Tips for getting super-finicky old cat to eat more?

Hi all. I thought I would present my conundrum to the collective wisdom of this board.

I have a 17 year old super finicky kitty, Lucy, who only prefers dry food. She has been free fed her entire life with me (15 years). She's never been very excited about food.

I also have two 5.5-month old kittens who have had chronic diarrhea since I got them in February. I'm on the verge of kicking it with a raw diet and probiotics. I had a hard time getting them to eat raw until I discovered they were supplementing quite a bit with Lucy's dry food, so I cut them off. This means I've had to stop free feeding Lucy--there's no way to give her open access to the food and not the kittens. I put her food down and lock the kittens out about 5 times a day. Now that she's no longer eating out of the big self-feeder, I'm actually able to tell how little she eats. And I think she's eating even less than before when she could graze whenever she wanted. I still give her a dab of wet food every now and then but she really only takes a bite or two so I'm wasting the food.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get more calories into her? The last time she went to the vet she was borderline underweight, so I'm really concerned about how little she's eating.

When was the last time she was worked up at the vet? "finicky" in older cats often indicates a medical issue. She should have blood work to rule out kidney issues and hyperthyroidism at least twice a year at her age. Plus her teeth should be checked to make sure it's not a dental issue. Lack of appetite is a very common symptom of kidney disease. Once you've ruled those things out you can work on enticing her to eat more with toppers. 

She had a complete blood workup in February. She does have decreased kidney function--it's on the low end of high. Her thyroid function is fine, though. The vet told me to put her on a kidney diet and gave me samples of about five different kinds and she wouldn't eat any of them. I switched her back to her previous grain-free kibble because I figured it was better that she eat something rather than nothing. I would prefer she eat wet food, but I can't get her to take more than a couple of bites at most. She's been that way for years.

Her teeth do need cleaning but they're actually in pretty good shape for her age. Lucy has a heart murmur, and the vet said we'd need to do a heart ultrasound before considering putting her under anesthesia to get her teeth cleaned. That test itself is $450, which is more than I can spend right now. I've debated a lot about it, but it sounds like I would be looking at spending $1000 investigating the heart murmur before we even addressed her teeth. It seems like a lot to spend considering the vet said she is basically at the end of her life. Lucy has always been a very freaked out cat and I don't want to traumatize her more when she's so old.

This time last year my 20 year old cat was in the midst of his final decline from kidney failure and I jumped through all kinds of hoops trying to get him to eat. Whatever I offered him I offered Lucy and she rarely ate it, so I am out of ideas but not wanting to give up.

Have you been on Tanya's site yet for some advice or suggestions? Realistically she's not going to eat more wet food when she has access to dry. Depending on her kidney disease you could use a binder or give fluids. Have you asked your vet about doing Pepcid? Her lack of appetite might very well be because she doesn't feel well. I give it to my cat that doesn't have CKD to help with vomiting and some appetite issues. I'm not a fan of of RX diets because I think they're terrible. http://www.felinecrf.org

I apologize for my delayed response--crazy work situation! I wasn't aware of that site--thank you! I will check it out. I will ask about Pepcid. Lucy throws up a lot. She always has, but it's been coming in waves lately. Sometimes it's just water, sometimes there's a hairball in there. From reading on the IBS site, that's a sign of IBS. I've read so much about nutrition over the past six months that I'm really suspicious of higher-carb prescription diets, and since that's what my vet recommends, I feel like I really need to get myself educated before I go in. 

beth0612 said:

 
I apologize for my delayed response--crazy work situation! I wasn't aware of that site--thank you! I will check it out. I will ask about Pepcid. Lucy throws up a lot. She always has, but it's been coming in waves lately. Sometimes it's just water, sometimes there's a hairball in there. From reading on the IBS site, that's a sign of IBS. I've read so much about nutrition over the past six months that I'm really suspicious of higher-carb prescription diets, and since that's what my vet recommends, I feel like I really need to get myself educated before I go in. 

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Yes IBD is really common in older cats too and vomiting is associated with it. Vomiting is also a very common symptom of kidney disease. My cat doesn't have CKD, but he vomits more often than I'd like and we suspect he may have some IBD. I've been using pepcid and its helped a lot. Not only is the vomiting down but his appetite is up. A great things for cats with IBD or really any cat is raw or homecooked.

This is a pre-mix that you can use for homecooked or raw that was developed by some super smart former members of this forum. I've already gone through 3 bags of EZcomplete and most of my cats love it. I know it's well liked by most everyone that's tried it. It might be something you want to look into. If you're interested in more raw feeding or homecooked info this facebook group is amazing. The mods are actually the creators of EZcomplete and incredibly helpful.

http://www.foodfurlife.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RawFedIBD