- Joined
- Apr 19, 2017
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I'm not sure if I'm overreacting or not, (definitely a possibility) but everything I read about cats not eating and getting fatty liver disease freaks me out. I have 2 kittens (teen-agers really) that are almost 9 months old and 1 that is about 5 months old. As for the older cats, 2 of them are 10 (one has diabetes, but is in remission - YAY), and the last one is 14, crabby, and has early stage CKD (Yes, I have 6 cats - don't judge)
Anyway, everyone is on a raw diet that I make for them using the recipe from catinfo.org by Dr. Pierson. I transitioned everyone fully when I got the 2 older kittens and they were a little over 4 months old. Prior to that, the older kitties were on canned. I rotate their proteins between chicken, turkey, and occasional pork. They did NOT like rabbit or duck (which is fine by me as it's expensive as heck and hard to get).
Everyone had been eating good and cleaning their plates until this past week. I've not changed anything that I'm aware of. Same portions, same recipe, etc., but now nearly everyone seems to only eat about 1/2 of what I give them (2-3 ounces per meal - adults 2x a day, kittens 3x a day) two in particular. One of the older kittens looks at the plate and just walks away as if he couldn't be bothered, which has me the most concerned. I can get him to eat most of the time by either adding toppings (freeze dried chicken/salmon) or sometimes I have to get out a can of Friskies or Fancy Feast. I gave him some chunks of plain raw chicken and he ate that with no problem, but he needs more nutrients than that and he only eats about 5 pieces that are chunked up about the size of a quarter.
Everyone is acting 100% normal, the kittens are playing, wrestling, and running through the house as normal. They played with the laser light this afternoon. So, everyone is "technically" eating, but not as much. I'm worried (maybe prematurely) about them getting enough to eat and getting the right nutrition, especially the youngest kitten, I don't want him undernourished. He is at least eating better than the older one, but still only 1/2 as much as he used to (he used to scarf his whole plate and then sneak bites off everyone else's plates) and he turns his nose up at canned. They have no issue eating kibble, and I'm using that as a last resort, but I do NOT want to go down that road again and re-train to raw - ugh! The youngest kitten is teething, maybe that's his issue? But that doesn't explain the other kitten and the reduced amount the adults are eating as well. I will admit to not being used to kittens, after all the last time I had a kitten was 10 years ago when the older ones were babies, but I never remember any of them not having healthy appetites except for when they were legitimately sick, and you could tell they were because of lethargy and/or hiding.
Everyone has been to the vet recently for boosters and whatnot and have all gotten a clean bill of health other than their previous medical conditions (diabetes/CKD). The older kitten that is refusing food without me having to "doctor" it up has a very dry, slightly crusty nose, but he's had that since I got him. The vet thought it was feline herpes, although he never gets eye issues, or a visibly runny nose, just a slight, clear discharge that you really can't see, but it crusts up at the edges when it dries. I give him steam baths (he gets to chill out in the bathroom when I shower) and saline rinses, per the vet, to keep it moist and boogie free. (I live in Arizona, so the AC is on pretty much all year, so it is dry as heck here). Last month his nose got a raw sore on it, right between the nostrils. The vet thought it was a dermatological condition or he scraped it, she'd never seen herpes present like that, so she doesn't really think he has herpes at this point (I sure as heck hope he doesn't). Anyway, that has resolved (he still has the dry nose and crusty boogies though), and he never stopped eating through that.
I'm at my wits end and probably giving myself an ulcer worrying about them eating or not eating. I've tried warming the food, buying a few cans of super stinky food like fish flavors, adding toppers, giving chunks of raw chicken, etc. Sometimes it works, sometimes it sort of works. At best, he'll clean his plate, at worst he takes 3 bites. It's a crap shoot. Taking them to the vet is not a problem, but ALL of them? I doubt I could afford that, at least not all at once. Plus, I hate paying all that money for them to say, nope, all fine, just being finicky. And maybe they are just being finicky, but I didn't think kittens were so finicky. I thought they would eat just about anything. Again, none of them acts sick. They all come running for the food at mealtimes and meow and act hungry and then only eat a small amount. I am definitely open to suggestions if anyone is kind enough to read this epic long post from heck!
