Picky eating

[carole1b]

Panic over she had a poo last night she also has some salmon then later some chicken simply cat food. I have the feeling she is being fussy as Tabby is on different food then her and I think she may feel a bit left out. I fed her normally with wiskas this morning just half a pouch but she only had a mouhtfull. I will see how she is later with the other half of the pouch. She is not normally fussy and eats well however she is slowing down for the winter so maybe i have been over feeding her she is only a very small cat.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I hope she has either eaten or been to the vets CArole, it is important, as cats cant go too long without food without it affecting their health.
HK - if your vet recommends Katalax over Lactulose, go to Vet UK (esp using one of the rescue links on here!!), as it is a lot cheaper than £10 a tube, and free delivery.

[Maddiesmum]

Please dont think I am interfering but I dont think your cat should wait.  If it is not eating much (is it drinking) and not had a poo it could easily get dehydrated.  My cat has Lactulose and I bought a bottle of it from Asda's pharmacy today for £2.38 for 300 ml much cheaper than from my vet.  My vet advised 1/5ml twice a day and I mix it with his food and he takes it but I am not suggesting you should give it to your cat without discussion with your vet first.  It works for my cat much better than Katalax and doesn't contain the liquid paraffin which is not good for cats long term

[carole1b]

i know what your saying if she needes to go she needs to go its just i have spent £300 on Tabby recently and its been such a stressful time I did not want me nor the cat have go to the vet. I will see how she is tonight and if she has not passed any stools at all them I will get her to the vet tomorrow night. She is still eating a little and last time she was bunged up she ate nothing at all i had her to the vet that time as well and they sorted her out with an enema then it happened again and he had to be unbunged under anastetic not a nice. Anyway thanks for all the advice i will keep you updated

[Hippykitty]

I assumed your cat had already been to the vet. As she hasn't, I would strongly recommend that you take her, as this could be a symptom of something more serious and she needs to be thoroughly examined. Cats can't tell us how it feels, or how much pain they're in, but constipation can be very painful for them. If she were mine, she'd be whisked to vet, just as Samantha was recently.

When you are at the vet, ask about lactUlose, not lactose.

Don't spare the vet expense when your cat needs it. My grumble was a minor one about the cost of vet-bought meds; I would never save money by not taking my cat to the vet when needed.

[carole1b]

where did you get the lactose from and how much shall I give her. Ages ago she has some liquid from the vet he mentioned at the time it was easy to make at home i am sure it had somthing to do with sugar. hAs you cat now passed stools using the lactose. I have rang my vet who does not do katlax or anything over the counter as usual they said to bring her in. They know how to make monry out of you dont they ! If i had constipation i would not go to the doctors with it unless it was very bad. I am not 100% sure if she has constiptaion i am just asuming as no stolls and off her food a bit. He poo is always hard so wanted to give her somthing maybe once a week to keep them a bit looser. And less hard to pass for her as she is now 13 so getting on a bit

[Hippykitty]

I've had a similar prob with Sam and I've no idea what her fiv/flv status is (and don't want to know!). Peeps recommended lactulose, which I've had to syringe-feed to her. It has worked. She goes back to the vet on monday. He had recommended katalax, but it didn't seem to work. I'll have a chat about lactulose v katalax, though I think he'll say use katalax, as they sell it at a tenner a tube!
Please pop a note onto this thread on monday so when I click on 'replies' I'll be reminded to tell you what he said.   

[carole1b]

thanks i will she how she goes today then id nothing I will get her to the vet

[Teresa Pawcats]

Carole I think if Dennis is really bunged up it is safer to get the vet to check him over and discuss preventatives with him.
If this is only mild constipation try Katalax,but over 3 days vet job just incase.

[carole1b]

My little Dennis is not eating very much at the moment i also note there was no poo in her tray the last few days. I had her to the vets a few years ago and she had to be un bunged under anastetic. Is there anything I can give her to loosen her up without expensive vet visits I alsready have one cat the other way with the trots due to his FIV hes is on long term treatments. Now I have one cat thats not eating well she only has had half a pouch of seniour wiskas in the last few days.

[Baggy]

My cats are both off food at the moment; they only pick at it. I think it's the weather, because they are even refusing tinned mackerel! They aren't losing weight (is yours?) so I think the lack of exercise due to the heavy atmosphere is making them less hungry.

I don't know if this is a general trend. I'm not very peckish either.

Maybe cut down the dry food rather than make him go 'cold turkey' (deliberate bad pun).

Hmmm, I think the weather is definitely making her less active and less hungry. 

She's gained 200g since living with us which the vet was pleased with, but I think she's lost a little bit over the last 10 days.

We gave her a fewer biscuits today - she's not touched those but has eaten half a tray of Sainsbury's chunks so hopefully this particular phase is just a phase.

[Hippykitty]

My cats are both off food at the moment; they only pick at it. I think it's the weather, because they are even refusing tinned mackerel! They aren't losing weight (is yours?) so I think the lack of exercise due to the heavy atmosphere is making them less hungry.

