Frustration & feeling defeated - feeding problems

[AZJenks]

Honestly, the last couple of days hasn't been great.

We're nearing the two week mark of going cold turkey on the dry food, and while it started out ok, it's getting worse and not better. On a good day, he'll eat probably 3 ounces of wet food all day. Even assuming a low end of the recommended 0.5-1oz per pound, he should be consuming two whole cans a day to maintain weight. On a bad day, of which there have been plenty lately, he literally pushes the feeding dish away and begs for something with a crunch. I've tried warming the food, crumbling a small amount of dry food on top, tuna juice, parmesan cheese (which worked fantastic for about two days), and now am awaiting a delivery of Fortiflora (though my confidence that anything will make wet food more appealing is starting to wane).

After shunning wet food for most of the day and incessantly begging, we finally just broke down and gave him some dry which he ate like he was starved. Not surprisingly, there have been two episodes of awful diarrhea tonight and an actual raise in PM blood sugar despite a typical 3U dose.

He's a large-framed cat. So even at 19.5-20lb, his back end appears too gaunt for his build. His rear legs feel too bony, his body has consumed its post-neuter pooch, and his ribs and backbone are easily palpable. I guess thankfully he doesn't appear to have lost any more weight in the process.

So we have a dilemma.

If he doesn't eat sufficient amounts of wet food, then he's not going to get enough calories. Without sufficient calories, his body get what it needs from other places, like catabolizing his muscle mass leaving him weaker than he already is. At that point, no amount of blood sugar control and diet management will matter if he starves.

On the other hand, dry food will shore up his calorie needs because he'll actually eat it. But it will be at the expense of wrecking his BG numbers and his bowels, wasting valuable insulin, and backtracking from the transition to wet. We also can't afford experimenting with expensive bags of lower carb premium food hoping he'll find something that he likes.

On top of it all, his numbers still suck.

So what's a human to do?

 

[BJM]

You might try baking the wet food to a dry state. Spread it out thinly on a baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Put in the oven on a low baking temp. Check periodically for dryness and to stir it around. When you get it to a more crunchy or dry state, cool, and see if that'll work. Refrigerate or freeze as needed. Gradually reduce the time you bake, making it less and less dry.

2 crunchy options while you continue to work on transitioning:
- Evo Cat and Kitten Dry - pet supply stores and online
- Young Again 0 Carb - online only - expensive per bag; allegedly, you feed less because it is higher quality and they are satisfied with that as they become used to it.

Food transitions should be done gradually - 20-25% different food per day - to reduce the chances of GI upset.

Timed feeders can help spread out the intake over several hours. Many of us have used the PetSafe 5 compartment feeder.

Have you tried any raw food?

 

[Deb & Wink]

You're right, he definitely needs to be eating more.

Are you meal feeding or free feeding? Using your cats natural hunger drive by meal feeding can help him to want to eat when you put food out. I did this with Wink who was used to free feeding.

Is Jenks walking away from the food like he has an upset stomach? Maybe 1/4 of a tablet of plain Pepcid, regular strength would help. About 30 minutes before feeding him.

Does he act like he has nausea? Maybe ask the vet about something for nausea.

Have you tried adding water to the wet food, to make it sort of an applesauce consistency after you stir in the water?

Maybe it's time to ask your vet about an appetite stimulant? I had to do that for a brief period when Wink was not feeling well.

Is there one particular flavor he seems to like? Wink hated anything fishy, now fond of the beef flavors, but loved the Turkey & Giblets.

Have you tried the dip and chip method? Dip a piece of the dry food in the wet, put a dozen pieces separately on a plate. See if he'll eat those. Helped a bit for Wink.

 

[ebuckley]

Been there, know your frustration. Starving, emaciated cat that won't eat.

My first thought was to go with a concentrated meat broth that I read about and used with Napa's sister who had a bout of presumed irritable bowel issues.

Napa is so funny....she never liked any people food *at all*, except pork. She could smell a pork chop before it even hit the frying pan. So, I bought some inexpensive cuts with bone and lots of connective tissue. Froze most for later. Took one and boiled it for a long while until we had a concentrated broth. Took some hunks of meat out (and the bone), reserved some of the broth for her to drink, and pureed the rest into a runny mousse consistency. She'd only lick around the edges at first. Hand feeding helped, as did "cheerleading" at the dinner bowl. Used a few pieces of dry to entice her appetite (altho, I think the smell of the familiar dry food helped more than the actual kibble in the bowl). Introduced canned food as soon as I could for the full complement of other dietary needs. We started with a gravy food but switched to lower carb varieties thanks to the list at petinfo.org.

It took a good 2 weeks to fully get off the dry (partly had to wean me) and onto the low carb canned food. And now a full month in, I'm finally feeling all that meat sticking to her bones.

I ordered a bag of the Young Again dry food for the outside strays and to supplement upcoming pet sitter feedings. I'd be happy to mail you some if you want to try before you buy.

 

[AZJenks]

Thanks to everyone who responded with their very helpful tips. I apologize for not responding sooner, but I decided to take a couple weeks to step back, refocus, and just work on powering through it.

Update on feeding:

FortiFlora has turned out to be a godsend. Prior to it arriving, I would put out a can of food and Jenks would literally push it away in protest. The feeling when I tore open the first packet of FortiFlora and he perked up from across the room was euphoric. It definitely entices him to eat. I'm still trying to figure out how to properly use it (whether to mix it in with the food, or simply use it as a topper) and to monitor him so he's not just licking it off of the top of the food.

But after a couple of weeks, I think we finally have him transitioned to wet food. We're feeding about four times per day (there are two other kitties here who need to eat too). Depending on his mood, he'll eat up to half of a 5.5oz can in a feeding.

And lately, I've noticed him eating the instant I put food down, even without FortiFlora, so I'll let him finish, then dust the remainder, and give him a second shot at it. Weight seems to be holding at approx. 20.5lb. So it appears that we've surmounted at least one hurdle.

But Friskies says that a cat should eat 3/4 to 1oz per pound of bodyweight. That would mean he'd have to eat 3-4 entire cans per day. That's not a realistic possibility, is it?

 

[Dyana]

I'm glad you have him transitioned to all wet food. I call FortiFlora magic powder around here the cats come running when they hear me open the packet.
The amount of food needed is an ECID (every cat is different) type of thing. It depends on the cat and the amount of activity and exercise the cat gets. What is important is making sure that he is staying stable in his weight. If he's too heavy, feed less, if he needs to gain weight, feed more. It sounds like you're doing fine.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

i have noticed you are testing more which is great. It will be interesting to see how the 2 units does -the 3 units was obviously too high (whenever he goes under 50 you should give a 0.25 unit dose decrease)

Wendy

 

[Becky and Toby]

But Friskies says that a cat should eat 3/4 to 1oz per pound of bodyweight. That would mean he'd have to eat 3-4 entire cans per day. That's not a realistic possibility, is it?

My cats are only around half the weight of yours, but none of them eat 1.5-2 entire cans a day. One in particular sometimes acts starving, then eats three mouthfuls and declares herself full. It's a little baffling, but she's a healthy cat, weight included, so I trust she knows what she's talking about :smile: