Mac is refusing to eat any of the low carb food

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SusanandOwen

SusanandOwen

Member Since 2013
I had some good success getting Mac to eat some of the low carb food last week.. mostly by including a bit of the zero carb young again dry food to it. I have also gone out to get every single variety/flavor of low carb food I could find - from the FF pates to Wellness to Friskies SD, etc.

He just won't eat it now, and in fact, has gotten REALLY fussy the last couple of days. He's definitely hungry, he comes running to see what's in his bowl when I feed him... but he eats a bite or two of the low carb stuff, then walks away. If I put down another flavor, he comes running again but doesn't eat more than another bite ...

The vet is insistent that he not lose any more weight and says feed him whatever he will eat, and worry about the carbs later. He is pretty certain that Mac will need to be on insulin, and I don't think he is even remotely considering the possibility that he will be able to continue being controlled by diet. (He may be correct which will be a disaster for us.) However, he suggests getting through the recovery from the dental first, and then worrying about the BG situation, which seems reasonable. I really like this vet, BTW - he is very thoughtful, open to home testing, etc.

I don't know if the appetite problem is garden variety fussiness (he has always been a picky eater) or related to the dental that he had on Thursday (where he had several teeth pulled.) He was on clavamox (antibiotic) for a day and a half but had a very loose stool so the vet advised us to take him off it. He was also getting pain medication (buprenorphine) AM & PM daily, although he really does not act painful at all, and I have cut the dose in half in hopes of getting him to eat more. I did not give him any pain medication at all today and he did eat a bit better, but it was not low carb stuff, it was his (former) favorite, the FF marinated morsels.

He does not seem the slightest bit uncomfortable - and in fact the only thing he has eaten enthusiastically are the crunchy (usually off limits) treats and the "regular" (high carb, usually off limits) dry food that came with our new baby cat (who is being transitioned to healthier rations currently.) I really don't think his mouth is bothering him much, if at all.

However, his BG is currently 261 which is the highest it has ever been at home :(

Any ideas? Would you agree that I should continue to feed him the FF marinated morsels, since that is what he will eat?
 
hi Susan

have you tried mixing flavours?
I have a civie that will only eat fish flavours but if I mix in a strong smelling fishy-food, he goes for it.
I use either Trader Joe's tuna or Fussy Cat Anchovy & Tuna,

I also had success with sprinkling freeze dried chicken on top
FortiFlora sometimes works as does parmesan cheese.

With mine, if its really smelly, they seem to like it more.

What about something a little higher in carbs like the Friskies Poultry Platter(9%)?
 
So far, I've tried fortiflora, parmesan, every fish flavor he's ever liked, and regular cooked salmon (thanks to my DH who cooked it just for Mack.) Also, he's refusing the dried chicken snacks, which used to be a favorite treat.

At the moment all he will eat is the Marinated Morsels beef flavor. Sigh.
 
oh, he's one of those stubborn cats :o
He has to eat - that's the main thing.

I guess you will just have to go really slow and mix in just a little low carb with the food he will eat and try to transition slowly.
Assume you've tried the other meats - venison, duck etc.. (mine didn't like that :cry: ).
 
Denise & Honey said:
oh, he's one of those stubborn cats :o
He has to eat - that's the main thing.

I guess you will just have to go really slow and mix in just a little low carb with the food he will eat and try to transition slowly.
Assume you've tried the other meats - venison, duck etc.. (mine didn't like that :cry: ).
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Sigh.

I've tried pretty much every flavor imaginable. I'm afraid to mess with the one flavor he IS eating for fear of ending up with him eating nothing at all...
 
Sounds to me like heis having fun! ooh... whats in my bowl this time??! The dental wont help - is he still on painkillers?

You could try "topping" his low carb with a small amount of the high carb and see if he eats it. But dont stand and hover over him - put it out and walk off. He might say "oh well" and eat it. When I hover over tiggy he eats the topping only and starts looking for more. If that doesnt work a slower transition is probably needed.



Wendy
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
Sounds to me like heis having fun! ooh... whats in my bowl this time??! The dental wont help - is he still on painkillers?

You could try "topping" his low carb with a small amount of the high carb and see if he eats it. But dont stand and hover over him - put it out and walk off. He might say "oh well" and eat it. When I hover over tiggy he eats the topping only and starts looking for more. If that doesnt work a slower transition is probably needed.
Wendy
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Not on any painkillers today... he just hasn't seemed to need them.

He just hasn't eaten enough the last day and a half. I put the regular dry food - his veryveryvery favorite stuff in the whole world - on top of the low carb food ths morning, and he wouldn't touch it. Went out and got more flavors, so far he is only willing to eat the marinated morsels, beef flavor. In gravy. Couldn't really be much worse from a carb standpoint. But he has to eat...right?
 
For sure - eating is more important at this point than his carbs so I would work on that. How long did the vet give you the pain meds for? His mouth might be sore. The first day they are so hyped on the anaesthetic that they eat fine, its the next day the pain kicks in. And even if he isnt in pain, he might need to get used to having some missing teeth.

Whens your vet recheck?
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
For sure - eating is more important at this point than his carbs so I would work on that. How long did the vet give you the pain meds for? His mouth might be sore. The first day they are so hyped on the anaesthetic that they eat fine, its the next day the pain kicks in. And even if he isnt in pain, he might need to get used to having some missing teeth.

Whens your vet recheck?
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Vet gave me 5 days worth of pain meds. He had the prescribed dose Thurs eve, Fri & Sat (AM 1/2 dose, full dose PM.) He had a half dose this morning and to be honest, I'd say he did better today ... more himself. He's laying here on the couch with me right now and doesn't seem uncomfortable at all, plus he ate better tonight (full can of FF) than he did yesterday or the day before.

I am sure his mouth is a bit sore, how could it not be after having teeth pulled a couple of days ago... but I don't think he's in any significant discomfort? I will give him a half dose tonight, partly to help him sleep, I think.

I have to schedule his re-check this week. Had to wait until DH was home because my work schedule is not going to let me get there during business hours. ill probably be midweek.
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
Well better than nothing. So let him at it today and tomorrow you start transitioning back to low carb!
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Well we'll try. But my guess is that now that he's had the food he prefers, the low carb stuff is going to be a non starter :(

DH will be on his own tomorrow because I have to be at work at oh dark thirty. This kind of thing is not his strong suit, so please cross a paw for us...
 
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