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Old June 5th, 2013, 08:39 PM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Do I give in to the Dry Kibble addict?

I'll try and make this brief. I've decided to take the plunge and switch my cats from dry to wet and then to homemade raw...that's the plan, unfortunately it's not going according to "the Plan"

My concern - 2 of my elderly cats are losing too much weight, close to a pound in less than a month. They are healthy cats as far as elderly go, some arthritis, no other illnesses that I am aware of. They all have been vet checked and are up to date with shots. They are indoor/outdoor cats in an enclosure. Only 2 of 8 cat still get outside the fence, working on that.

What I did was decreased the dry food and increased the wet food and this went well for awhile, then I took the dry food up and just gave them wet food whenever they wanted it as they are not big eaters being free fed for most of their lives. This is when I noticed the wet not being eaten and cats snubbing food, so I got "many" different types of wet food to see which ones they liked. Perhaps this was a mistake...too many options.

Out of 8 I have just the 2 that are losing weight, the rest are holding their own and ounce here or there is not a concern, at least they are eating the food. The 2 that are losing weight, I've been giving dry and then mixed wet and dry, but they are still not eating anywhere near what they need. I've tried all the tricks I've read about, expect baby food that's next. I do have 1 of the 2 that actually ate a frozen mouse (thawed), it was like Christmas to him, but when I presented a raw patty he snubbed it.

I'm at my wits end on what to do, I don't want to give up but I can't afford to have sick kitties either. ...Oh don't move the boy is licking some canned food. Ten licks later and he walks away. It's like he eats just enough to take the hunger away and no more.

So what do I do? Go back to all you can eat dry and start over when their weight is back to normal? Give them the dry and wet food? Try and get them on feedings only? Instead of whenever they want to eat? Lock them into separate rooms, leave them with food and hope they eat it? How longer before the fatty liver becomes an issue?

I don't want to give up so I need some help to get me and them over this hurdle.

Thanks
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Callie and Tigger, brother and sister - 2001
Akira - 2010
Peanut - 2010
Spencer - 2013
Trey our 3 legged terror - 2014
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Old June 5th, 2013, 09:17 PM
pattymac pattymac is offline
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Aren't seniors fun!! I fell for the losing weight thing from my one cat. Took him to vet, full blood work, both thyroid tests and urinalysis, he's fine...300.00 later!! I started giving them more crunchies, now I think the crystal problems are coming back in one of the other boys. So gotta cut back again on the crunchies and increase the wet. I got some kitten wet so I mix in half a can a can with their regular food. Everybody seems to like that. I have been getting them rabbit and they seem to enjoy that about the best right now, so keep trying!!
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Old June 5th, 2013, 09:53 PM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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They are a blast)

Would losing 1 pound on a 12 pound cat be too much in less than a month? She's a tad overweight as it is. As for the boy, he's thin now and can't afford to lose any weight. He's only 8.8 pounds down from 9.6 a few weeks ago.

I don't want to do the vet visit with the $$$$ of blood work if I don't need to.

Should I give in to free dry at night and just wet during day or just give those 2 dry? They are such small eaters. Rosie I fed almost every 2 hours yesterday to try and get some food into her..sigh I doubt I got a small can of wet in her.

Anyway I'm trying to hold out. Gonna go get my boy in, maybe he "found" something tasty out there)
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Rosie - 1999
Callie and Tigger, brother and sister - 2001
Akira - 2010
Peanut - 2010
Spencer - 2013
Trey our 3 legged terror - 2014
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Old June 6th, 2013, 07:31 AM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Have you tried dusting the wet food with a topper, like freeze-dried meat treats? Not sure if you can get the new Orijen freeze-dried treats, but they come in a vast array of flavours (from duck to beef to lamb, etc) and my cats go nuts for them. I just crumble them on top of any food they start getting picky with and it encourages them to eat more.

What brand and flavours of canned do you feed? How often do you rotate the flavours?
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Old June 6th, 2013, 08:51 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Just came on to empathize. We went that route too, and of course the senior cat who most needed the wet food is the one who wouldn't go for it. The other two think it's great.

However, by chance I discovered that the one did like the canned recovery food at the Vet's so we bought some of that. It's very high in calories and quite expensive but she would eat it, though less than would be needed if it was regular wet food.

From there we were able to get her over to regular canned food but she never did eat enough of it and did lose weight she didn't need to lose. By this time she was an old cat, given her history old for her anyway, so if the continued weight loss was strictly due to the canned we couldn't tell. We tend to think not though, because by then she wouldn't eat much of the kibble we resorted to either.

Good luck.
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Old June 6th, 2013, 10:05 AM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Is the Orijen a cat treat, not dog treats? I will have a look around and see if I can find them

What brand and flavours of canned do you feed? How often do you rotate the flavours?

Wellness - turkey and Salmon, some have had this before.
Wellness - beef and chicken grain free
Blue Wilderness
Nature variety grain free wet, try to find the raw to see if I can continue with the ones that are interested in raw
Hounds and Gatos
Natural Choice - Petsmart brand and their Nutrience
Authority
Fancy feast and Special kitty, I was feeding Special kitty fish ones as a once a day with the dry.

If they snubbed their noses at the food I would try another one. I'm a worrier, especially with my boy who almost died a couple of years ago due to not eating.

Today I just fed everyone Spot's Stew - Halo and of course everyone but my two weight losers ate it all up. But only a tablespoon each. How do you get them to eat more at each sitting?

Anyway I think I fed too many different choices, of course the kittens had a field day, they loved it.

I think I should stick with just a couple of ones, just need ones that come in larger cans feeding 8 cats with those little cans is very expensive, hence I'm trying to get onto the homemade food.

Any advice is appreciated and should I be worry about the weight loss?
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Rosie - 1999
Callie and Tigger, brother and sister - 2001
Akira - 2010
Peanut - 2010
Spencer - 2013
Trey our 3 legged terror - 2014
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Old June 6th, 2013, 10:09 AM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Thank you for empathy. It's tough seeing my kids not eat their food, lose weight and generally look miserable. I almost lost my boy to lack of food intact a couple of years ago, so I panic more when he does not eat. He's thin as it is and can't afford to lose any more.

Oh the stress..why do we do it? Cause we love them SIGH
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Rosie - 1999
Callie and Tigger, brother and sister - 2001
Akira - 2010
Peanut - 2010
Spencer - 2013
Trey our 3 legged terror - 2014
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