Hand-Feeding Rover

[boxtops]

Dear cat people,

Rover is going through a phase of not eating. He's a lean cat and is now 15, and has had kidney problems in the past. No 1 Son's on a special diet so I can no longer feed them all the same. but Rover seems to have gone off all his food. This morning, the only way I could get him to eat anything was to hand-feed him a pouch of food from my fingers. I wonder if it's his remaining teeth hurting when he chews, but he won't let me look. We're due at the vet's next Wednesday anyway for his next blood test, but since he's dropped weight over the last year, I'm concerned, and I wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences? He's otherwise very happy and boingy.

[seekeerz]

I love boingy Ziggi does boingy too ! My baby has decided in the last little while that he's outgrown kitten food and now has raw beef and his favourite biscuits, but his absolute love is tuna and that's pretty soft, how does Rover feel about that ?

[boxtops]

I might give it a try, seekz - thanks for the tip. He's finding it hard to manage lumps which need chewing, by the look of it. I'll get some today.

[ladybirder]

Boxy as you may remember I had the same with Maggie as she slowly deteriorated due to her kidneys and Hyperthyroidism. I think even if his teeth were hurting him he would still lick the gravy/jelly off his food if he was hungry. We had to hand feed Maggie to get her to eat, usually chicken or prawns as she was no longer interested in her sachet food. My vet was OK with this as long as we could maintain her weight (only 2.9kg) but after a few weeks she started to lose weight and wouldn't eat. I had to take her to be PTS on 13 October in her 21st year. If Rover is happy and boingy then it doesn't sound as if he's at that stage yet. Hopefully it's just his teeth causing him not to eat. Let us know how you get on at the vets. I do hope he's OK.

[boxtops]

Thanks ladybirder - that's really helpful. You might remember that Rover had CKD which amazingly had disappeared after he returned home from his travels, but he's still tested every 3 months, just in case. He goes to his food then stalks off, as if he's remembering a bad experience. He's around 4.4kg at the moment (was 5.5 in his heyday) and is certainly thinner round the hips, but not scrawny and his coat's in good nick. He doesn't like prawns and No1 Son's not allowed them, so chicken or fish it may be! Thanks for your advice - always appreciated.

[catswhiskas]

Riley is 13, he went off his food about a couple of weeks ago,but he seemed quite happy all the same and was still eating his treats. I used to feed him on Whiskas grilled pouches but have changed to steamed and braised and his feeding is back to normal ,we gave him some chicken the other night ,he could,nt get enough of it - greedy boy.

[boxtops]

Thanks, whiskas! - I've just tried him with a small tin of tuna - he ate a few mouthfuls, so that's progress. I wonder if he can't smell the other stuff. He also made a funny noise a couple of times today, as if something was stuck, and he ran off - something's not quite right, but I'm pleased he's eaten something.

[boingo]

My lovely old cat (who died age 18) went off her food for a while. The only thing she would eat was scrambled egg or grated cheese! It did the trick as she got her spring back and starting eating her usual food. Hope Rover gets better soon.

[ladybirder]

I used to give Maggie tuna and cheese as well as white steamed fish. All the wrong things of course (protein) but who cares, you just want to keep them alive!
I hadn't forgotten about Rover going roving boxy but I had forgotten about the CKD self-healing which, as you say, was just amazing.

[boxtops]

Update: We took him to the vet this morning, because he refused his lovely breakfast again. They gave him a good MOT and we were delighted to find that his weight hasn't changed since 3 months ago, which is a good sign. His teeth may well be the problem so he's booked in for bloods then possible dental treatment on Weds (which will depend on his kidney function when they do the bloods, but KF has been good up to now - otherwise it affects the decision whether or not to anaesthetise him). He had a painkiller injection and an antibiotic, and came home and ate a whole slice of roast beef from OH's hand - hungrily. I'm glad we went - it hopefully isn't anything systemic.

[ladybirder]

Oh good, things seem a bit brighter then boxy. Do keep us informed, he feels like a communal cat now, belongs to all of us:-)

[boxtops]

Rover says "iaou"!

[wolf63]

Merlin, Warrior Princess says "eek" - she is still practicing how to say "meow". She hopes that Rover feels much better soon. Frankie says something rude and nasty.

Roast beef is Frankie's favourite.

[boxtops]

This morning.... a squirt of painkiller onto his tongue, and a plate of chicken bits, now sleeping peacefully like a dog at OH's feet..... I suspect we'll still need to get his teeth done next week, but I'm so glad we got some advice and treatment yesterday.

[seekeerz]

Poor old Rover, his teeth must be worrying him ..glad to hear he liked a little tuna.

Ziggi says Oh Woe (usually means he's found something and doesn't know what to do with it !! ). Currently sleeping on my lap ... Too bad if I want to get up and do something

[Buenchico]

I hope that Rover is back to his normal self soon, Boxy.

[boxtops]

I know the sitting thing, steff! Rover's currently locked in the spare bedroom, waiting to produce a urine sample which I can take to the vet's in the morning, in prep for the dental treatment on Weds. Not impressed - I suspect he'll have lifted the carpet by the door by the morning, trying to mine his way out! He's very much better in himself, and eating much better now he's on painkillers. Just hoping his bloods are OK so he can have anaesthesia on Weds (I don't like it at all, I'll be a wreck on Weds until I know he's OK....)

[boxtops]

Thanks, Chris!