11 year old indoor cat not eating/drinking

Question:
 My 11 year old indoor cat has gradually lost weight over the spring. About two and a half weeks ago she stopped eating and drinking. Took her to the vet who suspected that she had either kidney failure or thyroid problems. They re-hydrated her and took blood. Both of those tests were negative. Returned to the vet for more re-hydration and more blood tests. They have tested her for everything under the sun, or at least it seems that way to me. X-rays were negative and last Friday she had an abdominal ultrasound which was negative. Kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, intestines are were fine. No masses or enlargements seen. Her only positive findings were an elevated WBC and then a slightly elevated protein level. The latter the vet thinks could be elevated because she has not been eating. The vet seems to be stumped and has told us this. She is now on a course of Clavamox and Zeniquin for seven days and just finished a four day course of Orudis. So far she seems about the same. She is eating a little bit more and I have seen her drink more water, but haven't seen a bowel movement, though she does pee. Has anyone ever had this experience with a cat before. We have a 16 year old who was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism last year and she bounced back so quickly, this is just very frustrating for us. Any advice you could give me would be great. Thanks
Answer:
 I would suggest a second opinion if your vet is stumped. Do you have a vet school or specialty veterinary referral clinic in your region? How are the teeth? Tooth problems can inibit eating. It is just painful. But you also mention not drinking... Do you feed canned food at all? This is often more palatable and has a higher moisture content. Try offering some canned food as well. There are also products like Nutrical that you can give as a supplement. Cornell has a Feline Health Center and here is a link to their eldery cat page. It may be of some help and they may be a place you could call for some more brainstorming. http://web.vet.cornell.edu/Public/FHC/seniorcat.html Best of luck. I, too, am the owner of a now senior cat. My dear Persian.
Answer:
 I think it may be time to call a vet school and see if they have other options. It is so frustrating for owner and vet when everything has been tried. But sometimes I also think the harder you look, the more you may miss. I had adopted a kitten with a couple medical issues - severe ring worm was the least but nothing could be done surgically to repair the other issue (that could be fatal) until we could get the ringworm under control. My vet and I tried everything he could do. After what must have been several weeks of tests, various medications, etc., we ended up with a specialist. More tests and notes. Finally, he prescribed oral lamasil (had to be made special by the pharmacy) and that did it. This was something I was not aware could be done and that the general vet never thought of. But that extra opinion did it. This may be the next step for you. A fresh view can do wonders. I do wish the best to you and your cat and keep us posted!