Cat feeding dilemma

Need some suggestions. My cat, Meep, is nearly 13 and has cystitis.
She also hates wet food and craves - dare I say obsesses? - over dry
food. She's very fussy.

For her first 7 years, she got dry food (Iams). Then she got cystitis,
so for a few years she got dry for one feed and wet for the other, but
she continued to have problems, even when the dry was Royal Canin
Urinary. It took close to three years, but now she's totally on wet
food & she hasn't had an attack in over a year. It's wet food of her
choice though, so senior and urinary foods aren't on the menu.
Wellness, Evo, and Max Cat, at the moment.

The problem is, she won't eat enough of it, and is skinny. If I try to
supplement with any dry at all though - even just stashing a half dozen
or so Greenies around the house so she has to hunt for them - she eats
even *less* wet food. If I actually feed her dry food in her bowl, she's
likely to stop eating the wet food altogether, hoping I'll give in and
give her more dry.

If I get anywhere near the greenies, or rustle a bag anywhere, she's
there begging for dry food. I know she's begging for DRY and not FOOD,
because if I put some food out, if it's not dry, she shakes a paw and
walks away.

I'm at wits' end. Most of her life she's always been a bit pudgy, now I
can feel her ribs and her spine through her fur. Yes, I've talked to
the vet (but not in detail about feeding), her weight loss isn't from
anything else but stubbornness, really.

I'm currently trying mixing some dry into her wet, though I thought that
wasn't a good idea due to dry food going bad quicker when moist. Her
food stays out all day, because she's a grazer, had a hard enough time
retraining her to wet food, didn't manage to train her to scarf the
whole thing up at once (she *really* got skinny when I tried). She is
perfectly capable of refusing to eat for days, if the food isn't what
*she* wants. This is the battle we've been fighting.

I was thinking maybe canned kitten food? But would that be safe for an
older cat? Her other health problems are joint and bone issues, and a
slight cardiomyopathy I suspect she's had since birth.

Any suggestions appreciated!

jmc

On Feb 22, 7:37*am, jmc wrote:
Need some suggestions. *My cat, Meep, is nearly 13 and has cystitis.
She also hates wet food and craves - dare I say obsesses? - over dry
food. *She's very fussy.

For her first 7 years, she got dry food (Iams). *Then she got cystitis,
so for a few years she got dry for one feed and wet for the other, but
she continued to have problems, even when the dry was Royal Canin
Urinary. *It took close to three years, but now she's totally on wet
food & she hasn't had an attack in over a year. *It's wet food of her
choice though, so senior and urinary foods aren't on the menu.
Wellness, Evo, and Max Cat, at the moment.

The problem is, she won't eat enough of it, and is skinny. *If I try to
supplement with any dry at all though - even just stashing a half dozen
or so Greenies around the house so she has to hunt for them - she eats
even *less* wet food. If I actually feed her dry food in her bowl, she's
likely to stop eating the wet food altogether, hoping I'll give in and
give her more dry.

If I get anywhere near the greenies, or rustle a bag anywhere, she's
there begging for dry food. *I know she's begging for DRY and not FOOD,
because if I put some food out, if it's not dry, she shakes a paw and
walks away.

I'm at wits' end. *Most of her life she's always been a bit pudgy, now I
can feel her ribs and her spine through her fur. *Yes, I've talked to
the vet (but not in detail about feeding), her weight loss isn't from
anything else but stubbornness, really.

I'm currently trying mixing some dry into her wet, though I thought that
wasn't a good idea due to dry food going bad quicker when moist. *Her
food stays out all day, because she's a grazer, had a hard enough time
retraining her to wet food, didn't manage to train her to scarf the
whole thing up at once (she *really* got skinny when I tried). *She is
perfectly capable of refusing to eat for days, if the food isn't what
*she* wants. *This is the battle we've been fighting.

I was thinking maybe canned kitten food? *But would that be safe for an
older cat? *Her other health problems are joint and bone issues, and a
slight cardiomyopathy I suspect she's had since birth.

Any suggestions appreciated!

jmc

Get advice from your vet for food, treatment and so forth.

Kitten food is high in fat and protein, perhaps more than is healthy
for a full-grown cat. There are good high-animal-protein dry foods out
there and you can feed your cat 'people-food' with the proper
supplements if she will take it. But, start with your vet and go from
there.

"Skinny" is not necessarily a bad thing either. Again, your vet will
give you a weight-chart and let you know what is a good weight range.
But generally, you want to be able to feel the individual vertebrae on
the spine with a little fat-coating over the ribs - she has ribs, but
they are not sticking out - if you get the balance. And a definite
waist.