I don't know if this is a general trend. I'm not very peckish either.

Maybe cut down the dry food rather than make him go 'cold turkey' (deliberate bad pun).

[Baggy]

Do you know, I think Olli is the only food we've not tried? Think our Sainsbury's sell it in packs of 4 so will try it, thanks.

Our food cupboard looks like an Aladdin's cave of cat food

[Queen-Penguin]

Have you tried Olli catfood? When Menue first came, I was spending loads trying to find her a food that she would eat! Then I got a single Olli and it was gone within 5minutes!! Its the only thing she will eat!!

[Baggy]

But the trouble is they get addicted to the dry because of the animal fats that are sprayed on the outside of them, yuk! and also if she has kidney issues, then the wet would be far better.

OK, we'll try taking them away for a couple of nights and see what happens - because of her kidneys and constipation we'd obviously prefer her to eat wet food.
She doesn't seem to eat any more biscuits than when she is eating wet food too, which is why I'm worried she'll lose weight.

Tiggy was very fond of Gourmet Pearl pouches, you can get them from normal supermarkets and pet shops - they come highly recommended!  If not you will have to resort to feeding her gently grilled king prawns, fillet steak and chicken breast by hand 

Thanks Helen for the link - we've tried most of the tips as we had to try and coax the Proot when he was poorly but I'll look thorugh again in case I've missed something. 
Gourmet Pearl was Dinah's favourite food for a month after she arrived, but if you offer it to her now she looks as if you've just offered her a plate of something unspeakable 

AND she doesn't like prawns  She's such a madam!

[Tiggy's Mum]

Have a look at the tips on the CRF website for persuading cats to eat, they are not CRF specific so hopefully there will be something that takes Dinah's fancy.  Tiggy was very fond of Gourmet Pearl pouches, you can get them from normal supermarkets and pet shops - they come highly recommended!  If not you will have to resort to feeding her gently grilled king prawns, fillet steak and chicken breast by hand 

http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm 

[Gillian Harvey]

After 6 blissful weeks of eating Iams Senior pouches, followed by 2 weeks on Almo nature, Dinah has reverted to the picky habits she had when she first arrived.

The only thing she's always guaranteed to eat is chicken liver, but we limit her to this as a once a week treat as we know liver isn't good in large quantities.

has borderline kidneys am a bit worried.  She has biscuits down all the time,

If she's still eating dry food that you leave down, she's probably filling up on that, so doesnt feel the need to eat so much of the wet food that you put out for her. If you want her to eat wet only, I would take away the dry altogether and see if that makes her more interested in the wet. Obviously if she won't eat the wet then, you'll have to put down the dry again. But the trouble is they get addicted to the dry because of the animal fats that are sprayed on the outside of them, yuk! and also if she has kidney issues, then the wet would be far better.

[Baggy]

She's still got most of her teeth, when she was last at the vet about 4 weeks ago they checked them and said she had no problems.

We'll leave the biscuits down.

Haven't tried her on cat milk, but will do, thanks. 

[Desley (booktigger)]

I would leave the biscuits down all the time to be honest - they are good at putting weight on cats. Will she drink cat milk? When I have cats in who I want to put weight on, they get more treats and daily cat milk to help them build up. If she continues, I would pop her to the vet just in case there is something bothering her, does she have any teeth left?

[Baggy]

Thanks, Pinkbear. That crunch topping is addictive, I'm sure of it (unless you're Dinah...!)

She might be picking up on my mood - and I think she's a bit fed up with the weather.

Will be keeping a close eye on her....and trying not to worry.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Sympathies, baggy.

Mine have lately developed a taste for the Crunch Topping stuff. They won't touch their wet food without a sprinkling of that.

But you must be worried, what with her health issues and all. Maybe she's picking up on your mood?

[Baggy]

After 6 blissful weeks of eating Iams Senior pouches, followed by 2 weeks on Almo nature, Dinah has reverted to the picky habits she had when she first arrived.
She'll eat something once, and then refuse it the second time.  Even when she must be really hungry she'll refuse it if it's not what she wants, or lick off the gravy and leave the chunks.
She's still eating dried food, but I don't think she's quite eating enough, and as she has constipation issues wet food is better as we can put her peridale granules in it.
The only thing she's always guaranteed to eat is chicken liver, but we limit her to this as a once a week treat as we know liver isn't good in large quantities.
She still has an appetite, she's bright, and behaving normally, no signs of nausea, but as she's only a very small cat (2.8 kilos), and 18 years old, and has borderline kidneys am a bit worried as we're keen she keeps as much weight on as possible as a precaution against her becoming poorly.  She has biscuits down all the time, is it worth trying to move these to see if she'll eat more wet food, or should we just let her get on with it and keep trying her on endless varieties of foods?

Edited to say sorry, this is a bit of a rubbish rambling post, but I'm a bit worried and fed up with throwing away wasted food......