A few weeks ago my cat had a urinary blockage that required two catheters before the situation improved. When the vet took him in they told me they were having a issue getting him to eat, and the only thing they could get him to consume was tuna. his condition improved, and is no longer having peeing issues, however now he has become an extremely picky eater. I might add this cat would come running anytime a can was being open, and loved all kinds of wet food before the blockage. As requested by the vet i try to give him a steady diet of wet food, but unfortunately he wont eat any kind i give him. the only thing he seems interested in is pure bites whole food real meat treats(which is just real meat in water). Knowing these particular treats are not suppose to be his only diet i've been trying every kind of food in the book. nothing. he has been taking Prazosin for his peeing condition but has only one dose left. My issue is he only seems to want to eat tuna or the chicken pure bites. What can i do to get him to eat more. it doesn't seem he is losing weight staying at a steady 10-11 pounds, and he eats the urinary SO dry food i leave out, but i know he needs more water intake. I also know a steady diet of tuna, people or cat food type is bad for his kidneys because of the high mercury. I'm hoping that a side effect from the prazosin is a decreased appetite, and he will bounce back after his regimen is done but i cant find anything stating that. what can i do to improve my situation? does he need vet assistance? Please help!
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Cat with eating issue, after urinary blockage. PLEASE HELP!
- Thread starter jswo3
- Start Date
You're right to be concerned that he needs ample water and a nutritionally complete diet, but if he is eating the urinary SO dried food and drinking water, he's probably okay for the short term. In other words, you don't need to take him back to the vet at this point.
Since he will eat tuna, try mixing some tuna and regular canned chicken or turkey together and warm it up to release a nice tempting aroma. If he will eat that, you can gradually reduce the amount of tuna. If he won't, you can make his food more inviting by sprinkling extras on top, like crumbled cheese, bonito flakes, chopped ham, scrambled eggs or even the pure bite treats. Sometimes you can get a cat to start eating by hand feeding him - he might take from your hand what he won't take from the bowl. I've read that some cats can be "tricked" into eating by putting their bowl near their mouths while they are asleep. When they wake up, they eat automatically. I've never seen this in action but it might be worth trying.
I looked for side effects to Prazosin that might explain his newfound dislike of canned food and like you, didn't find anything. I did notice that it can cause nausea so it may be that he's pickier about what he eats. That's just a guess. Hopefully, once the medication leaves his system his appetite will return to normal.
One way to increase his water intake is to get him a fountain. There are many products on the market - run a search on amazon and you'll get an idea of what's out there. Generally, it's wise to choose one made from ceramic or stainless steel as plastic bowls are known to harbor bacteria that cause chin acne.
Since he will eat tuna, try mixing some tuna and regular canned chicken or turkey together and warm it up to release a nice tempting aroma. If he will eat that, you can gradually reduce the amount of tuna. If he won't, you can make his food more inviting by sprinkling extras on top, like crumbled cheese, bonito flakes, chopped ham, scrambled eggs or even the pure bite treats. Sometimes you can get a cat to start eating by hand feeding him - he might take from your hand what he won't take from the bowl. I've read that some cats can be "tricked" into eating by putting their bowl near their mouths while they are asleep. When they wake up, they eat automatically. I've never seen this in action but it might be worth trying.
I looked for side effects to Prazosin that might explain his newfound dislike of canned food and like you, didn't find anything. I did notice that it can cause nausea so it may be that he's pickier about what he eats. That's just a guess. Hopefully, once the medication leaves his system his appetite will return to normal.
One way to increase his water intake is to get him a fountain. There are many products on the market - run a search on amazon and you'll get an idea of what's out there. Generally, it's wise to choose one made from ceramic or stainless steel as plastic bowls are known to harbor bacteria that cause chin acne.
Are you trying to feed him the RX wet food or he wont eat any wet food? If there was wet food he liked before then try and feed him that. If he's refusing all wet food, even foods he liked before, I'd be concerned that perhaps he's nauseated or in pain still. Is he sniffing the wet food and walking away? Or eating too much dry food and not hungry enough for wet food?