Of course, you have had her checked for all sorts of 'other' causes?
Parasites, other infections and so forth?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PS

Suddenly, without warning, exclaimed (2/22/2009 11:07 AM):
On Feb 22, 7:37 am, jmc wrote:
Need some suggestions. My cat, Meep, is nearly 13 and has cystitis.
She also hates wet food and craves - dare I say obsesses? - over dry
food. She's very fussy.

For her first 7 years, she got dry food (Iams). Then she got cystitis,
so for a few years she got dry for one feed and wet for the other, but
she continued to have problems, even when the dry was Royal Canin
Urinary. It took close to three years, but now she's totally on wet
food & she hasn't had an attack in over a year. It's wet food of her
choice though, so senior and urinary foods aren't on the menu.
Wellness, Evo, and Max Cat, at the moment.

The problem is, she won't eat enough of it, and is skinny. If I try to
supplement with any dry at all though - even just stashing a half dozen
or so Greenies around the house so she has to hunt for them - she eats
even *less* wet food. If I actually feed her dry food in her bowl, she's
likely to stop eating the wet food altogether, hoping I'll give in and
give her more dry.

If I get anywhere near the greenies, or rustle a bag anywhere, she's
there begging for dry food. I know she's begging for DRY and not FOOD,
because if I put some food out, if it's not dry, she shakes a paw and
walks away.

I'm at wits' end. Most of her life she's always been a bit pudgy, now I
can feel her ribs and her spine through her fur. Yes, I've talked to
the vet (but not in detail about feeding), her weight loss isn't from
anything else but stubbornness, really.

I'm currently trying mixing some dry into her wet, though I thought that
wasn't a good idea due to dry food going bad quicker when moist. Her
food stays out all day, because she's a grazer, had a hard enough time
retraining her to wet food, didn't manage to train her to scarf the
whole thing up at once (she *really* got skinny when I tried). She is
perfectly capable of refusing to eat for days, if the food isn't what
*she* wants. This is the battle we've been fighting.

I was thinking maybe canned kitten food? But would that be safe for an
older cat? Her other health problems are joint and bone issues, and a
slight cardiomyopathy I suspect she's had since birth.

Any suggestions appreciated!

jmc

Get advice from your vet for food, treatment and so forth.

Kitten food is high in fat and protein, perhaps more than is healthy
for a full-grown cat. There are good high-animal-protein dry foods out
there and you can feed your cat 'people-food' with the proper
supplements if she will take it. But, start with your vet and go from
there.

"Skinny" is not necessarily a bad thing either. Again, your vet will
give you a weight-chart and let you know what is a good weight range.
But generally, you want to be able to feel the individual vertebrae on
the spine with a little fat-coating over the ribs - she has ribs, but
they are not sticking out - if you get the balance. And a definite
waist.

Of course, you have had her checked for all sorts of 'other' causes?
Parasites, other infections and so forth?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PS

Vet opined she could use some weight, but wasn't worrisome thin - but I
think she may have lost some more. Hard to tell, being she's a
medium-hair cat.

Tried people food. Won't touch any meat, raw or cooked. Except tuna
and salmon, and sometimes shrimp. So non-starter there.

Nope, no parasites or other infections. She's on Revolution.

The vet didn't have any real suggestions last time I asked about this,
but we didn't discuss the issue in detail, as it wasn't as concerning
for me then. I thought I could get her weight up, in time. She's just
too stubborn though. I hate that this seems to be a choice between "too
thin cat" and regular cystitis attacks!

jmc

On Feb 22, 4:37*am, jmc wrote:
Need some suggestions. *My cat, Meep, is nearly 13 and has cystitis.
She also hates wet food and craves - dare I say obsesses? - over dry
food. *She's very fussy.

For her first 7 years, she got dry food (Iams). *Then she got cystitis,
so for a few years she got dry for one feed and wet for the other, but
she continued to have problems, even when the dry was Royal Canin
Urinary. *It took close to three years, but now she's totally on wet
food & she hasn't had an attack in over a year. *It's wet food of her
choice though, so senior and urinary foods aren't on the menu.
Wellness, Evo, and Max Cat, at the moment.

The problem is, she won't eat enough of it, and is skinny. *If I try to
supplement with any dry at all though - even just stashing a half dozen
or so Greenies around the house so she has to hunt for them - she eats
even *less* wet food. If I actually feed her dry food in her bowl, she's
likely to stop eating the wet food altogether, hoping I'll give in and
give her more dry.

If I get anywhere near the greenies, or rustle a bag anywhere, she's
there begging for dry food. *I know she's begging for DRY and not FOOD,
because if I put some food out, if it's not dry, she shakes a paw and
walks away.

