Lucy wonr eat any cat food Picky?Finicky?a Diva?

Hello my Lucy has a long history here on the health forums. She's has IBD and the battle has been a tough one. Well this week has been a bad week when it comes to feedings. She wont eat ANY cat food. She ate 1feeding of Merrick L.I.D turkey but now wont touch it, she licked Wild callings turkey a few times but wont touch it now, she took 1 Smell of wild calling alligator and RAN away, wont eat natures variety turkey L.I.D,ziwipeak lamb,venison,rabbit,Mauri kangaroo & brushtail, I have20 cans of hound & Gatos chicken in my cabinet and she wont eat that anymore after loving it for a month. She cant eat any seafood due to allergies and beef,pork and duck make her vomit almost immediately. Plus dry food makes her belly expand with gas or something and she vomits. But she wants to eat. She wants food. She smells the food, goes to the dish, cries for food. If I give her deli turkey she eats it but it gives her diarrhea after a while. If I dice up boiled chicken into grated cheese like tiny pieces and sprinkle it on any food she will eat a little , if I give her just boiled chicken she will eat it but she can't eat meat plain because she vomits from the pieces in her belly. I dont know if its due to her not chewing enough or what not. I just dont get it. I know her idb is a major issue and I've been to countless vets and have large bills from these vets who are really no help and just argue with me.

Have you tried slippery elm as a supplement to help increase her appetite? Often cats with IBD feels nauseated and thus won't eat their food even tho they're hungry. To me, it sounds like she's nauseated. I give my guy 1/2 tsp every morning and its made a huge difference in his pickiness. He's still picky, but he'll eat food now whereas before he'd turn his nose up to it even though it was clear he was hungry. It's also helped his vomiting, which is less frequent now.

I know we've had discussions on the use of SEB before, referring to the above post

How about trying to scramble up some eggs for her.  Will she eat that?  I can't remember...have you tried the raw route already.  Maybe something inthe freeze dried or dehydrated arena like Primal or Stella and Chewy's, or even Natures Variety.  I think they have ventured into that arena now. 

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
I know we've had discussions on the use of SEB before, referring to the above post

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Ah okay, OP didn't give any links to other posts so I wasn't sure what has been tried and failed in terms of treatments.

What about a holistic vet? mainstream vets often don't know much about IBD or how to treat it. 

I play this game every mornings with my IBD cat. I offer him food, he refuses, i offer him food, he refuse, i offer him food, he refuses, i give him treats, he eat them, i put treats on his food, he sniffs them, i put different treats on his food, i put the food in a different bowl, he eats some of it. Sometimes I have to put a variety of treats on his food. I keep 5-6 bags of different treats around just to entice him. What works one day often won't work the next day. Sigh. 

every. damn. morning. 

She doesn't like eggs and I went with commercial raw in the past and she didn't like it. I started making my own at home which she loved for a while but snubs it.

I have 2 different types of slipper elm powder but neither will make the the syrup and I just don't understand why. I tried a Dozen times and so did my wife. I have powdered that was recommended to me i a post and the type in the pill. I was giving her the it in the pill(not a pill I just cant think if the word) but afterwards she was vomiting and I wasn't sure if it was due to her ibd the food or Deb so I stopped giving it to her. I got her to eat some cheap crap Friskies (it killed me to feed her this). She ate a can but now wont eat anymore.

joeynox said:

She doesn't like eggs and I went with commercial raw in the past and she didn't like it. I started making my own at home which she loved for a while but snubs it.

 

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Was it frozen or homemade raw? Many cats won't touch either of those because to them it's not food. Freeze dried raw is usually a more acceptable form of raw diet to feed. It has more of a smell (some brands are super stinky) and the pieces are dry and kind of crunchy like regular dry food. You're supposed to re hydrate the food in water before serving but it can be fed dry. Stella and Chewy's is a good brand to try.

Has your vet offered any suggestions on how to help your cat to eat? An appetite stimulant may help.

You probably won't like this, but could she be holding out for something better?  It sounds like you've bent over backwards to accommodate her (different foods, adding human food, etc) so I'm wondering if she's just being picky?  And if that's the case, maybe going for something really basic, and giving that to her at every meal, might help break her of it?

My only other suggestion is to warm it up.

LTS3 said:

 

joeynox said:

She doesn't like eggs and I went with commercial raw in the past and she didn't like it. I started making my own at home which she loved for a while but snubs it.

 

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Was it frozen or homemade raw? Many cats won't touch either of those because to them it's not food. Freeze dried raw is usually a more acceptable form of raw diet to feed. It has more of a smell (some brands are super stinky) and the pieces are dry and kind of crunchy like regular dry food. You're supposed to re hydrate the food in water before serving but it can be fed dry. Stella and Chewy's is a good brand to try.

Has your vet offered any suggestions on how to help your cat to eat? An appetite stimulant may help.

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  My cats, who all used to eat raw, now will only eat dehydrated raw, and only in the dehydrated state.  I guess to them it's like kibble.  But I don't buy the Stella land Chewy's tiny packages, as they is almost in a powdered form since it's meant to be hydrated.  I buy the large bags.  If Lucy doesn't like it,  any store I have ever purchased it from will take it back if at least have a bag is left and it's within 30 days.  Same with Primal.  My guys like both of those brands.  They actually prefer the DOG food flavors of Stella and Chewys better, but since they add Taurine to them, I feel they are ok to feed.  (plus I actually only use them as snacks for my furkids)

joeynox said:

I have 2 different types of slipper elm powder but neither will make the the syrup and I just don't understand why. I tried a Dozen times and so did my wife. I have powdered that was recommended to me i a post and the type in the pill. I was giving her the it in the pill(not a pill I just cant think if the word) but afterwards she was vomiting and I wasn't sure if it was due to her ibd the food or Deb so I stopped giving it to her. I got her to eat some cheap crap Friskies (it killed me to feed her this). She ate a can but now wont eat anymore.

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There's a trick to making SE syrup. I use this one. It's a common brand you can buy it online or at basically any health food store. What i do is put 1/2 a cup of water in a saucepan and add 1tsp of slipper elm and mix it very gently just to wet the powder. Then i let it sit for a least 30 minutes, sometimes longer. By allowing it to sit this is how the powder and water thicken up. Then i turn the stove on to medium and warm the syrup up (I don't let it boil, just get pretty warm) turn it off, put it in a glass mason jar and let it cool in the counter. Its not a super thick syrup, just slightly thicker than water. Then i put in the fridge for a week. My cat won't take SE mixed in his food so i put 1/2 a tsp in a syringe and give it to him before his AM meals.

My vet told me that SE can take some time to work so it's important to be consistent about it. If i forget to give my cat his dose even for one day he'll start vomiting/refusing food again. How much your cat will need will vary.