Hi Barb! I wanted to get back and check in with your food experiment yesterday, but got a little tied up. Ive been thinking about it since Sunday, so Im glad I have a moment.
I dont know much history about Checkers - age, how much he usually eats, other health issues, weight, etc? But it sounds like he is not a big eater and/or not an 'on demand' type eater. I have one of those!! So, I wanted to share a few things I have tried. The specific ideas may not work. It's more the general idea of really figuring out what makes your cat tick and working with THAT.
Latte is more apt to eat late night, over night, and early a.m. She is also a grazer. It takes her a few hrs to not even finish a 3oz can of food. And that is with me nudging her, shaking bags of treats, etc every 15 min to remind her to eat. It can take me all night to get 1/2 jar babyfood in her. She also eats kibble. Ive made that decision after syringe feeding her for 9 months. She can eat whatever she wants to eat...as long as she eats.
One of the frustrating times were the evening shot times. She just will NOT eat a bite. I would beg, plead, cry, stomp my feed :lol: . It was a great source of stress of me, and seemed to become one for her as well. Fortunately, the steroid she gets at night so it makes her higher no matter how little she eats. So, I realized I could relax there. But just in case, she really should have some food on board. She usually accepts baby food off a spoon. So her pm shot meal is now baby food. She likes it, she eats it and Im not stressed. Later, when she is not sleepy and actually hungry she will try to eat something else.
In the a.m. because she takes so long to eat, I add Karo to her food. You would just make yours mc or a mix of mc/lc to start. Today I tried something new by testing her @ +11.5, feeding, testing again @ +12 and shooting. This way she had a tiny bit of food on board AND was getting a head start into her grazing.
You know what makes Checkers tick. I dont think there is anything wrong with waking him up for a snack. But it needs to be something he is motivated by. Trust me,I know how hard it can be to find that. You mention tuna. Maybe its tuna juice over a tbsp of lc/mc mix? Or a treats sprinkled on top of a few tbsp? Maybe its a drop or two of gravy drizzled on a tbsp of lc. Maybe all you need to do is get a string and motivate him to play a little. This could trigger the desire to eat. Latte wont get up to eat. I have to shake her treat bag and let her sniff it....THEN she will get up and walk over to the bowl. Maybe Im wrong about any of the above. The important part is experimenting.
You can do it! You can find something that Checkers will like and you wont feel like you are 'bothering' him. Quite frankly, I would think its more a bother to drop and bounce, or get poked a zillion extra times because of dropping so far and quick than being nudged to eat a few extra times. Just a thought.
Anyway, sorry so long. Thanks for stopping by yesterday in the midst of our wierdness. I really appreciate the support.
