Hi guys!
I've been browsing through the archives here for the past few days, trying to find any and all tips to help our situation at home. I'm really out of ideas though.
One of our cats needs to go off of his delicious Orijen crunch particles, and eat wet food. We've had several trips to the emergency vet now for urinary problems. Everyone agrees, wet food only. Awesome I thought, this will be difficult but I can persevere.
I've tried I think every possible brand (high end stuff, low end stuff), every "texture" of food, every protein type, every temperature, every kind of material for feeding dishes, every topper (fortiflora, sprinkled parmesan, low sodium broth, tuna water, etc. etc.) and the kitty will not eat more than 3oz a day, tops. He's 14lb and needs to go down to about 12, but this is clearly not enough food for the guy. It's been a month now, and at the end of the day I've had to give in and feed him Orijen dry just to make up the calories. Right before bed, I should add, so I hold out as long as I possibly could.
Except this is bad and he's having problems again. Back to the emergency vet this Monday, picked up more meds, reconfirmed that wet food is vital and was told to keep trying.
At this point, would it be alright to resort to assist feeding with a syringe? I've got it in my head that this is something you do only for cats who are sick, not really for cats to transition to wet food, but this kitty seems to need some extra help. At the same time I'm worried about this turning him off of wet food entirely if I try it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't?
What do you think? Thanks a ton in advance!
I've been browsing through the archives here for the past few days, trying to find any and all tips to help our situation at home. I'm really out of ideas though.
One of our cats needs to go off of his delicious Orijen crunch particles, and eat wet food. We've had several trips to the emergency vet now for urinary problems. Everyone agrees, wet food only. Awesome I thought, this will be difficult but I can persevere.
I've tried I think every possible brand (high end stuff, low end stuff), every "texture" of food, every protein type, every temperature, every kind of material for feeding dishes, every topper (fortiflora, sprinkled parmesan, low sodium broth, tuna water, etc. etc.) and the kitty will not eat more than 3oz a day, tops. He's 14lb and needs to go down to about 12, but this is clearly not enough food for the guy. It's been a month now, and at the end of the day I've had to give in and feed him Orijen dry just to make up the calories. Right before bed, I should add, so I hold out as long as I possibly could.
Except this is bad and he's having problems again. Back to the emergency vet this Monday, picked up more meds, reconfirmed that wet food is vital and was told to keep trying.
At this point, would it be alright to resort to assist feeding with a syringe? I've got it in my head that this is something you do only for cats who are sick, not really for cats to transition to wet food, but this kitty seems to need some extra help. At the same time I'm worried about this turning him off of wet food entirely if I try it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't?
What do you think? Thanks a ton in advance!