Cat Is Sick

[lindalee]

Hi everyone,

My 14 year old cat has been losing weight and suspect the food/allergies. Took him to the vet and he was put on antibiotics which probably gave him some yeast-not sure. Took him off the dry food and have been giving him cooked chicken and broth and he improved - he loves friskies in the can. Does anyone have this issue going on? Thanks,

[gfp]

Hi everyone,

My 14 year old cat has been losing weight and suspect the food/allergies. Took him to the vet and he was put on antibiotics which probably gave him some yeast-not sure. Took him off the dry food and have been giving him cooked chicken and broth and he improved - he loves friskies in the can. Does anyone have this issue going on? Thanks,

My cat never got canned or dried food except when he was in a cattery and he was always sick after....

chicken broth is fine.. probably a damned site better than the tinned and dried stuff... anyway...

Cat's are fussy differently to us... they don't mind offcuts and the like and can eat around almost anything they don't wanna eat... like tiny bones...

ours loved raw beef chicken we always cooked but lightly and just microwaved it in a bit of water... (note let it cool... our cat used to miow and miow when he smelt it and then burn himself if we didn't hide it to cool...

Lots of time I'd just trim a steak and cut off gristle and stuff and just give it to the cat... and he'd remove all the meat and leave the gristle and fat...

Don't worry about raw beef... I mean he's probably been eating raw birds and rodents most of his life....

If he's not hungry ... he's not hungry... cat's self recurperative powers seem amazing... they seem to know what they need themselves mostly... quite often if they do get an upset tummy they fast... ours used to damage his stomach by swallowing beaks... course first time we were REALLY worried he pooped blood... took him to a REALLY good vet by chance and it took her no time to diagnose (we thought he'd been poisioned) she xrayed him and showed us the beak... and just said it would dissolve itself slowly.. and when we asked what to feed him she just laughed and said... he'll probably not want much...

I say REALLY REALLY good vet because most couldn't get within 10' of our cat.... one he bit right threw the hawking glove she was wearing... This one... never seen ANYTHING like it... he stood there while she stook a finger up his bum..(to find the beak).. she seriously had a way with cat's! Anyway she gave us loads of advice, turned out she was the cat specialist at the vet college... and she always told us.. just give em meat, raw if they like... at the time my ex did question her and she just laughed and asked how many birds do we think he eats/kills.. and does cooking at leasy hygenic beeef make sense?

[2kids4me]

If he's not hungry ... he's not hungry... cat's self recurperative powers seem amazing... they seem to know what they need themselves mostly... quite often if they do get an upset tummy they fast..

Cats cannot go for too many days without eating - they develop liver issues (hepatic lipidosis). I refer to a cat not eating ANYTHING . If your cat is drinking broth and chicken that will provide calories.

I am glad you took your kitty to the vet. Did they check his urine? It's a cheap/easy way t see if kidney function is okay.

Common things in the older cat that can cause weight loss - kidney issues and hyperthyroidism.

Their GI tract is also more sensitve and they go off their food for no particular reason.

A common thing we see in the spring with cats and dogs - is that they eat the new grass - its tender and yummy but it makes them nauseous if they eat too much.

Sandy

[Phyllis28]

If one of my cats is not eating I put down baby food (meat). Hope your cat feels better.

[lindalee]

Thanks everyone for the helpful info. The vet said he has an overactive thyroid so I have to take him in for medicine. I did give him some steak and chicken tonight. He won't eat it but I usually get up and it is gone. So hopefully he will eat it. He started losing weight last year when I went on vacation last year and has never gained it back. He drinks alot of water though and I stay busy with the litter box. He loves chicken soup but I'm not sure if cats are suppose to eat onions, celery and carrots and parsley. If I have a cup - he wants some. They ran a lot of tests, I will ask about the urine --

[loco-ladi]

Well, I am no vet but I have owned a few cats in my time, only one lasted to the ripe old age of 14 and in my opinion if he wants onion breath by golly let him eat onions how many girlfriends does he have that will mind anyways?

On a more serious note hope he gets to feeling better very soon.

[Felidae]

Please don't let him eat onions as they are not good for cats and dogs. You could try sardines. That's how I got my sick guy eating again. Then I managed to find some canned food that he liked for a little while.

[lindalee]

Please don't let him eat onions as they are not good for cats and dogs. You could try sardines. That's how I got my sick guy eating again. Then I managed to find some canned food that he liked for a little while.

That is what I was thinking about the onions. He ate the chicken and steak last night. I am going to try those sardines. Someone mentioned the sardines on another thread. He likes some friskies -mostly chicken and the fancy feast. Thanks for the input everyone.

[2kids4me]

Onions cause more than bad breath! I second the "no onion" rule. It's like saying a lttle wheat cant hurt a celiac.

Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Cats are more susceptible than dogs.

If you feed baby food - check ingredients - many contain onion powder - just as toxic.

Chicken broth, chicken, plain yogurt, chopped up organ meat (kidney, heart, liver), tuna (packed in water) are all good for stimulating the appetite. Once eating again, back to regular diet (whatever the pet was eating before).

Sandy