I'm at wits' end. *Most of her life she's always been a bit pudgy, now I
can feel her ribs and her spine through her fur. *Yes, I've talked to
the vet (but not in detail about feeding), her weight loss isn't from
anything else but stubbornness, really.

I'm currently trying mixing some dry into her wet, though I thought that
wasn't a good idea due to dry food going bad quicker when moist. *Her
food stays out all day, because she's a grazer, had a hard enough time
retraining her to wet food, didn't manage to train her to scarf the
whole thing up at once (she *really* got skinny when I tried). *She is
perfectly capable of refusing to eat for days, if the food isn't what
*she* wants. *This is the battle we've been fighting.

I was thinking maybe canned kitten food? *But would that be safe for an
older cat? *Her other health problems are joint and bone issues, and a
slight cardiomyopathy I suspect she's had since birth.

Any suggestions appreciated!

jmc

My cat has cystitis and she eats wellness wet chicken or turkey and I
supplement with Royal Canin SO. I also sprinkle one capsule each meal
on her wet food of Cosequin which is for joints as well as helps with
urinary/cystitis. It has helped tremendously with her cystitis and she
likes the cosequin on her food. It is made for cats and I get it from
the vet. It is just a food supplement so no harm. She is fat, from
previously being on CD which was twice as much fat as SO. That is why
I switched to SO. I am cutting them down on the SO dry food as she,
like yours, would live on that if she had her way. I do not feed a lot
of wet food as I just heard that supposedly is where the weight gain
is. From my experience, I don't think so, I think the fat and weight
gain comes from the dry food, but ..... Anyway, I will probably never
wean these two from "beans" as we call them. We add a bit of water to
the wet food as well to add to the water intake. They also get
distilled water or filtered water from the fridge. I also add ice
cubes to it (Ms Priss will sit at the water dish waiting for me to add
the cubes)! What we do for these "kids". I am very concerned about the
weight as the one cat does have a heart murmur and I worry about
cardiomyopathy, which I previously lost a kitty to at age 9 which is
early for me losing kitties. Mine usually live at least 13 to 18
years.

Sue -- firefighter mom, Rabid UW Dawg fan

On Feb 22, 11:52*am, jmc

*I hate that this seems to be a choice between "too
thin cat" and regular cystitis attacks!

Try this - *AFTER* - clearing it with your vet.

Obtain a nutmeg grater: Obtain all-natural Vitamin C, the kind that
comes in the fat brown pills and is derived from rose hips or some
similar source. Brown pills. Get the biggest pills possible for easy
grating.

Grate a small amount of the stuff onto your cat's food each day.
Operative word is _SMALL_ - a few milligrams or so per half-cup.

This will acidify your cat's urine, greatly reducing the potential for
cystitis. It will also make your cat a bit thirsty, so it will drink
more. Also a good thing.

We did this for one of our cats for a number of years. From the time
we started it, the cystitis stopped cold and never came back. But - he
was on the C for several years before we tapered him off.

Tuna and Salmon may be obtained cheaply if you ask your local
supermarket (if you have one that listens) for their cuttings. Stuff
that would be work for you to eat, but for a cat is just perfect. Try
other sorts of fish as well. You would be amazed at the amount of
stuff that is just wasted. Perfect for chowders, by the way, if you
are looking for a cooking tip. Flakes and bits do well in soups.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

Suddenly, without warning, sudee exclaimed (2/23/2009 12:08 AM):
On Feb 22, 4:37 am, jmc wrote:
Need some suggestions. My cat, Meep, is nearly 13 and has cystitis.
She also hates wet food and craves - dare I say obsesses? - over dry
food. She's very fussy.

For her first 7 years, she got dry food (Iams). Then she got cystitis,
so for a few years she got dry for one feed and wet for the other, but
she continued to have problems, even when the dry was Royal Canin
Urinary. It took close to three years, but now she's totally on wet
food & she hasn't had an attack in over a year. It's wet food of her
choice though, so senior and urinary foods aren't on the menu.
Wellness, Evo, and Max Cat, at the moment.

The problem is, she won't eat enough of it, and is skinny. If I try to
supplement with any dry at all though - even just stashing a half dozen
or so Greenies around the house so she has to hunt for them - she eats
even *less* wet food. If I actually feed her dry food in her bowl, she's
likely to stop eating the wet food altogether, hoping I'll give in and
give her more dry.

If I get anywhere near the greenies, or rustle a bag anywhere, she's
there begging for dry food. I know she's begging for DRY and not FOOD,
because if I put some food out, if it's not dry, she shakes a paw and
walks away.

