Max

[jan]

Hya again all,
I first posted about Max fourteen months ago when I found this excellent and friendly forum. I was really worried about him for various reasons and all the support was fantastic. Now I am posting for some more help and support.

Max would be 18 on April 30 th but the way he is all of a sudden with his eating has me very concerned. He has kidney problems and has been exclusively on senior cat food for the last fourteen months. He loves it, eats like a mad thing (or at least he did) and is very vocal for his food normally which I always take as a good sign.

Last Thursday I deviated a bit from his usual food routine, |I spoiled him with a bit of ham, a bit of corned beef and he wolfed it down. He ate a bit of grated cheese, even took a few oven chips and started eating them off my plate when I had finsihed eating my tea. All this on top of his normal senior food, he drank loads (which isnt unusual) but I smiled at how much he was enjoying his food.

I know over the weekend I ran out his favourite senior food and he turned his nose up at the whiskers senior pouches which he usually ate. Monday I managed to get him some of his usual food and thought he would wolf it down. A few feeble mouthfuls and not interested.

And so it has continued. I watched him and he seems to start off but drop the food, have another go and lose interest. So mindful that a cat must eat (and Max is very thin now despite his former appetite but I know older "kidney" cats do get very thin) I have offered him chicken breast slices I bought specially, yes... wolfs it down. Now we are on ham slices (not the best thing as I tried it and it is slightly salty) and yep, wolfed it down. Every time it is offered, soon perks up and grabs it. Seems to be eating and chewing faily okay, drops it sometimes, but eats it mainly. luncheon meat, the same, but his own food, or even normal cat food cus I was so desperate the other day I tried that, few tastes and no. Still drinking plenty.

Anyway, I am sure I read someone mixed condensed milk with cat food and made a lickable paste for their cat to lap? I am about to go out and purchase a mixer as I dont have one, some condensed milk and hope I got that right! Sounds yukky to me but any one have any other ideas. Max seems well enough in himself apart from this eating issue. My son says I have spoiled him with the treats but he really does nt seem keen on the food he used to wolf down. Any advice very appreciated.

Thanking you as always, Jan x

[Kay]

Poor Max.

It is possible that his taste buds are not working as well as they did and that is why the human foods are more appealing then his bland senior food. I have only ever heard of condensed milk being used as a baby milk supplement but it is used with other ingredients. I would imagine that condensed milk would be far too rich for Max and may cause issues with his toileting, like the runs. As he is already thin due to age and his kidneys this is something you should avoid.

Considering Max's age my inclination would be to feed him what he will eat at least for the time being. I would also suggest trying him with other cat foods especially fish ones as these appear to be the tastiest, I haven't tried them myself though, just going off my cat's preferences.

While it isn't good to completely feed him on our foods getting him to eat at all out weighs this. My friend's cat wouldn't eat cat food when she first got her so she sprinkled fish food (the flakes) on the cat food and she ate. Might be worth a try.

[angieh]

I am sorry to hear about Max. This sounds just like how my Merlin was - also a kidney cat, who had been on renal food for so many years that the same makers had changed the recipe and look three times during those years. He suddenly refused to eat it. Luckily, I was able to get him over onto senior food which he ate for several years after and only in the last few months was he very very picky. I tried just about everything, knowing as you say that it's better to eat something than nothing at all. His favourite was poached chicken breast which I hand fed him. He also sometimes ate white fish, again poached.

You may feel like trying to cook for him and I am sure that there is a link somewhere on this forum to a recipe from Dr Michael Fox, an American vet which ensures that your cat gets all necessary nutrients. I will try and find it. Of course, it would be very frustrating if you went to loads of trouble and Max refused that too.

Here's the link:

http://www.twobitdog.com/DrFox/Dr-Fox-Cat-Food-Recipe

There are also other links in this thread:

http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=35162

[dandysmom]

I think I'd discuss this with your vet. Any food is better than no food, considering his age and thinness, but he's not getting all the necessary elements in the people food, plus probably too much salt. I agree that some smelly fish might perk his appetite up. have you tried sardines? It's so worrying when they won't eat!

[farthing]

Hi Jan,
sorry to hear about Max, and thank you for taking the time to write about Spice. Are you sure Max's teeth are OK, this is our major problem with Spive- she is only eating Hi-life petit pate blended with cat milk, added to which is her ipakitine and rubenal. Have you asked for vit B12 injections, not only do they help with anaemia but they tend to help with appetite. In the worst case you could try steriod injections which are good for giving an appetite, although they hold risks, especially if the animal has a heart murmer.
Hope this is of some help.

[calismum]

All great advice above - can I add sometimes heating the food just a little can help, think it brings out the smell which will perhaps stimulate his appetite abit. Hope you manage to find a solution.

[Elaine]

Loads of good advice there. But I'll add my two penneth anyway
I would try to avoid the salty stuff, corned beef is very salty as is ham, a tiny bit now and then shouldnt do too much harm. Be careful with the condenced milk incase it upsets his tummy, if he gets the runs, he will dehydrate very very quickly given his CRF status.
When was his last blood test? Might be an idea to have his T4 tested as well as having his teeth checked.
You could try mixing some of his cat food with some sardine or chicken with a fair bit of water, turning it into more of a broth soup kinda consistancy.
You are right that he is better to eat something than nothing, have you tried applaws? The chicken and pumkin one seems to go down very well with most cats, they also do fish ones too.
Zooplus also do foods for cats with kidney issues etc.
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/pet_fo...canned_applaws
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/c...ouches/integra

[Kay]

The trouble with renal diets is that they are very bland due to them being very low in protein. They are the best option for Max's condition but you may need to add a little something to make tham more appealing.

Cats taste buds are no where near as good as ours, they aren't even as good as dogs, and as they get older they lose even more tast sensations therefore something that is smelly will attract them more. This is where fish comes in as it does tend to be on the smelly side.

Try a renal diet mixed with a bit of wet cat food fish flavour.

[dandysmom]

That's why cats often go off their food when they have a stuffed up nose, can't smell it, and to a cat "smells good = tastes good. Eat!"

[Kay]

Originally Posted by dandysmom

That's why cats often go off their food when they have a stuffed up nose, can't smell it, and to a cat "smells good = tastes good. Eat!"

Got it in one Eileen . Glad our taste buds work ok as my nose is often blocked up due to CAT allergies