Help me get these cats to eat
August 1, 2024 12:17 PM Subscribe
One of my cats got put on a prescription diet for her chronic tummy issues and it's been nothing but complications ever since.
I have two cats. One has had ongoing issues with having bloody diarrhea for a few days every few weeks, so she finally got put on a prescription diet. The vet told me to give it to both cats.
Neither cat loved it but the cat with chronic diarrhea will eat it.... sometimes. The other cat, who doesn't have tummy issues, flat out refuses to eat it and she's the kind of cat that will literally starve herself to death before she eats something she doesn't like. I put her back on her regular food, but her sister, who already doesn't like the prescription stuff, will steal it if not closely supervised, and the other cat tends to be a grazer. So I had the brilliant idea to get the cat who's on a regular diet a microchip feeder, which I assumed (incorrectly) would solve all of our problems in life.
It has not. She does not like it. I am not sure how much of this is an issue with her not 100% knowing how to use it vs her just being wildly particular. She DID seem to get the hang of it pretty quickly! I think she struggles to stand under the reader long enough to get the thing to open, but she used it a few times and I thought all was well! Then she went on a total hunger strike and wouldn't eat out of it at all. I tried taking the bowl out of the feeder and putting it in front of her to start very small, with her just using the new bowl. But she flat out refused to eat for days. Finally, right after she refused to eat one day, I took the food out of the bowl that came with the feeder and put it back in her regular bowl. She devoured it! She was starving but was quite literally refusing to eat because she hates the new bowl. Her regular bowl is ceramic and elevated. I tried elevating the new bowl but she still wouldn't eat. I know they sell stainless steel bowls and elevators for the feeder, but I'd rather not throw more money at this unless I'm certain that it will actually work.
Meanwhile, the other cat only eats the prescription food sometimes, and I often end up mixing a little bit of the old food in there just to get her to eat it. I have no idea if this is what I'm supposed to do but I don't want her going without food and I don't want this very expensive food going to waste. She hasn't had diarrhea yet but can typically go several weeks where she's totally fine and then boom, diarrhea. I'm kind of anticipating an episode soon. I was watching her today and she seems to dislike what appears to be either carrots or sweet potato chunks in the new food. Do I have to.... pick those out? The food is hills science diet GI biome. Both cats will ONLY eat gravy and the other kind of food (royal canin I think??) is even MORE wildly expensive so I'd rather not switch. But are there other hydrolyzed diets out there? They made it sound like there was only one flavor but maybe not??
As it stands I end up having to supervise meal times super closely, put the food away quickly when they don't want it, and continue to offer it throughout the day, which is totally ridiculous. I'm off for now but I go back to work in a month and I'd like a better system before that happens, because I won't be able to keep this up then. I'm not giving up on the microchip feeder yet but it really doesn't look good. However, any suggestions about getting her to use that would be super appreciated. The only thing that's worked so far is reducing their dry food, which makes them far more likely to eat their wet food all at once. But it's still imperfect--they're grazers and sometimes don't eat the wet food at all. I really just want a System for this that works for all of us (it's the ADHD) so any suggestions on what that looks like would be great. Thanks!
I have two cats. One has had ongoing issues with having bloody diarrhea for a few days every few weeks, so she finally got put on a prescription diet. The vet told me to give it to both cats.
Neither cat loved it but the cat with chronic diarrhea will eat it.... sometimes. The other cat, who doesn't have tummy issues, flat out refuses to eat it and she's the kind of cat that will literally starve herself to death before she eats something she doesn't like. I put her back on her regular food, but her sister, who already doesn't like the prescription stuff, will steal it if not closely supervised, and the other cat tends to be a grazer. So I had the brilliant idea to get the cat who's on a regular diet a microchip feeder, which I assumed (incorrectly) would solve all of our problems in life.
It has not. She does not like it. I am not sure how much of this is an issue with her not 100% knowing how to use it vs her just being wildly particular. She DID seem to get the hang of it pretty quickly! I think she struggles to stand under the reader long enough to get the thing to open, but she used it a few times and I thought all was well! Then she went on a total hunger strike and wouldn't eat out of it at all. I tried taking the bowl out of the feeder and putting it in front of her to start very small, with her just using the new bowl. But she flat out refused to eat for days. Finally, right after she refused to eat one day, I took the food out of the bowl that came with the feeder and put it back in her regular bowl. She devoured it! She was starving but was quite literally refusing to eat because she hates the new bowl. Her regular bowl is ceramic and elevated. I tried elevating the new bowl but she still wouldn't eat. I know they sell stainless steel bowls and elevators for the feeder, but I'd rather not throw more money at this unless I'm certain that it will actually work.
Meanwhile, the other cat only eats the prescription food sometimes, and I often end up mixing a little bit of the old food in there just to get her to eat it. I have no idea if this is what I'm supposed to do but I don't want her going without food and I don't want this very expensive food going to waste. She hasn't had diarrhea yet but can typically go several weeks where she's totally fine and then boom, diarrhea. I'm kind of anticipating an episode soon. I was watching her today and she seems to dislike what appears to be either carrots or sweet potato chunks in the new food. Do I have to.... pick those out? The food is hills science diet GI biome. Both cats will ONLY eat gravy and the other kind of food (royal canin I think??) is even MORE wildly expensive so I'd rather not switch. But are there other hydrolyzed diets out there? They made it sound like there was only one flavor but maybe not??
