It's About Oliver, Again!

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Well, Oliver has his good days and bad days. Saturday we went back for a two week check up and his ears were just perfect, but he was running a fever and he still has very red, swollen gums. My vet gave him iv fluid therapy - what a trooper he was! Seems to be feeling better, but he is turning up his nose at anything I offer him to eat. He appears to want to eat, so I am thinking maybe his gums are sore, and it hurts him to chew. Can anyone suggest a food or supplement that will smell so good that he will eat it? I really need to get him eating so that I can get the lysine into him.. And I did try leaving it out of his food, thinking he didn't like the taste, but he still just picks at his food...of course Sophie and Mollie are very eager to help finish all the extra food that he won't eat! Poor, Oliver needs some suggestions! Thanks!
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lnbandcats

I'm sorry that I don't know Oliver's history, but has your vet suggested why his gums are inflamed? Is it Gingivitis/peridontal disease?

I found that when Tibby and Molly had sore gums, I could encourage them to eat by wetting their wet food down with warm wet water. It increases the smell and makes it soft enough to be lapped up!

Are you able to administer Oliver's medication with a syringe? You can also add some of the food goo to make it a little more palatable.

Thanks - I never thought of watering the food! I have a posting on my little guy's troubles on the New Cats on the Block forum with a little bit of his history. My vet thinks he has feline herpes and that is why he is running a low fever and has gingivitis. She prescribed (I think it is lysene) to try a stabilize the herpes. At lunch I ran out and bought some fancy feast (never tried it) and a couple of foil packs that seem to have ALOT of gravey. But i really needed some suggestions, so I moved this post to the forum that seemed to discuss health issues!

Oh poor Oliver and you - it's awful when our babies are poorly!

Has your vet suggested a descale and polish for Oliver? Are you waiting for his temperature to balance out and then considering that?

I personally found that once Tibby and Molly had had their dental (and the odd extraction), they improved to the maximum! They began eating better and were so much happier in themselves! I also began to brush their teeth with Logic toothpaste which has kept the calculus and tartar at bay!

Sending many Health, Healing and Eat Lots }}}VIBES{{{ to Oliver and many to you!

My vet hasn't suggested that - at what age can that be done? Oliver is 6 months and she mentioned that he is also teething. But she felt that that wasn't the only reason for the gum irritation. I can't wait to get home and try the warm water trick! I hope it works. Thanks again.

I'm not sure what the earliest it can be done - I'm at the vets tomorrow, so can ask if you like (even though UK/US is different) it might give you an idea!

I bet you're looking forward to having your little boy home!

If you need, me, you know where to get me!

Yes - in beautiful Manchester! It is raining here now, but tomorrow will be in the 50's - too warm for Christmas!

good luck with the "warm water" feed, that little boy needs some nourishment, bless him bets he´s just fed up
One thing I did with Miss Moofi was to just dab a small - and I mean small - bit of cat food on her nose - the mousse stuff is best, it sticks better then of course, that hugh tongue of hers just couldnt resist a lick, oh HEY-HO there you go, kitty got some food

I tried the nose trick this morning! I have at least 5 cans of food going, ranging from Max and Natural kitten food to adult iams and Max and finally friskies. I thought the cheap stuff might tempt him, but no-o-o-o, he just shakes his head and the food flies all over my velvet sofa. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have him next to me so that the big girls don't sneak his food. What kind of mousse food do you use?

Originally Posted by LNBANDCATS

Yes - in beautiful Manchester! It is raining here now, but tomorrow will be in the 50's - too warm for Christmas!

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Do you get as much rain as we're notorious for? I'll have to send you some information too! (thank you for the stuff you sent - i'll get back to you tomorrow! )

Just remembered, another good food stuff that helps kitties to eat is chicken baby food (make sure that there is no garlic or onion though!) as it's gloopy and smelly! Maybe it would be worth getting some in just for temptation means?

I'm thinking of you both! When does Oliver get to come home?

Originally Posted by LNBANDCATS

What kind of mousse food do you use?

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It was Friskies, which you have listed I was thinking about him after I posted and how Miss Moofi acted with food, I think your little boy has a lot going on bless him he´s just so fed up, that food must be the last thing hes bothered about. Moofi didnt eat for the first 3-4 days, which was a worry, but as each day went by she was getting better so she did show more interest................oh and the thought of him shaking his head and lovely smelly cat-food whizzing everywhere . we´ll do anything for our babies eh !!
Well heres rooting for ya..........and little Oliver.........keep us posted

Well, I have 3 cans of baby food open - thank goodness Mollie and Sophie are cat garbage disposals...they will eat anything that Oliver won't. Oliver is home with me, just going in for weekly visits to the vets. He seems to feel well, but of course, being a kitten doesn't have much fat, etc stored on his little body! Hopefully, I found some good Fancy Feast flavors to tempt him!

You can also give Oliver some cat milk (as it's more of a food stuff than a drink) so that will help him gain a little weight and strength.

I bet you're both so pleased that he's home now

I never thought of cat milk. I assume it is a substitute that I could get at one of the pet supply stores? Is there one brand that is better than another?
I tried mixing his food with warm water last night and finally discovered a use for my Magic Bulletwhich I bought 2 years ago Itsure does a great job turning cat food into gruel! Unfortunately, Oliver didn't like any of the flavors I tried using that method. Finally, this morning I noticed that he was picking at his food. He'd eat a bit (of regular food - I tried making a warm soupy mix again and he still wouldn't eat it) and then sleep and then go back a bit later and eat more. Maybe he is turning into a grazer and not gobbling down his food the way he has in the past. That will be a problem, because Sophie and Mollie will gobble anything they can as fast as they can! Will head over to the pet store on my lunch hour for cat milk!