Anyway, everyone is on a raw diet that I make for them using the recipe from catinfo.org by Dr. Pierson. I transitioned everyone fully when I got the 2 older kittens and they were a little over 4 months old. Prior to that, the older kitties were on canned. I rotate their proteins between chicken, turkey, and occasional pork. They did NOT like rabbit or duck (which is fine by me as it's expensive as heck and hard to get).
Everyone had been eating good and cleaning their plates until this past week. I've not changed anything that I'm aware of. Same portions, same recipe, etc., but now nearly everyone seems to only eat about 1/2 of what I give them (2-3 ounces per meal - adults 2x a day, kittens 3x a day) two in particular. One of the older kittens looks at the plate and just walks away as if he couldn't be bothered, which has me the most concerned. I can get him to eat most of the time by either adding toppings (freeze dried chicken/salmon) or sometimes I have to get out a can of Friskies or Fancy Feast. I gave him some chunks of plain raw chicken and he ate that with no problem, but he needs more nutrients than that and he only eats about 5 pieces that are chunked up about the size of a quarter.
Everyone is acting 100% normal, the kittens are playing, wrestling, and running through the house as normal. They played with the laser light this afternoon. So, everyone is "technically" eating, but not as much. I'm worried (maybe prematurely) about them getting enough to eat and getting the right nutrition, especially the youngest kitten, I don't want him undernourished. He is at least eating better than the older one, but still only 1/2 as much as he used to (he used to scarf his whole plate and then sneak bites off everyone else's plates) and he turns his nose up at canned. They have no issue eating kibble, and I'm using that as a last resort, but I do NOT want to go down that road again and re-train to raw - ugh! The youngest kitten is teething, maybe that's his issue? But that doesn't explain the other kitten and the reduced amount the adults are eating as well. I will admit to not being used to kittens, after all the last time I had a kitten was 10 years ago when the older ones were babies, but I never remember any of them not having healthy appetites except for when they were legitimately sick, and you could tell they were because of lethargy and/or hiding.
Everyone has been to the vet recently for boosters and whatnot and have all gotten a clean bill of health other than their previous medical conditions (diabetes/CKD). The older kitten that is refusing food without me having to "doctor" it up has a very dry, slightly crusty nose, but he's had that since I got him. The vet thought it was feline herpes, although he never gets eye issues, or a visibly runny nose, just a slight, clear discharge that you really can't see, but it crusts up at the edges when it dries. I give him steam baths (he gets to chill out in the bathroom when I shower) and saline rinses, per the vet, to keep it moist and boogie free. (I live in Arizona, so the AC is on pretty much all year, so it is dry as heck here). Last month his nose got a raw sore on it, right between the nostrils. The vet thought it was a dermatological condition or he scraped it, she'd never seen herpes present like that, so she doesn't really think he has herpes at this point (I sure as heck hope he doesn't). Anyway, that has resolved (he still has the dry nose and crusty boogies though), and he never stopped eating through that.
I'm at my wits end and probably giving myself an ulcer worrying about them eating or not eating. I've tried warming the food, buying a few cans of super stinky food like fish flavors, adding toppers, giving chunks of raw chicken, etc. Sometimes it works, sometimes it sort of works. At best, he'll clean his plate, at worst he takes 3 bites. It's a crap shoot. Taking them to the vet is not a problem, but ALL of them? I doubt I could afford that, at least not all at once. Plus, I hate paying all that money for them to say, nope, all fine, just being finicky. And maybe they are just being finicky, but I didn't think kittens were so finicky. I thought they would eat just about anything. Again, none of them acts sick. They all come running for the food at mealtimes and meow and act hungry and then only eat a small amount. I am definitely open to suggestions if anyone is kind enough to read this epic long post from heck!