What should I feed her?

hannahgirl

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My cat was sick over a week ago, refusing to eat for 3 days. I took her to the Vet after the first day, they gave her anti-nausea med and fluids. She refused her own food but ate another food I bought. So, I started giving her that food. For the past several days, she will eat a little, then go away, then come back an hour later, begging for food! I thought that was very strange, but figured it was just part of her GI tract being irritated.

Well, today I was eating baked chicken. Since her canned food is chicken, I offered her a bite. OH MY GOODNESS, she devoured it and even meowed and started following me for more. Then I offered her, some of her previous canned food (that she has eaten for years) and she ate that, too. I finally realized, her lack of eating, was not due to being sick, but was due to her not liking the new food!  Poor baby!

Her Vet won't be in until Friday. My cat has lost weight and if she is willing to eat something else that is safe, of course, I want to offer her that.I just did some research online and people say that boiling the chicken is the best, so I guess I will try that tomorrow. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thank you!
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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Boiled chicken is only ok to feed for just a short amount of time, as it is not completely  nutritious.  What you  need to do if you are planning on making her food is do your research, because you really need to make sure you know what you are doing.  Here is a thread that has lots of useful information on homemade cat food:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources

Until you feel comfortable making her food, is there an issue with feeding her old food again?  Also, why not just buy several different types of foods and try them all on her? 
 

LTS3

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Agreeing with wha MrsGreenjeens said - boiled chicken and nothing else is a balanced diet for a cat. Can you feed the food the cat was eating before she got sick? Maybe a different flavor of that brand will be more appealing. You can add a few pieces of boiled chicken to the food to make it yummier. Have you tried the Weruva brand of canned food? The Paw Lickin Chicken one is basically shreds of chicken in broth. I bet your cat would like that
There's are other chicken based varieties in Weruva, as well as seafood and other meats.

You can also sprinkle a little FortiFlora on top of canned food to make it even more appealing. FortiFlora is basically animal digest, the same stuff many dry foods are coated in and cats just love. Few cats can resist FortFlora, even sick inappetant ones. Your vet may sell it of you can buy it online. It's Purina FortiFlora Feline. It's actually a probiotic supplement but many people just use it to get cats to eat. Dr. Lisa of Catinfo org even recommends it.

A little meat in broth baby food (NO garlic or onions) can also be used to entice a cat to eat. Gerber and Beechnut make meat in broth baby foods you can use.
 
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hannahgirl

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Thanks so much, mrsgreenjeans and lts3! This is all very helpful information. I'm going to jot all of this down and look into it, right away. she has been on a limited diet for so long (venison and green pea) I really feel that the food I tried to give her was just too much on her system and she would do better with another limited kind of food, whether prepared by me or bought. I never heard of FortiFlora, it sounds marvelous! Thanks again for everything. I really want to see my baby eat well again.


I guess I was hesitant to give her the old food because, I wondered why she stopped eating it, in the first place. Why do cats just sometimes stop eating? But I'm going to try it now, because I know it has all the nutrients that she needs and she already had chicken for lunch.

Other than that issue, she seems happier, she is drinking, she is purring, she has some of her normal routine back (like where she chooses to sleep at night), but she still aims badly in her litter box, sometimes hitting just outside of it.  That causes me to think she must still not feel well. She is improving, with baby steps, and I want to see it continue.
 
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raintyger

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Cats can get bored of their food, just like people.

Sometimes, though, if the cat has a disease affecting the digestive tract like IBD they won't eat a particular type of food, but then a month later it's back on the approved list.

If there's no reason to believe there's diseases, then build up a rotation of foods--different brands, flavors, textures. Feeding the same thing all the time can create picky kitties and also create allergies to a particular protein!
 

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If you have a pressure cooker, you can cook down whole carcasses of chicken including the bones  and organs. The bones turn soft, just like the bones in cans of sardines. You can also do this with a slow cooker, but it takes a lot longer to cook down the bones. Its more complete feeding the whole carcass like this, instead of plain meat - for those who don't like the ideal diet of raw.
 

