Ophelia needs to get some meat on her bones!

Ophelia is going on 12 years old, former feral kitten rescue. She's always been a small girl; never had to worry about her getting too fat! She has decided to mainly live on top of our headboard (approx. 3' x 8', she has pillows/beds, food, water, litterbox & toys up there & she does come down to snuggle with Daddy & sleeps under the bed sometimes). We wish she would integrate herself with the rest of the family but this is her choice. As long as she gets her Daddy-loves she's happy.

Recently she decided that she didn't like the kibble we have been free-feeding her (and everyone else) for years. Literally overnight, it seemed, she decided she didn't want it.

No problem, we switched her to Royal Canin Mature 27. She ate it but not enough to keep her weight steady. Wet food was added. Not the best wet food (Friskies, Tasty Treasures, Turkey & Cheese in Gravy ) but after many trials & errors, that is what the girl likes.

When I went to pet her today, though, I noticed that she is SKINNY! I mean too skinny. She's eating...she eats most of a can of Friskies at night and...well...some R/C Mature 27. Not enough. Maybe 1/4 cup or less/day? So she got another can of Friskies at lunch while I was home.

She needs to gain some weight. We have to wait until the next pay day to take her in to the vet. I don't know if it's her teeth that are bothering her or what. She acts ok. I know they mask pain, but she hides if she didn't feel good. She would be under the bed and not come out. She's eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, and demanding attention. Same as always. Always been a healthy little girl...

What can we offer her/entice her with to get some meat on her bones?

Does she like boiled chicken? Liver? (Beef or chicken). And instead of feeding her the mature food - what about kitten food? (Higher protein?) Both wet and dry. I would book the vet appointment - not a bad idea to have her teeth looked at, and probably time for some blood work. And not all vets are nutrition illiterate.

!!!!!!

Well, after the shock I got this morning, my first thought is... could she possibly have tapeworms? Our kitties are all indoors-only, and our Sassy is built like a little bear cub, not skinny at all -- but when I took her to get a lion cut this morning (her mats finally got out of control), they discovered tapeworms! It's the last thing I would have thought possible. Could it be that Ophelia somehow got one too?

You could use some Nutri-Cal between now and the time she goes to the vet.

Since she is eating, just not enough, you could squeeze the size of about the tip of a q tip of the Nutr-cal and just go next to her and just put it just inside her lip and do it maybe 2 or 3 times a day. (instead of a glob that she probably wouldnt appreciate lol)

Its high calorie, so it should help her gain.

Sending vibes for Ophelia

Heidi,

She is a senior kitty and she really does need a blood work-up first. There could be something going on that has nothing to do with bad gums or teeth. Sometimes these changes inside a senior kitty stay "invisible" until it is to late, but bloodwork should hold answers. In the meantime, try lacing her food (her regular food) with organic catnip and see if that wakes up her appetite. Buy some cream cheese and roll small balls and put those on top of her food, or buy real butter and melt it down and pour small amounts over her kibble to stimulate her. WholeLifePet has amazing treats for cats who have lost their appetite and an appetite stimulant you sprinkle over their normal food.

Originally Posted by hissy

Heidi,

She is a senior kitty and she really does need a blood work-up first.

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....I wish soo Deeply that DO NOT be diabettes...

For Ophelia!

My first thought was hyperthyroid or diabetes, too, so some blood work would be a really good idea.
In addition to the suggestions others have made, you could try adding calories by giving her some cat milk with a little bit of real cream added. Cheese is good, too - something like mozzarella might go down well with her. I've found some cats go nuts over Provolone or chunks of Cheddar.

I agree as well, my absolute first thought was hyperthyroidism...had most of my senior kitties develop this

If you can get your hands on some a/d, it is so high cal it might help boost her weight a bit, it's only for short term use anyway, which would fit the "until we get to the vets" scenario.

Stinky treats - freeze-dried salmon or tuna flakes, cod - whole life treats come in as small a package as .2 oz. for some, in case you aren't sure what she will eat. The tuna flakes - I make sushi with for appetite tempting (or birthday present "cake"..lol) by making wet food balls I then roll in Kitty Kaviar.

Liver - there are a number of dried liver treats out there, these can be crumbled atop her food, or Dr. Becker's has an appetite stimulant shaker that is made of liver.

Heidi, my first thought, I guess because of Gracie, was Hyper thyroid... I would advise a senior blood panel first since she is an older gal. Then Kitten food is how I got Gracie to get some weight (apparently she had a hard time stopping gaining thought ). Shredding some freeze dried treats on the top of the kitten food might help her some as well... Supplementing her diet with some yum yum A/D - even though it is prescription, kitties just LOVE it - Gracie did.... Good luck!!

I think I figured out what set her off! It was actually the word "stress" that made me think of it.

Earlier this week when she jumped down to go sleep under the bed, Mojo was already there. Bad news there! Thankfully Earl was there and still in bed so when the horrible noises came from under the bed he reacted as quickly as he could, yanking the bed back grabbing Ophelia (hoping she wouldn't redirect to him - thankfully she didn't) and getting her back in her safe place.

He said he's never seen her in that position before & it looked like she was ready to take on Mojo. That would have been very bad - Mojo is pushing 20 lbs. and Ophelia has never been bigger than 8 lbs., definitely closer to 7 lbs. now.

Since that incident she's been off. Just off-kilter. Since we've both been paying more attention to her (both in her habits and just giving her more lovin's) she's definitely doing better. She's acting like Ophelia; the layer of fat on her ribs is back.

