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Old August 20th, 2011, 03:00 PM
mikischo's Avatar
mikischo mikischo is offline
Mickey, my angel
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
Posts: 1,186
Hi, Iluvsmokey. I'm sorry you haven't got too much feedback on this yet. It must have been overlooked. How is Smokey doing today? I hope he has started to eat something. As I'm sure you already know it is very important that Smokey eats and drinks whatever he will accept even though it may not be the most optimum for a long term diet.

What have you tried to feed him so far?

As DD suggested you can try stinky foods like canned tuna or sardines if he will not eat regular canned cat foods right now. You might even have some success if you try crumbling some tasty cat treats like Temptations on top of his regular canned food. Some people have had success with some of the Fancy Feast flavours when cats have been having difficulty eating (not sure which ones are the stinkiest). Please give him only canned cat foods, not dry, to ensure that he is getting the water he needs, especially if he is not drinking enough. Canned cat foods are far better than dry and most of us on this forum feed our cats only canned foods.

Since you are a new cat owner you might also want to read the following website when you get a chance:

http://www.catinfo.org/

It explains why canned foods are better than kibble.

If you are still unable to entice him to eat you may have to assist feed him for now using your fingers or a syringe. Hopefully he will eat enough on his own and you will not have to resort to this. If need be the following site has some information on how to assist feed:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2093257_force-feed-cat.html


Rather than going into detail on how to pill a cat, here is some straightforward information at the following website:

http://vetmedicine.about.com/c/ht/00...0962935140.htm

Some people also syringe a bit of water into the side of the cats mouth after giving the pill to ensure that the pill has gone down completely.

I don't use a towel or blanket. I just position myself to the side of him, slightly behind. I start by petting him and talking to him to get him relaxed and then I quickly open his mouth with my fingers on each side of his jaw with his head tilted slightly upward. With my other hand I quickly slip the pill into the back of his mouth and then release the hand that was holding his jaw open and immediately start stroking him under the chin several times (most cats love being stroked under the chin and doing this generally ensures that they will swallow the pill). I don't find it necessary to use the water. I just have a couple of Temptations ready for a reward. If you are still having trouble giving the pill you might prefer to try pill pockets that are available at pet stores.

URI's are no fun and, as you have found, if a kitty can't smell the food, he doesn't want to eat.

I hope Smokey starts feeling much better soon. Do let us know how things are going.

Congratulations on your new kitty and thank you for adopting from a shelter.
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"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." -Pythagoras
"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." -Hippocrates
"Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." -Jack Layton
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

Kitties: Punky (17), and Sassy (13), Twinky (10),

SweetMickey 1991 to May 24, 2009

Last edited by mikischo; August 20th, 2011 at 05:15 PM. Reason: Added something
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