Need Thoughts and Ideas

After several visits to the vet it has been determined that I will always be making wet cat food into a gravy so Mr. T can eat. He is only with us a couple of months now, and had issues even before us. He has trouble eating food. They had him on dry food at the shelter and we switched him over to canned food since his gums were extremely inflamed and swollen. He's had antibiotics and steroids and has improved greatly but every 1 1/2 weeks he shows signs of not being able to eat even his gravy. He has to have steroid injections every two weeks due to the condition he has in his mouth. Besides a growth that has gotten smaller the vet also thinks he may have that condition that he is allergic to his own teeth - the few that are remaining. After the injection, he eats fine - as long as I make it into thin gravy - so I first put the canned food into my Krups grinder with some water and then after dishing it out I add even more water. I sprinkle it with lysine (he also has feline herpes under control).

When he's ok, he 'eats' a good amount of food - 6 + ounces in AM, another 6+ mid afternoon, and another 6+ PM, probably I would assume because it is so thin it's not filling him up. He's also quite finicky, but I've found enough variety to keep him happy.  Before I go to bed I even leave him more because he gets hungry in the night. We start at 5ishAM  then other half of breakfast around 7ish, then 2 or 3PM, then 6 and 7PM then around midnight. Seems like alot, but he can't ingest it all at one time. Every once in awhile, he'll try and eat small pieces of chicken or scrambled egg.

It also seems that where ever he lived before, the person gave him sweets - he tried his best to eat a bite of my pancakes with maple syrup, and then he went to the plate of pecan pie filling that was left on the plate.

Do you think there is any something perhaps made with honey or...? that I could give him?

Or, in general, any ideas how to help our sweetheart. (He has come a long way - must have been abused, cause when we first got him he was quite aggressive now he hangs out with us and lets us pet him). Has those big eyes that when he looks at us we melt!

Hi @AndieG    I'm not sure how old Mr T is, and if you know how old he was when his oral problems started?   Mouse has a lot of problems when he was younger but (cross fingers and touch wood) seems to have developed a stronger immune system as he has matured. 

Mouse has probable feline herpes and had a one year period up to when he was about 1 1/2 where he had ulcers with secondary bacterial infections around his mouth including his gums, tongue and throat, and his gums were bleeding and painful to the point he would stop eating.  He is now approaching 4 but still has redness around the gum line if his routine enzyme tooth brushing routine and strict dental prescription food diet is not adhered to.  He doesn't like wet food at all and I now wonder if this is because he associates it with when his mouth was sore and he was very unwell.

Making up food with any kind of 'sugars' such as honey does not sound like a good idea to me as cats do not taste sugars like we do - it is more likely that there was some other taste or texture about the food which got Mr T's attention.  It is also common for cats with herpes to have a poor sense of smell too so feeding stuff which has a stronger odour might be worth a go if not tried already?

Mouse hates the L Lysine powder and frothed at the mouth like he was dying when I tried to give him that so he gets L Lysine in gel form which is made with fish oil and he thinks it's a treat - like his poultry toothpaste.    The gel is worth trying if you ever have a problem with the powder, say when Mr T isn't feeling good and food is more of an issue.

Mouse has a smooth tongue which doesn't seem to be related to any of his health issues but does make it harder for him to lick up liquids and foods so when I want to top up his intake I use a syringe as he likes to lick from these.         It takes a long time but at least it gives me a way to get some food and fluid in to him if his mouth is painful. Another trick worth a go if your little guy is loosing weight and much easier if the syringe and feeding this way has a positive association because most cats dislike syringe feeding.  I started this trick after Mouse got instantly addicted to a liquid pain relief medication he was on for his mouth and started to give him water from the syringe because he kept head butting me wanting more of the meds.  It's proved useful for medicating, feeding and liquid intake ever since.

Pre-biotics and pro-biotics are worth looking at too as they might help strengthen Mr T's immune system as well as benefits making the most of the nutritional values in the food he takes in.  I have seen quite a few threads here on TCs where people have used these with some success.

I hope you see some improvements with Mr T's condition and would love to know more about him.  

When you mix up his "soup", have you tried adding egg whites instead of water?  I do this with one of my cats who needs to gain weight.  Egg whites can be fed raw (I buy the ones in the carton with absolutely no seasonings added), so they basically have no flavor, and they have quite a bit of protein in them.  Addtionally, you could try using goat's milk instead of the water.  Cow's milk is not good to use, but goat's milk is ok for cats. 

If your little one is allergic to his own teeth, have you considered just having them all pulled?  Many cats get along quite well with no teeth, and if they are hurting him, sounds like he's be better off without them.  What condition does he have....is it stomatitis, or some sort of autoimmune disease?

I was told never to feed raw egg whites as they contain something that interferes with the absorption of B vitamins. Raw egg yolks are O.K., cooked egg whites are O.K. but not raw egg whites.

@mrsgreenjeens, if you are referring to EggBeaters I have no idea what's actually in them.

