Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just on first read of that most recent post I would feed him what he will eat, for now, even if that's fish or whatever. Worry about getting him to eat the "right" stuff later. At least that's how it seems to me. Hope it works out.
Just on first read of that most recent post I would feed him what he will eat, for now, even if that's fish or whatever. Worry about getting him to eat the "right" stuff later. At least that's how it seems to me. Hope it works out.
I was even thinking about giving him "kitty crack" known as Fancy Feast. I weighed him, today, Greg, and according to my scale he has gained .4 of a pound since his surgery, which was last Thursday. I am a little relieved. Thank God we are going in the right direction. My heart just is mush when I see how concave he has gotten. And he let out one of little silly songs after I weighed him, so my heart again lifted.
Molly has inspired me not to give up. I was feeding her months before she began eating again with her normal gusto. I "stumbled" upon a remedy which really seemed to help her want to eat. So, with that in mind, I will continue doing all I can with this little boy.
I have been doing some research regarding the medication my vet gave to me for Whispers to stimulate his appetite. It's in the classification of antihistamines, which can either make him drowsy or excitable. Here is some information about it if you are interested:
If you go to this site, I am warning you that a "virtual agent" window will pop up when you are about to exit the link. Sorry about that. grrrrrrr.........sales.......ARGH! But, this was one of the better explanations I found regarding this medication.
I have yet decided to give this to Whispers or not.
I am going to do my best to see if I can find a homeopathic remedy to stimulate his appetite, before I give this to him, because homeopathy has NO side effects. (shaking head) This little guy has enough problems without experiencing side effects, too. Last ditch effort, I will try this medication. Until then, I will keep on feeding him.
I went to the grocery store, and I cannot believe it, but I forgot to buy Fancy Feast. (hitting self on forehead!) Why? It wasn't on the list that I chased through the parking lot before I even got into the store, that the wind whipped out of my hand! ARGH! LOL I really have to laugh at life sometimes!
Tomorrow is another day and I have to go back to the grocery store anyways, so I will pick up some Fancy Feast then. Does anyone have any suggestion as to kitten food brands?
I looked at the Kitten Glop recipes and I decided not to feed them due to all the sugar content. Sorry, Starla, I do not wish to hurt your feelings. I will feed him plain yogurt though, so that part of the Kitten Glop I will do. And Pediolyte which is one of the ingredients in the Glop? No unflavored on the shelf, and when I read the ingredients on the flavored ones I was SHOCKED to see that there were dyes in it! OMG! Babies are being given dyes??? What is this world coming to??? I even spoke to my vet about Pediolyte and her response you have to be very careful when giving it to cats because, one it is high in sugar, and two, it can cause diarrhea. Bummer.
Whispers I fed for dinner and he is up for the evening. Please forgive me if I seem "anal" about this guy's appetite, but it is really bothering me why he is not gaining weight and doesn't seem to want food, except for fish. And oh yes, he will be getting as much fish as he wants tonight, believe me! Sometimes as I type words here, or read your responses, I get ideas as to what to do or why something is happening.
If you live close enough to a farm and know the farmers, and they have goats, you might consider bringing home a half cup of raw goat's milk, and letting Whispers have a couple tablespoons worth once or twice a day. Cats need to be -very- careful about their dairy intake, but goat's milk in *small* quantities seems to be a pretty popular home remedy for cats' digestive ills around here (New England farmland). We have a whole lot of healthy fat cats around these parts so the farmers must be doing something right
Malted stuff is popular too; people here don't go for new-fangled ideas when it comes to pets, and most of us have long-lived pets. If you just want to fatten him up for now, and not too concerned with nutrition quite yet, my 18-pound 10-year-old big fat belly-kitty (she used to fit in the palm of my hand)..has been enjoying the crap out of the new Friskies Tasty Treasures turkey and cheese flavored canned stuff. Don't ask me what's in it; I'm afraid to look. I'm not even sure that the cheese is actual cheese.
Problem with the "good" stuff is she hates pate, can't stand the texture of it, she likes gnawing and chewing on chunks of things and taking actual bites of semi-solid shredded who-knows-what. So if she'd gonna eat canned food, it's gonna have to be the crappy canned food. Otherwise she sticks to kibble and I have to worry about her water intake.
Thing is though, she's really loving up that Friskies. So maybe Whispers will like the taste of it enough to eat a few cans before you can wean him back onto the good stuff.
