because at least you can make sure your kitty's getting enough calories to minimize the metabolism of body proteins for energy. Other forms of assisted feeding accompanied by extravagant displays of affection (not necessarily force-feeding!) can be very effective. Sometimes insignificant changes in the height of the food dish can make all of the difference in the world! Coco would only take one bite off of a pile of canned cat food. After that bite, she was through... until I mounded the food up into a cone or pyramid so she could bite off the tip again. Then she was through ... until...

The more time you spend with your kitty eating, the more of a feel you'll get for what's needed. Sometimes just being there and talking to her is all it takes. When Coco was eating dry k/d, I'd put my head right down to her ear and murmur "munch-munch, crunch-crunch" over and over while she ate. If I stopped, she wouldn't eat. As soon as I started again, so would she.

Pam Norman fed her Ambrose with a miniature silver souvenir spoon for his entire life on crf, just like a baby. I'm sure many others have discovered special tricks that help their furchildren eat. If they won't do it for themselves, maybe they'll do it for you!

Sometimes I wonder if some of us whose kitties "won't eat" are simply putting the dish on the floor and stepping away. That might not work any more.