What tricks have you employed to get a sick cat without an appetite to eat?

Question

"Chico" is on the mend. He has a tyroid (sp) problem which was being regulated with medicine. Problem was the medicine we were giving the little guy was left out of the fridge overnight and being at room temp ruined it. We kept giving him the bad medicine for weeks not knowing it was no longer effective. He lost a lot of weight. He is now getting proper medicine which I take care to put back in the fridge every time now but he needs to regain his weight. He is eating tuna mixed with water a little but he really likes rare roast beef lunch meat which I will buy as much as he wants seeing how this is all my fault. What other means do you get a sick animal to eat in case he loses his taste for beef?

Answer 1

I have worked with animal rescue for a very long time. The one thing I learned that was the most helpful in taking care of sick and injured cats is baby food. It has to be a meat like chicken, veal, lamb, or beef but they all work. It processes very thoroughly in their bodies and leaves little if no waste behind (so no stinky or runny poop).
Depending on the age and activity of your feline and all it's health care needs, it matters on weither you mix it with dry cat food. Since your cat is having thyriod problems, he could be diabetic and this is a very sensitive area to not have regulated.
Any advise you get here I recommend you call your veterinarian and ask about before trying to see what will work with your cats particular health care concerns.
Most vets I have worked with have always told me the same things - do not give a cat human food that is processed. It is to high in salts and additives and can cause health problems. Do not give cats milk products, they do love it but it does not process well in their intestines, neither does cheap wet cat food - thats why it gives most cats the runs.
If you want to fatten your cat up (and you have called your vet and he says its safe to try), put meaty baby food (baby food is not processed with additives) over dry kitten food. Kitten food is normally higher in calories and fats because kittens are more active. This is the healthiest way I know that will not cause "Chico" more health issues or possibly worsen the ones he has.
Good luck and if he doesn't eat soon please take him back to the vet.

Answer 2

Cats eat by smell. Try some really stinky canned food. Usually the cheaper the more smelly. I'm not kidding. Do not feed a lot of tuna it has too much taurine in it and is not good for the cat. Chicken is good. As is the roast beef. Fresh fish is also good. Buy some and boil it. It will smell and maybe the cat will eat it. If you can get the cat to eat dry food it will gain weight faster. Canned food is 78% water by volume so you are pretty much watering the cat. Have you tried some of the Science diets the vet sells? Stop by and get some A/D from the vet along with a large syringe. It is a food that is kind of like baby food you can feed with a syringe. It's very high in calories and vitamins. It's used to force feed sick pets. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Cats will only eat what they can smell. I had an 18 year old cat with kidney failure and fed her a brew of baby rice cereal, peanut oil and boiled eggs. To make it more appealing, I added a couple of tablespoons of Fancy Feast, and sometimes, some clam juice, and she lapped the stuff right up. The key is to make the food smell "good" to your kitty, though I doubt that she will get tired of rare beef any time soon.

Oh yes, the kitty on this diet lived to be 21, so I guess it was pretty successful.

Answer 4

Just out of curiosity....what meds are you giving your cat for thyroid disease that goes in the fridge?. Cats are typically hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid). The most common medication for this is Methimazole. It comes in tablets but is easily compounded into different forms......chewable flavor tabs...transdermal, or perhaps flavored oral stuff. Cats depend on smell for thier appetite. Try anything smelly. Fish, shellfish, chicken....whatever it liked in the past...and get in touch with your vet. You may need to start force feeding him/her. Inappetence isnt a usual sign of thyroid disease...but weight loss is and so are other problems. Cats usually tolerate Methimazole well..And if by chance the meds you were giving was an antibiotic..or even compounded Methimazole..it doesnt get "ruined" by leaving it out......just shortens its life span.

Answer 5

A high quality cat food is thebest. Tuna is not good for a cat just a little for a treat. Try heating the canned cat food in your micro wave warmed food has more smell and will entice him to eat. Make sure its not to hot though.

Answer 6

Talk to your vet. I had a kitty that had no appetite and the vet prescribed cans of food that had a very strong odor to the cat. I could not tell the difference. The vet said that cats go according to odor and the smellier the food is the more appealing it will be. I hope kitty gets better fast.

Answer 7

Chicken with broth. Boil a chicken and pull off bones. Serve small pieces of the chicken with some room temp broth. If he will eat rice you can add that as well. You can also make the Progresso chicken soup and drain off any veggies but boiling a chicken yourself is better.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

You might have to try giving the cat special kitten formula. Try giving it to him in a saucer. If that doesn't work then try using a syringe or bottle and squirting it into his mouth. If it comes to the point where he is extremely skinny, then i would take himto the vet and have him tube fed.

Answer 10

Try meat flavored baby food. Or human tuna. Good luck with your cat.