When Raintyger, mentioned about the Fortiflora I decided to give it a try and ordered it from Amazon.com, I haven't gotten it yet but do expect it soon.Fortiflora was the initial magic trick needed here.We were able to wean them off of that onto the freeze dried chicken.
But yes! Hopefully Mickey already knows he's a carnivore!
I was talking about the freeze dried meat treats. :nod: They powder up for a topper really nicely. :lol3:
I really don't know about the freeze dried, I'm so new at this and have not even seen what freeze dried looks like. I'm thinking that the raw Nature's Variety is just frozen raw chicken with the nutrients in it. I really don't know ~ haven't gotten any or seen it yet. Will be getting it tonight after work. As for Stella & Chewy's freeze dried I've never seen that brand, but, maybe the WoofMeow store not far from me may carry it, I'll call them and ask about it. Thanks so much for this information.I was talking about the freeze dried meat treats.They powder up for a topper really nicely.
But many of the commercial foods have a freeze dried version. I've never tried the Nature's Variety freeze dried, but the Stella & Chewy's freeze dried chicken made a great topper! It's a balanced and complete freeze dried food too (meant to be rehydrated, as I'm sure the NV is too). I keep a bag of the S&C freeze dried chicken around for when I need a quick meal because I forgot to dethaw something, or I'm running late. Just add water, ready to go.
Cats in kidney failure cannot have the radio-active treatment anyway.
Yes I understand that on a strict raw diet he would go poop less often than eating canned. The reason I was thinking he's constipated is cause for a couple of days he was staining to go and only a very small hard ball of poop would come out. I know cause I looked at it and picked it up with a tissue and that's when I figured he was constipated. He hasn't been eating a strictly raw diet. It's been half raw and half canned. Since he doesn't like the Rad Cat which I tried with him for 3 or 4 days than had to toss it out, and he didn't like the Instinct Raw Nature's Variety. I thought instead of giving him only the raw chicken thighs with the Fortiflora on it cause he's not a fan of chicken breast, I would also give him the canned so that he can at least have something that is complete and balanced. I will try the Instinct Raw NV again, since I do have more in my freezer. I just don't like to see him going without eating anything, I can't just leave the NV raw food out until he decides that he so hungry he'll try to eat it, that could take hours and by than the food would not be good to eat. So I give him a canned food that is very close to natural as possible and is complete and balanced. He is just so so so picky if I put anything on it he will not eat it. I even tried putting the Fortiflora on the Raw NV and that didn't please him either. So he eats the plain raw chicken thighs from the super market with the Fortiflora sprinkled on it and I'm not sure if that is complete and balanced, but he's a picker and will not eat all of it in one sitting, (sorta of speaking) so I pick it up, cover it and refrigerate it for later. In the mean time when he comes looking for more food in about an hour so I leave a small bit of canned food out and I go to work. I'm really not sure if this is good for him or not but at least he's eating for what I think is okay. Please feel free to tell me if I'm wrong or if I should be going about it differently cause I sure could use anyone's help in this matter. Thanks so much in advance for your help.If he pooped today, why do you think he's constipated? Remember on raw they poop less, so once every two days is perfectly normal..
Thank you so much for the encouragement. Also, I really didn't know that cats with kidney failure couldn't have the radio-active treatment, I guess since I told my vet I couldn't afford it she just never went into telling me about the treatment.
could not tolerate methimazole in any form. I tried pills, liquid and transdermal. The pills and liquid made her terribly sick, and the transdermal burned her ears. She had a multitude of problems, including CKD and megacolon (and severe constipation) along with the hyperthyroid.
Otto...First of all thanks again for your most encouraging words!You're taking such good care of him. I know how exhausting, discouraging and frustrating it can all be. My Ootaycould not tolerate methimazole in any form. I tried pills, liquid and transdermal. The pills and liquid made her terribly sick, and the transdermal burned her ears. She had a multitude of problems, including CKD and megacolon (and severe constipation) along with the hyperthyroid.
Her hyperthyroid ultimately had to go uncontrolled because she just couldn't tolerate the medication. I hope that is not the case for Mickey.
I would ask the vet about giving sub q fluid hydration at home on a regular basis. This may help in many ways. It will help him feel better and keep him hydrated which may help his appetite, and moving his bowels. Remember that if he isn't eating much, he won't have much to poop out.
I would ask about B-12 injections, too. The B shots really really helped my Ootay with her appetite. They also are given sub q, very easy to give. Vet started Ootay on a shot every 14 days, but I soon realized the benefits wore off after 10 days, so she got her B shots every 10 days instead.
At this point, for Mickey, it is more important that he eat, than what. I mean, keeping it balanced of course, but if he has a preference for a cat food that may not seem the best quality to you, still, if he will eat it, let him have it. Try the cheaper brands, like friskies pates, and fancy feast classics. Try mixing small amounts of the better brands or the commercial raw products into them, to help up the quality of them.
Feed very small portions (Ootay wouldn't go near a dish that had more than half a tablespoon of food in it). Try warming the food, or feeding it cold. Some cats have preferences about food temp.
I know you are trying everything for your Mickey.
Otto... Yes, I do have a food scale it weighs in grams, ounces and pounds. What is the reason for giving Mickey only about 15% of the raw chicken thighs daily and more of the canned food? I know that I've been giving him more than 15% of the raw chicken thighs but I put the FortiFlora on it. Thank you!He can still have his beloved chunks of raw chicken thigh, they are very good for him. Just make sure he only gets a small amount of that every day, compared to his canned food. Less than 15% of his daily intake can be the chicken thigh. My Mazy cat (who was very slow to accept raw food) especially loves chicken thigh, too.
Do you have a food scale?
Yes you can learn to do sub q (under the skin) fluids at home. Many of us have done it. Ootay received fluids at home every other day for 3 years. Most cats, while stressed about it at first, learn to accept it. Either they just get used to it or, as I believe, they also begin to make the connection between getting the fluids and feeling better.
And the B shots can be given at home too, they also are under the skin. Like anything new, these are just skills that have to be learned. I am alone too, but I learned how to give Ootay her fluids, and it's a handy skill to have, I have now given sub q fluids to other cats of my own, and other people's cats too.
I won't go into any more detail here, as it is off topic for this forum and thread. But you absolutely can learn to do it for Mickey. Start a thread in the health section if you want more info on this, there will be plenty of us to help you, offer support and advice, and experiences. There are some excellent CKD sites with still more help, we can link you to those too.
Because just plain meat isn't a balanced meal, but you can give up to 15% of the diet as "treats" without unbalancing his diet in general. Although at his age and condition the most important thing is to keep him eating. . .but you should still try to keep his diet mostly balanced if possible.
Mickey