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If you're feeding her out of plastic dishes that are older, replace them. No matter how good you are about washing them, plastic begins to hold the odour of stale food after awhile, which can really put a cat off his or her food. I don't know if that helps any. If a cat starts to feel "off" sometimes they blame the food, even though it may not be the cause, and if they think its made them sick, they won't eat it. I had that happen once too. I switched foods for the duration of a bag and then weaned her back onto her (at that time) Techni-Cal. All was well again.
 

raintyger

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If you're feeding her out of plastic dishes that are older, replace them. No matter how good you are about washing them, plastic begins to hold the odour of stale food after awhile, which can really put a cat off his or her food. I don't know if that helps any. If a cat starts to feel "off" sometimes they blame the food, even though it may not be the cause, and if they think its made them sick, they won't eat it. I had that happen once too. I switched foods for the duration of a bag and then weaned her back onto her (at that time) Techni-Cal. All was well again.
Good point. Also don't store the opened canned food in the container. I used Pyrex custard cups which come with their own lids.

For the bowl either ceramic, glass, or stainless steel is best.
 

Kat0121

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If you have a pressure cooker, you can cook down whole carcasses of chicken including the bones  and organs. The bones turn soft, just like the bones in cans of sardines. You can also do this with a slow cooker, but it takes a lot longer to cook down the bones. Its more complete feeding the whole carcass like this, instead of plain meat - for those who don't like the ideal diet of raw.
Would it have to go through the food processor after it was done? (using either the pressure or slow cooker)
 

purrrdy

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Would it have to go through the food processor after it was done? (using either the pressure or slow cooker)
I just got done making a batch this morning. I just shred the chicken with 2 forks. Once the bones are soft, they get mashed by hand then put in the food processor. The giblets, livers and organs also go in the processor.

My cat eats everything I put in front of it, so he doesn't mind the shredded chicken texture, The bones and organs come out like a liquid pate. I suppose you could blend it all in the processor if the cat is picky. The bones are soft enough, they can be ground up by hand if needed; I just use the processor because its fast. I also add a few organic veggies to add variety and added nutrients/minerals and enzymes.
 
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LTS3

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Cooked diets tend to be a little unbalanced nutritionally, or so I've heard. Do you add any supplements to the food after it's been cooked? I know of one pre-mix that can be added to plain cooked meat to make it a complete balanced diet. It's called U Stew https://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/cat_food_u-stew
 
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hannahgirl

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Good point. Also don't store the opened canned food in the container. I used Pyrex custard cups which come with their own lids.

For the bowl either ceramic, glass, or stainless steel is best.
Thank you! I've been doing this for quite some time, and am very pleased with how much better it is, to put the food in Pyrex glass containers. I feed her in a stainless steel bowl, but am currently giving her water in a ceramic soup bowl, after a suggestion was made that cats prefer a larger water bowl. I'm looking for something better.

She is eating and drinking again, I am SOO thankful.  However, she will eat one food ravenously, then at the next meal, sniff it and look at me. I will then offer her a few shreds of chicken or another canned food until I figure out which she wants. The tricky part is not to waste food, because what if I have heated up some food and she decides that's not the one? The other tricky and confusing part is, she comes out wanting to eat every few hours! Will that eventually go back to normal?

Has anyone had a similar experience with their cat? I'm not complaining, I'm just so thrilled that she is eating.She still hides at times, which concerns me, but she has always been a timid cat and vet visits and having to give her fluids at home, have probably really freaked her out. I am going to worry about her continuously, hoping for continued progress. I am definitely a worrier, anyway. She has gained some weight back, which is comforting, as well.

I really appreciate everyone's words of advice, thank you sooooooooo much, from the bottom of my heart.
 

purrrdy

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Cooked diets tend to be a little unbalanced nutritionally, or so I've heard. Do you add any supplements to the food after it's been cooked? I know of one pre-mix that can be added to plain cooked meat to make it a complete balanced diet. It's called U Stew https://www.knowbetterpetfood.com/cat_food_u-stew
I use the whole prey cooked food to mix with his rotated canned food. It just ads a higher quality protein source, ads more variety to the diet, and increases the quality of the canned food while decreasing the cost per lb or oz. The important thing for me is the addition of fresh, minimally processed human grade real meat/organs.

I fed raw to my dogs for 15 years, but just don't feel like messing with raw at this time.
 
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