Hospice Care Feeding

simka

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I believe we are entering the stage of Sam's life where everything that can be done has been/is being done.  She's been in CRF for three years, her anemia is controlled with Epogen, and she's just been diagnosed hyperthyroid. She's always been a hospice care foster but that's taken on a more urgent meaning.

So, what do you feed your cats when all that matters is that they eat, and enjoy what they eat?  Someone mentioned cheese danish on another thread, can't remember where. Do you really feed cheese danish, and do cats like it? Or is that something  you eat to make yourself feel better?  I remember many years ago reading about a woman who rescued a cat who had been badly beaten with a baseball bat by children. Aside from all the vet care, she credited cheesecake with saving his life.

Sam used to love FF pate and stormed through both that and RC dry. (I never worried about protein levels, just that she ate well.) Since having most of her teeth removed several weeks ago, she's decided she likes pieces of meat - she's a cat, of course she's contrary. Over the past few days I've bought about 20 different brands and varieties of canned food and I've found Blue Buffallo has the most tender pieces of chicken and turkey, although I have to slice them into smaller pieces and she certainly doesn't eat them all.  I've got several sample bags of dry food, mostly kitten food, because she's not interested in RC any more. She has become even more interested in my food so I allow her to lick my plate if it's scrambled egg, avocado, something that won't hurt her, and she loved the bread crusts she got off my plate. 

She really likes the gravy that comes with chunky foods so I'll buy some of that next.  Any ideas on what to mix in with it so that it's more nutritious but still tastes good?

I have to do this, make these changes now, so I can start to prepare myself.  I've lost many fosters because I've fostered hospice care cats for about 7 years, and mostly I cope quite well, but a few are as hard as losing a cat of your own who has been with  you since kittenhood.
 

orientalslave

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My terminally ill cat got whatever he wanted (meat or fish) off my plate.  He was emaciated, steroid shots where letting him cling on with a good quality of life, and I took the view that so long as he ate I didn't mind what it was.  Prawns were a particular favourite.
 
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simka

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My terminally ill cat got whatever he wanted (meat or fish) off my plate.  He was emaciated, steroid shots where letting him cling on with a good quality of life, and I took the view that so long as he ate I didn't mind what it was.  Prawns were a particular favourite.
Poor Sam has a vegetarian guardian. Sam has never been a "fishy" cat, more inclined to beef than anything else, but her tastes seem to vary widely from day to day. I got her a gourmet cat food beef stew yesterday, and she loved the gravy, but the meat wasn't tender enough for her gums. I'll see if I can get a little fresh seafood (live in Seattle, so that's no problem) and I've no doubt the others will go mad for it if she won't eat it. I don't want to start cooking fowl at home since I can't stand the smell, but I might poach some sole.
 

emilymaywilcha

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I went through this in November. Wilbur reached the point where all he wanted was treats, so I gave him a lot of those and nothing else just to make him eat something.

The vet suggested baby food, but you have to read the label because often it is made with onions.
 

ldg

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Awww............. :heart3: The cheese danish you saw was a referral to exactly what you're doing, not a food per se. :rub: Momofmany (Amy) coined the phrase, "Love and cheese danish." One of her dogs had a cancerous tumor removed from her mouth, and she was given a month or so to live. She and her hubby decided just to do whatever they could to let her enjoy life, giving her all those reasons to live. :heart2: One of the things she loved was cheese danish. :) She lived another 18 months. For each animal they've had to say good-bye to, they implement "Love and cheese danish," :lol3: even though "cheese danish" may be stealing water from a glass, dog food for a kitty, pieces of deli ham...... :)

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/228159/the-mackerel-update-thread-3/90#post_3032680 - Amy talking about Love and Cheese Danish.
 
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simka

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Thank you for the link, that was lovely.
 
 

emilymaywilcha

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When Wilbur was given a few weeks to live, I stopped worrying about food because the vet told me he had reached the point where eating a certain food would not help him anymore. The hardest part? The feeling I was selfishly making him live longer than he should just to choose a certain date for his last appointment.
 
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