Urgent~ Need to put my sick kitten on real food ASAP, but she can't cope with raw right now.

Long story short, i rescued her at 5 weeks of age, she is now 8 weeks and weighs 1.6lb

In the past 3 weeks, she has had a nasty URI (still sneezes and make piggy sounds from her nose and she has had 2 shots of antibiotics and eye drops and twice daily steam sessions...) was heavily infested with roundworms (Strongid and fenbendazole, and metrodanizole seperately), had fleas (Revolution...), and was force fed by me for the first 10 days. Then she ate half a can of qulity canned food (Purrfect Bistro, 10% protein, 5% fat) and some good quality kibble overnight.
She is having her last dose of fenbendazole today, stil takes lysine twice a day, and probiotics.
She has been eating well and playing lots the past 2 weeks, and i  have been looking forward to having her shots given and putting her on raw cause thats what my dogs were fed and i believe in raw firmly.
But yesterday and today she has not been eating well, and the vet just diagnosed an ear infection. It was unclear via microscope if it is yeast or bacterial, so she now has Canaural drops twice a day.

I want to get her on real food ASAP cause something tells me her immune system will improve. But she is too vulnerable to eat raw yet.

The vet suggested home cooked with Hilary's blend supplements. Saw basic recipes that looks like (example), chicken, liver, blueberries, fish oil, flax seeds and the supplements.
But is that much better than good quality canned food?

I already ordered taurine, raw glandular, vit E, salmon oils from IHerb as suggested here with a raw diet. Bone meal will be bought locally soon too.

What the heck should i do? Feed her the vet's recipe with Hilary's blend, or the boneless recipe shown here with suggested supplements, but cooked instead of raw?

This kitten is driving me crazy, and im afraid to lose her after all this. It freaks me out she still gets infections with all the meds she's had so far, and lots of the best canned food i could find, a good comfortable quiet home, and lots of TLC.

Help!

I would heavily consider never putting her on a raw diet if she is going to have immune issues for a long time. Raw diets can be risky with bacteria - especially in a cat that might have an immuno-issue like feline herpes. None of my veterinarians are fans of raw diets for cats in general.

I'm sure your Vet already told you that it is very important that kittens eat SOMETHING while they are sick. Not eating at all can cause them to lose weight very quickly and potentially crash. In older cats not eating at all can also result in fatty liver problems.

I would suggest heating up the good quality canned food and offering it in small intervals. Part of the reason cats with URI's don't want to eat is because they can't SMELL their food. Cats are not like dogs, their drive to eat comes from their sense of smell. Heating it up in the microwave for a few seconds and getting it nice and sticky can help. 

To clear her nasal passages you can nebulize her in the restroom by letting a hot-water shower run with her in the room. Let the steam help clear her sinuses for 15-20 minutes like it does for US when we shower.

Then try offering the stinky food.

There is a supplement called "NutriCal" I would ask your Veterinarian about if she continues to not eat. It's a calorie supplement. I had to use it in my boy when he was 6 weeks and stopped eating. 

Also if regular high quality kitten food isn't doing the trick - as about Recovery food. Royal Canin and Hills both make an emergency diet for animals recovering from being very ill. It is high calorie and designed to be very palatable. We use it in a pinch in kittens at my work. (I'm a Veterinary Assitant).

They are Royal Canin - Recovery and Hills Science Diet A/D.

As far as what to feed your kitten in general - that's dealers choice. If you really WANT to go the holistic route instead of the high quality dry & wet diets out there: I would go with home cooked. But, make sure you use a website or Veterinary nutritionist to help you. It is very important that cats and dogs alike get the proper nutrients needed that are already formulated in AAFCO approved dry & wet brands.

https://secure.balanceit.com/

^ This is the website my Vets suggest to clients that want to do home cooked diets. It costs a little bit of money, but they will tell you exactly how much of what ingredients your pet needs on an every day basis.

Like I stated in my previous post, none of the Veterinarians I work for are fans of raw diets for cats. Their systems tend to be more sensitive when it comes to that stuff. I personally am not a fan of raw for dogs either, but I digress. Everyone has their own opinions. =] But, for these reasons I don't know a lot about raw-cat-diets and can't really offer my perspective on it.

My advice to you would be to continue a high quality AAFCO approved cat food until your kitten is older and has a more stable immune system before you decide to start experimenting with foods! It will not hurt her to be an average joe for awhile! =]

Hope this helps!

The biggest difference between a high quality canned and a properly balanced home-cooked diet is that, with the latter, you have control of what goes into the diet and what cuts of meat you use.

I am a little perplexed over the addition of blueberries to the home-cooked diet your vet recommended.

I would focus right now on what she WILL eat. Have you tried warming her food up a bit to make it more aromatic? I certainly don't see an issue with boiling some chicken to see if that interests her. Gerber Stage 1 Turkey or Chicken are also good with sick/finicky kitties to get them eating again (just make sure it is the meat and broth food...no garlic or onion.)

I believe in raw.
I had a dog who had chronic ear infections, and that's what prompted me to try raw. Ears cleared within 2 weeks and didn't return till he was 11. But my dog was a young adult at the time, and more sturdy than my current kitten. I am hoping that when she gets older and stronger, i can fully transition.