I'm at wits' end. Most of her life she's always been a bit pudgy, now I
can feel her ribs and her spine through her fur. Yes, I've talked to
the vet (but not in detail about feeding), her weight loss isn't from
anything else but stubbornness, really.

I'm currently trying mixing some dry into her wet, though I thought that
wasn't a good idea due to dry food going bad quicker when moist. Her
food stays out all day, because she's a grazer, had a hard enough time
retraining her to wet food, didn't manage to train her to scarf the
whole thing up at once (she *really* got skinny when I tried). She is
perfectly capable of refusing to eat for days, if the food isn't what
*she* wants. This is the battle we've been fighting.

I was thinking maybe canned kitten food? But would that be safe for an
older cat? Her other health problems are joint and bone issues, and a
slight cardiomyopathy I suspect she's had since birth.

Any suggestions appreciated!

jmc

My cat has cystitis and she eats wellness wet chicken or turkey and I
supplement with Royal Canin SO. I also sprinkle one capsule each meal
on her wet food of Cosequin which is for joints as well as helps with
urinary/cystitis. It has helped tremendously with her cystitis and she
likes the cosequin on her food. It is made for cats and I get it from
the vet. It is just a food supplement so no harm. She is fat, from
previously being on CD which was twice as much fat as SO. That is why
I switched to SO. I am cutting them down on the SO dry food as she,
like yours, would live on that if she had her way. I do not feed a lot
of wet food as I just heard that supposedly is where the weight gain
is. From my experience, I don't think so, I think the fat and weight
gain comes from the dry food, but ..... Anyway, I will probably never
wean these two from "beans" as we call them. We add a bit of water to
the wet food as well to add to the water intake. They also get
distilled water or filtered water from the fridge. I also add ice
cubes to it (Ms Priss will sit at the water dish waiting for me to add
the cubes)! What we do for these "kids". I am very concerned about the
weight as the one cat does have a heart murmur and I worry about
cardiomyopathy, which I previously lost a kitty to at age 9 which is
early for me losing kitties. Mine usually live at least 13 to 18
years.

Sue -- firefighter mom, Rabid UW Dawg fan

Yea, you do everything I do. Meep gets her glucosamine from a different
source - I use a joint formula, same stuff, extra benefits (she has
joint issues too). She also gets a bit extra water on her food, and gets
some filtered water (it's all from the Britta when we're in hard water
areas).

Meep also has a cardiomyopathy and started showing a murmur oh, 5 or 6
years ago. I now think that she's had the cardiomyopathy from birth.
It's not bad enough for treatment. All that's happened is that the
murmur went from intermittent - probably was like that most of her life;
vet heard it once when she was 7 or so, then not again for a while.
Just within the last couple of years, vet started hearing it ever visit,
but it's only a Grade 3 so she just gets regular checkups. So the heart
issue isn't necessarily a death sentence, Meep's almost 13 now.

And I agree, the fat and weight gain were all from the dry food.

jmc

On Feb 22, 7:37*am, jmc wrote:

Any suggestions appreciated!

jmc

Just give her what you want her to have and pet her on the head

don't make any eye contact with her after you put her food down

just go on with your day and stuff

part of this, sounds like she enjoys controlling you!
omg

Sue wrote:

I also sprinkle one capsule each meal on
her wet food of Cosequin which is for
joints as well as helps with
urinary/cystitis. It has helped
tremendously with her cystitis and she
likes the cosequin on her food. It is
made for cats and I get it from the vet.

You can also order it from Amazon.com. It's a lot cheaper than getting
it from the vet.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Suddenly, without warning, ---MIKE--- exclaimed (2/23/2009 2:16 PM):
Sue wrote:

I also sprinkle one capsule each meal on
her wet food of Cosequin which is for
joints as well as helps with
urinary/cystitis. It has helped
tremendously with her cystitis and she
likes the cosequin on her food. It is
made for cats and I get it from the vet.

You can also order it from Amazon.com. It's a lot cheaper than getting
it from the vet.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')


Or look into Joint Care (it's still glucosamine, and has been blessed
for cystitis use by my vet) from Drs Fosters and Smith. You can get it
in a great big jar of powder, mine will last me 8 months or more at
current consumption. It's liver flavored too, so Meep loves it.

jmc

What kind of a feeding schedule are you on? If you're feeding canned
food, it's best to feed two meals a day, about 12 hours apart. You can
warm the food slightly to entice her to eat.

I would also NOT have any bags of dry food, treats, etc. available at
all. When I transitioned my oldest cat to canned from dry, it was
easiest to not have any evidence of dry food at all.