Raw for special needs 6 week old kitten?

[shadowbaby]

So I have a new 'special' kitten. She was found outside, and has a couple issues. She's FIV/FLK negative thankfully, but she either has an idiopathic vestibular problem, or she has cerebellum hypoplasia (took her to numerous vets, no clear diagnosis :\\ ). So since she's had such a hard start to life, I'd figure I'd feed her to the best of my ability to give her a better chance.

Right now I'm feeding ziwipeak "dry" and wet, and was wondering if it would be a good idea to change the wet from ziwipeak to something like NV raw medallion things. There are 2 main things that concern me which is why I haven't switched yet. Do you think she'll be able to handle it? I mean I would probably start off getting the same meat source that the ziwipeak is (venison). The second worry is that.. she's a horribly messy eater because of her condition.. It's generally confined to her food 'area' but she flings it about because the left side of her face is partially paralyzed. So I guess my worry there would be contaminating my living area ;p

 

[minka]

How wonderful of you to rescue this kitten.

Are you wanting to switch her entirely to raw food, or only as a supplement? Either way, I would ditch the dry and start her off on a wet + raw diet.

For people who have messy eaters, the solution usually is to either feed them in a crate/kennel, or inside the bathroom/bathtub.

Good luck!!

 

[mschauer]

Given that Nature's Variety utilizes HPP (High Pressure Processing) to kill pathogenic bacteria in their raw products I don't see why there should be any more of a contamination issue than there is with processed foods.

http://www.naturesvariety.com/learning/raw/quality

 

[ldg]

Just FYI, if you haven't looked these up yourself, here is good information on idiopathic vestibular disease: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...r_disease.html

And here is information on cerebellar hypoplasia: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=3038

With vestibular disease, the more common symptom is (typically) walking in circles. With cerebellar hypoplasia, the cat is just uncoordinated all over - and when they are excited or focused on something, they tend to shake/tremble all over. Given that part of her face is partially paralyzed, that in and of itself points toward the idiopathic vestibular disease.

We have a CH kitty. When she was first using the litter box, we had to clean her up a lot. She couldn't take more than a few steps without falling over. And she couldn't control where she was running once she got going, so we padded all the corners in our house, the ends of the rocking chairs... and when she started climbing, we added pillows/foam rubber underneath all the cat trees or anyplace under something where she could go up.

As she grew, she gained more control. Now she uses the litter box just fine, and she doesn't climb farther up than she can get safely back down LOL.

I know this has nothing to do with your question,

but thought I'd provide the info just in case it's helpful.

for your baby, and thank you for adopting a special needs kitty!

 

[ldg]

OH! As you add new foods, you can also consider Stella & Chewy's - there's a lot of flavors of freeze-dried raw, and unlike Nature's Variety, it doesn't have the fruits and vegetables in it. http://www.stellaandchewys.com/cat-products.php

 

[auntie crazy]

Originally Posted by ShadowBaby

So I have a new 'special' kitten. She was found outside, and has a couple issues. She's FIV/FLK negative thankfully, but she either has an idiopathic vestibular problem, or she has cerebellum hypoplasia (took her to numerous vets, no clear diagnosis :\\ ). So since she's had such a hard start to life, I'd figure I'd feed her to the best of my ability to give her a better chance.

Right now I'm feeding ziwipeak "dry" and wet, and was wondering if it would be a good idea to change the wet from ziwipeak to something like NV raw medallion things. There are 2 main things that concern me which is why I haven't switched yet. Do you think she'll be able to handle it? I mean I would probably start off getting the same meat source that the ziwipeak is (venison). The second worry is that.. she's a horribly messy eater because of her condition.. It's generally confined to her food 'area' but she flings it about because the left side of her face is partially paralyzed. So I guess my worry there would be contaminating my living area ;p

I think switching her to an all raw or part wet / part raw (no kibble!) diet is a fabulous thing to do for this little kitty (and major kudos to you for giving her a home - she's a very lucky little girl to have found you). And I think she'll be able to handle it just fine, both logistically and physically.

Cats making a mess of things and thereby potentially spreading bacteria is a common concern for most folks who are considering the transition to raw. There are a multitude of ways to address this, from training the kitty to remain in one place on a mat, towel or table, to crate-training the kitty for meals. Two of my cats eat off a long, thin table, one eats in a crate because she feels more secure in there and eats better, and the other three are crate-trained solely for my benefit as they would absolutely bring their food to various hidden corners all over my house if I let them.

It sounds as though your little girl would have difficulty dragging the food to another location (not to mention she'll be eating ground products), so I'd think placing a large mat or towel under her eating area would be sufficient for clean-up purposes.

I want to applaud you again for bringing this little girl into your heart and offering her a home and safety. What a wonderful thing for you to do.

AC

 

[shadowbaby]

Originally Posted by LDG

Just FYI, if you haven't looked these up yourself, here is good information on idiopathic vestibular disease: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...r_disease.html

And here is information on cerebellar hypoplasia: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=3038

With vestibular disease, the more common symptom is (typically) walking in circles. With cerebellar hypoplasia, the cat is just uncoordinated all over - and when they are excited or focused on something, they tend to shake/tremble all over. Given that part of her face is partially paralyzed, that in and of itself points toward the idiopathic vestibular disease.

We have a CH kitty. When she was first using the litter box, we had to clean her up a lot. She couldn't take more than a few steps without falling over. And she couldn't control where she was running once she got going, so we padded all the corners in our house, the ends of the rocking chairs... and when she started climbing, we added pillows/foam rubber underneath all the cat trees or anyplace under something where she could go up.

As she grew, she gained more control. Now she uses the litter box just fine, and she doesn't climb farther up than she can get safely back down LOL.

I know this has nothing to do with your question,

but thought I'd provide the info just in case it's helpful.

for your baby, and thank you for adopting a special needs kitty!

I lean more towards the vestibular disease too. She gets around fine, she just gets disoriented sometimes. I think the one vet thought possible CH because of how she eats her food.. sort of like a head bobbing spastic motion. She's a plain happy (CRAZED) kitty otherwise, but I get worried because I occasionally spot something new. Today I realized that I'm 99% sure she's deaf. She had absolutely no reaction to a vacuum being turned on right next to her. That combined with the fact that her eye on the paralyzed part of her face might eventually have to be removed (she doesn't close her eyelid voluntarily, only SOMETIMES does it shut when she's asleep) leads to a not too positive looking life. Regardless I'll feed her the best I can and hope for the best <3 Going to try the raw tonight mixed in with some of the canned I was feeding her so here's to hoping.

 

[ldg]

Well, we have a deaf one-eyed cat. It's not the kitty with CH, but Flowerbelle (our deaf one-eyed girl) has NO problems - and I don't think that would slow down Ming Loy (our CH kitty) at all either LOL. Deaf kitties rock! They are fearless!