Pixie was force fed RC emergency care AD canned food a few weeks back. She also had Recovery. That's what she had at the vet's today. I buy other brands because i feel they are richer and even a bit less pricey than the RC vet line. Less marketing perhaps....But yes, i still have some here and i put it in the buffet i made for her with various flavors. I think she likes the texture.
Today she has already eaten half of what she usually does in a day, so it's not so bad. She does smell. She smells then scratches the floor ear the bowl and walks away. But eventually, with some encouragement, she eats some. My concern is that there is a slight setback with eating (maybe due to the wormer i am giving her, though she had no side effect the first 3 days) and that regardless of all the care and meds, she still mamanged to get another infection (ear)
I do steam her twice i a day in the bathroom, and have been since day 1, to loosen up any mucus.

Exactly, Catpack.
And blueberries used to give my dogs terrible runs. I'm certainly not against offering fruits and veggies, but that's not what cats need most, i think. 
Good idea with the Gerber stage 1. I'll look for some later today.

She eats ok enough, but i worry about her current food not supporting\helping her develop her immune system enough. I mean, she pooped twice this morning. Normal stools, but not so much should come out.

There are home cooked recipes here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources Discuss with your vet to see if any of these recipes would be suitable for your cat.

Relienna said:

 
https://secure.balanceit.com/

^ This is the website my Vets suggest to clients that want to do home cooked diets. It costs a little bit of money, but they will tell you exactly how much of what ingredients your pet needs on an every day basis.

Click to expand...

There is also https://www.petdiets.com/ which was founded by a board certified veterinary nutritionist. You can pay to have a custom diet created for your pet. I believe this website uses the Balance It supplement in their custom diets.

Pixies Ma said:

 
Good idea with the Gerber stage 1. I'll look for some later today.
 

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Here's a picture of the cat-safe Gerber baby foods for reference: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/225595/anyone-else-have-an-only-gravy-licker/60#post_3749885

If you want to try a higher quality canned food, check out Nature's Variety Instinct. The cats I have that are on a canned only diet of this food produce much less stool than the ones that are on a combination canned/dry diet.

I also want to mention...
For the feline herpes, if she is still having chronic issues when she reaches 12-16 wks of age, you might want to consider using Polyprenyl Immunostimulant.

We have used PI in combination with a new antibiotic called Veraflox (designed specifically for FHV secondary bacterial infections) to treat our most stubborn/serious cases of FHV. By that, I mean chronic infection and flare-ups that come back within 7-14 days after finishing a round of treatment.

The ones we have used this treatment with have not had issues since completing said treatment.

Thank you

CatPack said:

If you want to try a higher quality canned food, check out Nature's Variety Instinct. The cats I have that are on a canned only diet of this food produce much less stool than the ones that are on a combination canned/dry diet.

I also want to mention...
For the feline herpes, if she is still having chronic issues when she reaches 12-16 wks of age, you might want to consider using Polyprenyl Immunostimulant.

We have used PI in combination with a new antibiotic called Veraflox (designed specifically for FHV secondary bacterial infections) to treat our most stubborn/serious cases of FHV. By that, I mean chronic infection and flare-ups that come back within 7-14 days after finishing a round of treatment.

The ones we have used this treat

Click to expand...

Oh wow...i was never told about PI and Veraflox (she has had Convenia). Why isent't my vet putting her on it right now?
Though it is not official she has herpes as opposed to calci, she had mouth sore and flare ups so it makes sens.

So you have saved some kittens with constant infections and flare ups? I'm gettin discouraged sometimes..

CatPack said:

If you want to try a higher quality canned food, check out Nature's Variety Instinct. The cats I have that are on a canned only diet of this food produce much less stool than the ones that are on a combination canned/dry diet.

 

Click to expand...

I should mention i am in Montreal, Quebec and have never heard to Nature's Variety instinct.

She is currently too young to receive the treatment protocol I mentioned above. That is why I stated that if she was still having issues at 12-16 wks.

Yes, mouth sores can be indicative of FHV and Calicivirus, though are much more common in the latter.

My vet has always told me that Convenia is better at treating skin infections and abscesses. We use Clavamox and Doxycycline for herpes and other upper respiratory infections.

You would have to get it compounded for proper dosing; but, Famcyclovir is an antiviral medication that can be used to treat both herpes and Calicivirus. That IS something you could be trying now.

Not all vets are up to date on the latest in feline medicine. In fact, MOST vets are not. I really lucked out with my current vet in that she is always looking for the most current treatments available and going to seminars to learn more about what options are best for her feline clients.

Catpack, you are awesome.

I'll certainly look into all this, and email the vet asking what she thinks. Hopefully it's all available here.
I'll show this to an Amercian friend too, cause she rescued a kitten with the same issues 4 yrs ago, and the cat has flare ups.
She does rescues too.

There are some great home cooked recipes here    [thread="263751"]Cooked Recipes Thread​[/thread]. If you want to look at raw at any point, consider the sterilised commercial raw foods (can't remember which they are, but they do exist).

Thank you. I will look into that too,