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Another food question



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 31st 06, 02:08 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
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Default Another food question

One of my fosters was found outside very pregnant. She delivered 5 kittens
within a week. She weaned them abruptly at 5 weeks and the next day got sick
herself and stopped eating or drinking.

She had an Intusseption. The vet did
a bowel resection and removed around 11" of Ileum. They sent her home 3 days
post op and told me to feed her wet food only for a week and then I could
add dry. She had been eating kitten food before getting sick so I put her
back on that. Her stool was formed for the first week but she seemed to
be hungry all the time. I was feeding her three times a day and she still
seemed to always be hungry. After the first week I added a good quality dry
food in addition to the canned food and that seemed to satisfy her.
However, her stool is more like a cow flop. I asked the vet about it and
they put her on Science Diet I/D and Metronidaz for 5 days. They also told
me not to give her the kitten food any more. Well that was last Saturday and
I haven't seen any improvement at all and she's crying for food all the time
again.

I don't know what food might be good for her. She needs to gain weight. She
had dropped down to 5 lbs. when she stopped eating and has gained some of it
back but is still way too skinny (which is why I was giving her kitten
food).
I need something that is going to give her good nutrition and at the same
time satisfy her hunger so she's not crying for food all the time.

She can't be adopted out until we get a handle on what to feed her so any
suggestions will be appreciated.

W



  #2  
Old May 31st 06, 03:00 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
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Default Another food question


"Wendy" wrote in message
...

I don't know what food might be good for her. She needs to gain weight.
She
had dropped down to 5 lbs. when she stopped eating and has gained some of
it
back but is still way too skinny (which is why I was giving her kitten
food).
I need something that is going to give her good nutrition and at the same
time satisfy her hunger so she's not crying for food all the time.

She can't be adopted out until we get a handle on what to feed her so any
suggestions will be appreciated.

W





  #3  
Old June 1st 06, 07:46 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
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Default Another food question


Wendy wrote:
However, her stool is more like a cow flop. I asked the vet about it and
they put her on Science Diet I/D and Metronidaz for 5 days. They also told
me not to give her the kitten food any more. Well that was last Saturday and
I haven't seen any improvement at all and she's crying for food all the time
again.


Kitten food is generally regarded as good for all cats. It's usually
very high in proteins and extremely high fats. Can you ask the vet WHY?
Why to stop kitten food? Something in particular about her condition
prohibits high protein and very high fats? Most adult cats would gain
way too much weight with kitten food so it is not recommended.

If she is a very small cat, then she may not need a lot of weight which
might be bad in the long run, that is, too much weight.

Again, can you ask your vet about these matters? I think you said she
had some resection so perhaps very high fat might be exceedingly
difficult to digest since cats don't have long digestive tracts to
begin with.

Does the vet think she needs to gain weight? It could be she does not
like the Science Diet or is she eating that? What is her weight? My cat
cries for food all the time. By improvement, do you mean weight gain?
Can you weigh her every day if that is a concern?

  #4  
Old June 1st 06, 11:49 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
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Default Another food question


wrote in message
ups.com...

Wendy wrote:
However, her stool is more like a cow flop. I asked the vet about it and
they put her on Science Diet I/D and Metronidaz for 5 days. They also
told
me not to give her the kitten food any more. Well that was last Saturday
and
I haven't seen any improvement at all and she's crying for food all the
time
again.


Kitten food is generally regarded as good for all cats. It's usually
very high in proteins and extremely high fats. Can you ask the vet WHY?
Why to stop kitten food? Something in particular about her condition
prohibits high protein and very high fats? Most adult cats would gain
way too much weight with kitten food so it is not recommended.

If she is a very small cat, then she may not need a lot of weight which
might be bad in the long run, that is, too much weight.

Again, can you ask your vet about these matters? I think you said she
had some resection so perhaps very high fat might be exceedingly
difficult to digest since cats don't have long digestive tracts to
begin with.

Does the vet think she needs to gain weight? It could be she does not
like the Science Diet or is she eating that? What is her weight? My cat
cries for food all the time. By improvement, do you mean weight gain?
Can you weigh her every day if that is a concern?


She had gotten so skinny right before her surgery that you could feel each
vertebra when you ran you hand down her back. She was literally all bones.
When I first took her to the vet they thought she had a uterine infection
but didn't want to spay her then because she was so thin they weren't sure
she'd survive the surgery. That's how thin she was at 5 lbs. She is now up
near 6 lbs. and isn't quite as boney but still is too thin. The vet agreed
that she still needed to gain some weight.

I'll have to try to talk to the vet who did her surgery. The vet who saw her
Saturday was more concerned with putting her on a bland diet. I don't know
why that would be relevant. It's not all that easy getting answers out of
the vets for the rescue cats. We're lucky that this cat is alive at all. The
original decision when they opened her up was to euthanize (I wasn't in on
that discussion). The vet who did the surgery decided to proceed on his own
and not charge the rescue group.

The vet who operated did say that the ileum in cats is where some of the
water is absorbed. Therefore, she could have a problem with loose stool - a
lot less ileum, less water absorption. She didn't for the first week thought
and that's why I thought it might be food related. I have to go down there
this afternoon to do an adoption on one of my other fosters so I'll see if
the vet is in today.

She isn't a picky eater at all. She scarfs down whatever wet food I give
her - dry food too for that matter. She's just plain hungry all the time if
she's only on wet. It just doesn't seem to stay with her or make her feel
full.

I wish these guys could talk.

W


  #5  
Old June 1st 06, 02:15 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
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Default Another food question


"Wendy" wrote in message
...

She had an Intusseption. The vet did
a bowel resection and removed around 11" of Ileum.



This may be totally unrelated, but....

One of my Wolfhounds had a similarly massive bowel resection, and was
extremely sensitive to all foods afterwards. It took us well over a year to
find exactly the right food that her system would tolerate without going
into hemorrhagic diarrhea.
And even after we found the one food she could tolerate even one bite of
anything else would set her off. It was constant supervision for the
remainder of her life with zero indiscretions.

You are still in the early stages of recovery here, and it sounds to me as
if you just haven't found the right food yet.
If she tolerates the kitten food without diarrhea then I would continue with
that. After at least a month of uneventful poos I might try switching her to
an adult formula with the exact same ingredients, but I would switch very
slowly and be prepared to continue with kitten food if need be.

Constant diarrhea is irritating to an already compromised digestive tract,
and I would feed whatever I needed to to avoid it.


--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com


  #6  
Old June 1st 06, 11:42 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
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Default Another food question


Wendy wrote:
I was feeding her three times a day and she still
seemed to always be hungry.


It sounds like she is going to be fine...

so let her eat as much and often as she likes?

I think she stays hungry because her upper bowel is not digesting
nutrients
(im sure a basic understanding of what her body is doing after bowel
surgery would explain just why she cannot absorb all the nutrients)

if she was getting the nutrients her mind would stop telling the body
to eat

all told, with her.. it's about nutrient absorbtion

 




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