As it stands I end up having to supervise meal times super closely, put the food away quickly when they don't want it, and continue to offer it throughout the day, which is totally ridiculous. I'm off for now but I go back to work in a month and I'd like a better system before that happens, because I won't be able to keep this up then. I'm not giving up on the microchip feeder yet but it really doesn't look good. However, any suggestions about getting her to use that would be super appreciated. The only thing that's worked so far is reducing their dry food, which makes them far more likely to eat their wet food all at once. But it's still imperfect--they're grazers and sometimes don't eat the wet food at all. I really just want a System for this that works for all of us (it's the ADHD) so any suggestions on what that looks like would be great. Thanks!
They look so cute! And also both have a somehow stubborn look...
Re the chunks, and if what the like is gravy, i would try (with a small portion) using a stick blender or small blender to blend it with a little water to a gravy consistency. Or try first to mash it with a fork and a little water (Would not use a jug blender for a small test amount as a small will just coat the jug).
My Mimi lost all her teeth and so i mash it up with a little water as she cannot chew chunks. It is quite fast once you get the hang of it.
posted by 15L06 at 1:09 PM on August 1, 2024
Re the chunks, and if what the like is gravy, i would try (with a small portion) using a stick blender or small blender to blend it with a little water to a gravy consistency. Or try first to mash it with a fork and a little water (Would not use a jug blender for a small test amount as a small will just coat the jug).
My Mimi lost all her teeth and so i mash it up with a little water as she cannot chew chunks. It is quite fast once you get the hang of it.
posted by 15L06 at 1:09 PM on August 1, 2024
PS an added advantage is the increased amount of water they get, which should also bei a benefit in case of diarrhea
posted by 15L06 at 1:11 PM on August 1, 2024
posted by 15L06 at 1:11 PM on August 1, 2024
I've got a cat that's on a somewhat restrictive diet that tends to bore her, so I have to jazz it up sometimes. Here are things that have worked: Nutritional yeast, Fortiflora, freeze-dried rabbit bits. I'll sprinkle a tiny amount of yeast or fortiflora on her food, or crumble up a rabbit nugget and sprinkle that on. Both my cats really like all of these.
posted by adamrice at 1:32 PM on August 1, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by adamrice at 1:32 PM on August 1, 2024 [2 favorites]
My cat who has had that happen to her recently definitely didn't like the expensive Hill's Gastrointestinal Biome food either, and loves gravy food. After some expensive testing that I never got actual results from, what did seem to work was a course of antibiotics and giving her a periodic packet of Purina Pro Plan FortiFlora probiotic powder. They say to sprinkle it on food but she didn't seem to like that combination, whereas she and her sister will both lick the dust off a plate. See if your vet can prescribe that or something like it.
Also, the low-tech solution that has been working for me as I've introduced a new cat to my household temporarily—a cat who absolutely will not stop eating if he has the chance and who has his own food and eating schedule—has been feeding new cat in another room with the door closed and feeding my sister cats (who are slow grazers who share food) in the kitchen. Then after a while, once the sister cats have eaten most of their food, I open the door so new cat can come out again. So far so good, and I haven't had to buy a microchip feeder yet (which I don't think any of them would like)!
posted by limeonaire at 1:32 PM on August 1, 2024 [1 favorite]
Also, the low-tech solution that has been working for me as I've introduced a new cat to my household temporarily—a cat who absolutely will not stop eating if he has the chance and who has his own food and eating schedule—has been feeding new cat in another room with the door closed and feeding my sister cats (who are slow grazers who share food) in the kitchen. Then after a while, once the sister cats have eaten most of their food, I open the door so new cat can come out again. So far so good, and I haven't had to buy a microchip feeder yet (which I don't think any of them would like)!
posted by limeonaire at 1:32 PM on August 1, 2024 [1 favorite]
I'm adding about a teaspoon of shredded chicken to my picky cat's daily can of food. He's eating much better. If the vet okays it, I just boiled a boneless breast on the stove and keep it in the fridge. Good luck.
posted by Enid Lareg at 3:24 PM on August 1, 2024
posted by Enid Lareg at 3:24 PM on August 1, 2024
It's been my experience that sometimes prescription diets just won't work for cats and you have to compromise with another, less ideal diet that more or less fulfills their prescription requirements while also being something they'll actually eat. I'd talk to your vet about what your cat needs to specifically avoid and then either look for regular cat foot that doesn't contain that ingredient or is very low in it. Alternately, you may need to start regularly cooking lamb stew or some damn thing yourself. Cats can't be reasoned with and they don't understand what's good for them or will power or any of that shit. All they know is that their people suddenly won't feed them the good stuff and this is a situation that calls for loud tantrums and hunger strikes.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 3:34 PM on August 1, 2024 [4 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 3:34 PM on August 1, 2024 [4 favorites]
You can get an appetite-increasing ear cream from the vet, worked great for our senior cat in the last few really fussy-eating years of her life. We also had 2 microchip feeders for her, a wet food one and a dry food one.
posted by meepmeow at 4:32 PM on August 1, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by meepmeow at 4:32 PM on August 1, 2024 [1 favorite]
The appetite-increasing med is mirtazapine, if that helps, but it sounds like they're actually hungry, just don't like the food. I've had good luck with the fortiflora powder, and also with mixing in some of the pureed treats that come in tubes (Churu is the brand I've used) on top of the canned food. Lots of sympathy on the feeding struggles.
posted by gingerbeer at 6:42 PM on August 1, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by gingerbeer at 6:42 PM on August 1, 2024 [2 favorites]
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