Suggestions for getting my cat to eat more?

Question

My 7 year old FIV+ cat has for unknown reasons been losing weight recently. We are investigating reasons with the vet, but I thought I'd ask here for suggestions on how to stimulate his appetite. Of course, we're increasing the wet food he likes.

Otherwise he seems fine -- active, playful, purrs often -- so it's taken us a while to realize that his appetite decreased :-(.

BTW, an ultrasound showed lumpy mishaped kidneys, but he doesn't exhibit signs of kidney disease (urine concentrates well), cancer, FIP, or infection, so the vet is stumped. Bloodwork looks normal. So, any input on that would be helpful as well. He's part of our family and we hope he lives a long life!

Answer 1

Your vet has drugs to stimulate appetite and I would follow his advice of their use.

There is a Yahoo group for cats positive for FIV+ and I suggested to join that to exchange information with other cat owners who are dealing with the disease. It great to get formation from others and share your cat's story with them. You can go to: Yahoogroups.com and request membership. Usually "approval" takes up to 24 hours as the moderators weed out possible scammers, etc. I belong to cancer groups and there are crf, and diabetes groups too.

Answer 2

My believe maybe a little different than most. But I had a little very petite kitty that had liver and kidney failure at about 1 year old. She was destined to die at a young age no matter what. She would go throught stages that she barely would eat almost like low blood sugar and literally fall over. (weak)
I began right away with giving her anything she wanted and unfortuantly it was roasted Albertsons whole chicken so I would buy one a week about $5.88 each. I would pull all the meat off and put in bags some I would freeze and the other left in fridge. She would eat a whole bird in a week+. This is all she would eat besides maybe a 1/3 cup of dry. But the thing about the solid protein is it would stimulate her appetite. I understand people might say you should feed this special vet diet, or that is not good for cats...... but when you have a cat who is possibly terminal I believe they should not be on a restricted diet they need something to live for and make them feel good.
PS my kitty lived for 7 years. Oh ya forgot one thing once in a while we would give her Cyproheprodine I think that is the way it is spelled it is an antihistamine that has a side effect of causing hunger or the munchies. The vet can prescribe if it is necessary.

Answer 3

My cats actually got bored with their food. I would too, if I was fed the same thing twice a day. I changed my cats food to a new brand with new flavors, and they loved it. I also put some cat grass out for them to munch on, which has helped them too. Maybe try a small bag or can of a new food, and see how that is received. If your cats appetite is still lacking, the animal may not be getting enough exercise. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

My daughters cat at about age 7 started having appetite problems too and she switched his food to a different brand...He's doing fine now. She's using some sort of Purina brand that is for sensitive stomachs. Just try different ones til you find the one that yours will eat the best but, probably one made for sensitive tummies. ; )

Answer 5

It seems cats are very picky eaters. They all like something different the only thing i can think of is to try diffferent brands and flavors of foods. My moms cat is very picky and wont eat certain things.

Good luck!

Answer 6

did they take X-rays of his teeth, had one older cat with tooth problems, they did a bunch of tests, i told them he would chew his food funny and did not always want to eat or drink, turned out after all tests and blood work infected tooth.

have one cat with thyroid problems (too high) was getting skinny, sometimes picky with food, avoid fishy foods, sometimes can make him throw up. he likes Fancy Feast chicken and liver, sometimes Whiskas veal or lamb and rice, and 9 lives liver and bacon, sometimes Iams original chicken or lamb and rice can, you can sometimes give them white meat chicken boiled or breast of chicken fried (not too much at a time, can throw up) or lean ham, sometimes a little bacon.