Garden. I can't suggest about kitten food, but regarding the Fancy Feast, you might especially try the fish and shrimp flaked. It has no by-products and for some reason it is the only flavor that is only distributed, not made in St. Louis. It is made in Thailand and I remember someone here saying their fish is actually cleaner than ours. Also when I looked at the can just now it said "dolphin safe", seems too good to be true but I choose to believe it. It is the only non-pate style food my fussy cats will eat. All the FF classic line has by-products, just so you know. If I could get them to eat anything else I would but It appears I'd have to give up on wet food altogether.
Garden I just want to throw something out here. Whispers has been eating a ton the past few days, really stoking up. It's quite possible that he's just not hungry today, you know?
Many cats self regulate, and since he has been eating way more than he's used to, his body may be just taking a break.
I say this because I have two cats like this. My senior seizure boy. All his life his pattern has been to go off his food every few days and it has taken me years to get used to it. I still worry, but try harder not to. He has always been a slim boy. Finicky, too.
And now wouldn't you know, my kitten is following in his footsteps. She has a similar build, long and slender, though she is smaller boned. She will eat 6 or 7 oz a day for three days and then comes a day where she refuses anything. And the next day she'll eat small amounts, but only about a quarter what I think she should. Then she'll go back to her normal 4 or 5 oz a day. Then she'll have those 6 or 7 oz days again, and then again, go a day or two worrying me sick.
So my point of this long repetitive story is....this may just be his body self regulating. Try not to freak out just yet. I know it's hard not to. Even though I KNOW both these cats have this pattern, I still have a pit of worry in my gut on their self regulating days.
Aw, man...these cats and their "not eating" stints are so frustrating! I totally understand your concern, having been through this with Ollie this past week. Some other things to try are kitten replacement milk and/or that calorie-boosting paste (the paste does contain a lot of sugar, though...but sometimes I've had luck when mixing a little bit into the canned food...)
The vet should have that too, it's called "Nutri-cal", or if not I know they carry a different version of the same thing at PetSmart.
When Ollie got his appetite back, the thing he ate with the most gusto was roasted chicken...I know, not very caloric, but it's better than nothing!
I agree with Greg...whatever you can get him to eat, let him have it, even if it's not ideal...hang in there! (((HUGS)))
OK. So, no yogurt. I don't normally believe in giving my cats any dairy for it just is not good for them. BUT, I have read about the goat's milk, and yes, about the yogurt......my gut said yes on the goat's milk, um, not too sure on the yogurt. I still went ahead and bought the yogurt though. Won't go to waste as I'll use it our smoothies in the morning.
Friskies Tasties Treasures and Fancy Feast Fish and Shimp.......got it. I'll try anything right now to get that cute little nose of his curious about food. It could be what I am feeding him is too lean and that is why his body is saying no.....he just needs more fat. Check! Put those two items on my grocery list for tomorrow.
Yep, thought about what you said, C21. His not wanting to eat, though, has been going on for weeks now. It all started with the boys pushing him out of the food circle, and I had to step in to hand feed him. I don't know if this is psychological at this point, or because he pigged out two days after his surgery, his body is saying Whoa! enough! Oh, what I would give to be able to "talk" to these cats, and I mean really talk!
Nuti-Cal, thanks, Luv! I'm calling my vet's hospital right now to see if they have it. If not I will order it online!!
New fangled ideas like giving a medicine for appetite? I don't agree with this either, Anon. Desperate measures considered medication as a solution. Now if only I could find a goat farmer here. My neighbors are coming back from Florida the end of this month, and they are my "farmer" neighbors. I'll ask them if they know of anyone.....keeping fingers crossed!!!
Aw, man...these cats and their "not eating" stints are so frustrating! I totally understand your concern, having been through this with Ollie this past week. Some other things to try are kitten replacement milk and/or that calorie-boosting paste (the paste does contain a lot of sugar, though...but sometimes I've had luck when mixing a little bit into the canned food...)
Yes! That is the stuff I am talking about!! I was really turned off by the sugar content but now you have just given me an idea to actually make the Glop and mix it in some normal canned food. Thanks, Luv!
I also bought this product today. What do you think??
Hey I've used Nutri-cal before with one of my last batch of cats! I've used FeloVite too, made by the same company (Tomlyn). A little goes a long way; they're both nutritional supplements. They don't help increase appetite but they'll definitely help keep him from being malnourished until he gets it back.
As for the yogurt, a little won't hurt him. But again we're talking a tablespoon or so, in a day's time. At the very worst, it'll give him gas. Just remember dairy is NOT meat. Cats LIKE cheese and milk and other dairy products (mine loves butter), but they're not really built to digest it very well.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
WARNING: This post contains the homeopathy word
I even spoke to my vet about Pediolyte and her response you have to be very careful when giving it to cats because, one it is high in sugar, and two, it can cause diarrhea. Bummer.