Catapault said:

 
I was told never to feed raw egg whites as they contain something that interferes with the absorption of B vitamins. Raw egg yolks are O.K., cooked egg whites are O.K. but not raw egg whites.

@mrsgreenjeens, if you are referring to EggBeaters I have no idea what's actually in them.

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It IS true that raw eggs can interfere with the absorption of Biotin, however it takes a LOT of egg whites to cause any issues.  And oddly, egg yolks contain a lot of biotin (and good calories) , so, if he will eat them, maybe you could add the yolk to some of his other "soup" mixes.  That way you could feed real eggs vs the ones in the cartons.  And, yes, I was referring to eggbeaters.  In my store, they sell ones that include seasonings, and ones that are completely season free. 

I had a look over some of your other posts @AndieG  and I guess you will have limited information about Mr T's health history, but at least your vet has been able to give you some information including his likely age.

Along with smell to make food appealing, and finding the right texture for Mr T, something else that helps Mouse eat (I know he's tubby but when he wasn't well it was a challenge, and he doesn't always eat without encouragement) is to make food interesting and on the move:  the more interaction and association with play the better he eats.  Using interactive toys might be another thing you can try.  If eating is hard and associated with pain then some element of play / hunting might help encourage him to keep going.

All great ideas and suggestions. I made a list.

I keep telling my husband to come up with 'extracts' flavored for cats. I'd think it would make a ton of money!

But in the meantime, I will add some stronger smells - I had bought myself some cooked turkey and as soon as I opened the container, he came running, and it was moist enough and shredded enough that he actually ate some and licked the plate.

Mr. T is approx 6 y/o. The vet didn't want to pull any more teeth, but is keeping an eye on his mouth for signs of infections, swelling, etc.

It's been an interesting 2 months -

our Himalayan outdoor cat, Toupee 12 y/o (who comes in often)  has asthma so he also gets steroid once every few months. He loves raw food diet - so he's easy.

Then there's Jane, our 14 y/o who is with only one front 'leg' - she also has mouth issues, and just nursed her back to health over the holidays.

She wouldn't take oral antibiotics so we had to do a ten day injections. She gets steroids once a month. She's finally back to herself - for a few days there, we thought it was time. Vet keeping an eye on her since x-rays show major deterioration in jaw on one side - hoping it was just an infection and not cancer. She also has a good appetite unless flare ups.

And to top it off I got ringworm from one of the cats at the shelter while volunteering there. I'm treating it with apple cider vinegar for the itch and as a wash, and alternate with tea tree oil and lotrimin anti fungal - it's been a week, still there but looks a little better. I keep it covered so my cats don't get it.

Have you tried him with enzyme toothpaste?   It helps Mouse by keeping plaque / tartar from building up on his teeth which causes irritation and inflammation in his gums.  I don't brush regularly so to speak but let him lick a little of the paste off my finger and occasionally rub it gently around his mouth.  Because it's OK for them to lick and the enzyme will work without brushing it avoids any painful associations or handling which might cause more distress.   The one I buy is about £10 a tube but that lasts 4 to 6 months so it is not a high cost preventative measure.

It's certainly worth a try! Thank you.

And I noticed his tongue is smooth also!

AndieG said:

 
It's certainly worth a try! Thank you.

And I noticed his tongue is smooth also!

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Wow!  I started a thread asking about other cats with smooth tongues a while back and Mr T is the only other cat with dental issues I think.  I had wondered if it was linked to his sensitivity to plaque and things but doesn't seem to be.  It does seem to make it a little more difficult for cats to lick up food and liquids though.  Here's a link to the thread I started and another which was posted a little later.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/265697/does-anyone-else-have-a-cat-with-a-smooth-tongue/0_100

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/275247/smooth-tongued-cats/0_100

I know Mouse's tongue makes some things a little more difficult for him but I'm very glad of it as he quite likes to groom my face.   

That's amazing. I checked out the links. He always leaves any residue bits of food on the bottom of his bowl, even if it gets too thick, I have to thin it out for him.

He tried eating our other cat's food and all he did was lick all the gravy off it and left the rest. He doesn't even try to grab food with his 'lips' the way I see the other two grab the food.

Someone mentioned to use broth to flavor his meals so it would entice him more. Most I saw even in the health food store had either sugar and/or onions.

Is onion safe for cats? I know it's not for dogs.

To night I had left over turkey carnitas and he came running when I opened the container. I made that into 'soup' for him and he gobbled it up. So he definitely likes intense flavors.

Are there any spices that aren't safe for a cat?

Onion, onion powder and garlic are all on the list of things you should NOT feed a cat   They can cause anemia (in animals), and onions are worse offenders than garlic

Here's a list of things that are bad for your cat.  Keep in mind that it STARTED out at 101 things, but many additional items have been added, and even then, it many not be complete.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/174854/101-things-that-can-harm-your-cat

Thank you. I figured most store bought broths and gravy have onion/onion powder and garlic in it.

Glad I didn't give it to him.