I'm definitely going to take advice from here about fattening her up, and definitely keeping her appt. at the vet. She is a senior, as much as I don't want to admit it, and she need to be monitored better.

I'll keep you all updated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your advice and just caring for us.

I'm sorry that it's been so long without an update! Life is just too darn hectic right now!

Vet said that physically she's fine - it's a behavioral thing that we just have to work through & find the root cause AND what she wants to eat.



I have tried treats galore. Mostly no luck. Besides, she can't live on treats even if she does eat them! I found that she does like Mackeral Flakes, though. Sprinking those on her dry food got her eating kibble again! She's still eating the gooshy food, or at least licking up all the gravy and eating some of the gooshy food. (She is such a little princess!)


Of course, then she decided that she didn't like the kitten food after a few days. That was a nix on Purina One Indoor Advantage, Royal Canin Mature 27, and Purina Kitten Food (Earl's choice).


So I got her the best I food I can get without mail ordering it - Blue Wilderness. I spoke with their rep in PetSmart for quite a while about it, the nutritional info, the reason why I need it (to put weight on my older, FINICKY girl), and which formula of Blue would be best. Ophelia has really taken a shine to it! AND she is putting weight back on! She's still WAY TOO SKINNY but it's coming back little by little.


I don't want to see Earl's face when he sees how much it costs. He was in the car when I bought it the first time. Doesn't matter, though. If the Precious wants to eat Blue Wilderness then the Precious will have Blue Wilderness.

Vibes are much appreciated. She's on the way up but it's going to be a long climb.

It's good to hear you've found something she likes - mega that she continues to eat it and gain weight.

As far as the price is concerned, you can always point out to Earl that paying more for something she eats is better than paying less for things you just have to throw away (or in your case "force" the others to eat).

Glad to hear she's doing better

Heidi, a trick I learned from Carolina, something to consider. Our kitties were like Ophelia - they only liked the gravy. Do you have a little choper/blender? A 1 cup / 2 cup / 3 cup machine is very inexensive just about anywhere. Take ANY of the wet food you want to feed her, put it in there with a little water, and turn it INTO gravy. Works like a charm. And if she still needs a little incentive - crunch up the mackerel flacks she likes and sprinkle it on top. Or try dehydrated liver treats. Petsmart is carrying the PureBites brand now. If Ophelia likes those (EVERY single one of our cats loves them, and Flowerbelle is also insanely picky), it just takes one - and because it's dehydrated, it's easy to crush into dust all over the top of the gravy you pureed.

Keeping up the vibes!

Originally Posted by LDG

Heidi, a trick I learned from Carolina, something to consider. Our kitties were like Ophelia - they only liked the gravy. Do you have a little choper/blender? A 1 cup / 2 cup / 3 cup machine is very inexensive just about anywhere. Take ANY of the wet food you want to feed her, put it in there with a little water, and turn it INTO gravy.

Works like a charm.

And if she still needs a little incentive - crunch up the mackerel flacks she likes and sprinkle it on top. Or try dehydrated liver treats. Petsmart is carrying the PureBites brand now. If Ophelia likes those (EVERY single one of our cats loves them, and Flowerbelle is also insanely picky), it just takes one - and because it's dehydrated, it's easy to crush into dust all over the top of the gravy you pureed.

Keeping up the vibes!

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That is a great idea with the gravy! I'm not sure I would survive the walk with the can to or from the outlet with the blender, though. The "little" girls (Mojo, Ginger & Annie) get ~1 T of wet food at night or else they would invade Ophelia's "apartment" on top of the headboard to get at the gooshy food. I get run over already every night on my way to the hall where they get their bits!

I actually got the Fish Out of Water mackerel flakes from Pat at www.PlainBrownTabby.com and a few other tasties too. She has the BEST stuff EVER!!!

Before getting the package from Pat, I had even tried the "no-fail" trick of putting catnip on her food, which she flat out refused to eat. Looked at me like, "You're joking, right? Now you've just ruined perfectly good catnip!"

Oh yeah, and she also didn't want the KFC chicken from right off of my plate (cooled off, of course). Then it was Ginger's turn to look up at Ophelia incredulously, then at me like, "What the heck is wrong with her?? I'll eat it! GIMMEE!!"

Anyway, one of the other tasties from PBT is Dr. Becker's Bites Appetite Flakes, which is flakes of dried beef and bison liver. Ophelia turned her little nose up at the Appetite Flakes (can she read???) and so did Mojo, the feline garbage disposal. But the surprise came when Trent, who has given me that "OMG I can't believe you would even think I might eat something so disgusting!" look every time I offered any kind of beef treat/food since kittenhood, gobbled them up. He loves them!

I'll have to try that trick with the gravy, though. That might just work if I can convince her I'm not trying to trick her!

Very interesting info in here. I'm going to have to try some of these things.

I'm glad Ophelia is eating and putting on weight again. It is so stressful when you just can't figure it out. And on the pickiness....my cupboard looks like a grocery store shelf with all the different foods we have tried for our picky eaters. They will LOVE something one minute and be completely over it by the next feeding. It feels like we have to beg them to eat sometimes.

I hope things keep going in a positive direction.

Originally Posted by RAFM

I'm glad Ophelia is eating and putting on weight again. It is so stressful when you just can't figure it out. And on the pickiness....my cupboard looks like a grocery store shelf with all the different foods we have tried for our picky eaters. They will LOVE something one minute and be completely over it by the next feeding.

It feels like we have to beg them to eat sometimes.

I hope things keep going in a positive direction.

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Thank you. We hope things keep going up too.

I think Ophelia loves something until she sees me put a whole bunch of that flavor in the cupboard.