I need to help my sick little old cat to eat

[peekyboo]

Hi all,

My cat was diagnosed with a nasal cancer 18 months ago. They said at the time there was a small chance it was actually a growth caused by cat hiv rather than cancer. Here we are, all this time later, so whatever it is moves slowly.

He's doing well, considering. Had a quiet life, little walks outside, still plays sometimes, snuggles most of the day, etc. He's now 13.

He's disabled, I've had him since birth and had to hand feed him while he was little. So he's used to being offered food by me. He's keen to try food too, but the nasal blockage makes it hard for him to smell it.

I've tried sardines, tuna, turkey and pork mince, chicken, ham, etc. He's eaten some Lick-e-lix tonight, but not sure how great that is, or whether it might make him too thirsty.

Any other suggestions? He's managing to eat some chicken fillet so we're not at the 'doom' stage yet. I want to keep him eating so we don't reach it, or until his condition changes.

Sorry for the long explanation, he's my baby!

Pork is a no no.
Will he eat ordinary cat food mushed up with a little bit of water mushed in so he is getting enough liquid

When cats have been ill I've given cat food mixed with water in a syringe, or is it not that bad yet?

When my cat is off her food she is still tempted by the tomato sauce from tinned mackerel fillets in tomato sauce (Tesco or Lidl’s), also frozen prawns defrosted, though I worry a bit about the salt content with those.

Have you tried warming food slightly? Just a few seconds in the microwave is enough so it smells stronger and more tempting to eat.
Our old girl liked still warm boiled chicken or turkey breast-the smell of it cooking was tempting.

He does like chicken when it's just cooked. I tried warming the sardines and it didn't seem to help, he needs to feel like those.

It hasn't reached the syringe stage but I am thinking of getting the awful gravy stuff again, I can't remember what it's called but it's in a tube and is meant to replace food when it's an emergency.

I didn't realise they weren't meant to have pork!

He quite likes his cat food if he's in the mood. I hadn't thought of adding water.

He does like the tomato sauce/water/oil on the sardines - he's tried all of them when Tesco has substituted.

The good thing is that he was brought up by our old dog and she taught him to eat anything, so if he's well enough, he's willing to try anything I point at. But when his blockage moves and he can't smell, it's much harder.

It would help if I knew for certain what was wrong. I'm of course very happy he's still here, but I have the element of doubt that he could be having different treatment.

Why is pork a no no? Cheddar loves a bit of pork chop?

I used Royal Canin Recovery formula when Magic was critically ill. She took it from a syringe.

Lilys kitchen original chicken or fish ones, mash them up completely. Only thing my old girl would eat when she was poorly

A smear of Shippams paste on the food to get him interested? It has a very strong smell and we’ve used it in the past to hide medication for our cats.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll be trying every one of them.

He's had a good day today, and stuffed himself with turkey mince. So fingers crossed I can keep up the momentum.

Toddler cats could catch pseudorabies from eating pork which is lethal. Here is a link www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_ct_pseudorabies_virus_infection%20

When my cat was old and struggled to eat I bought those tiny gourmet gold tins which are like mousse or some have tiny bits in.

I also gave her cat milk and simmered her frozen white fish fillets - just the cheap value bag.

Sorry to hear your cat has been poorly. I look after a cat with sinus problems and it can be really hard to get him interested. Things that have worked when he stops eating are, as already said, warming up the food, wafer thin packet ham, cat biscuits soaked in hot water until soft and then mushed up, Whiskas crunch sprinkled on anything - it's totally random what works, I've never found a magic ingredient that works every time. If he's not eating I'm pleased if he'll take anything at all as it tends to kick start his appetite again for a while. I also try blending the food with a bit of warm water - sometimes he seems to find lapping up liquid food easier than taking a mouthful of food. He also has a raised cat bowl so he doesn't have to lean forwards too much and block his sinuses further. He likes company when he eats so I spend a lot of time sitting on the floor. So glad to hear your cat has eaten today.

@HoppityChicken Soooo much sitting on the floor! But also his brother tries to steal his food!

I haven't tried the whiskas crunch stuff and hadn't thought of soaking the biscuits.

@chocolatespiders He wasn't bothered about those gold tins but the other cats were instantly addicted!

We've used Liquivite with poorly cats before now. Our old lady has regular Lickelix (2 a day) as it's the easiest way to get crushed tablets into her. You could try poaching fish in milk and then dishing up the whole thing.

You don't need to worry about pseudorabies in the UK our last outbreak was 1989 so currently we are considered free. Even if we had it well cooked pork products are fine.
We find in the clinic hot cooked chicken off the counters in the supermarkets to be one of the best tempting foods and of cat foods encore is the most likely to get a cat to eat.

Oh I feel for you OP. I've struggled to feed both of my madcats in their last days. The key challenge is to make sure they stay hydrated when they are reluctant to eat. A couple of suggestions:

• pilchards in tomato - mushed (vet suggested this as they are really smelly)
• tempt with treat first. I found that my old boy would suddenly get interested in food if he'd just eaten a treat (I am not sure if he recognised the shape and was tempted that way...maybe it was the smell).

Thanks for all the suggestions.

So far this week he's developed a deep interest in Asda turkey mince, eaten straight from the full tub. Needless to say, the fridge is piled high so if he goes off it, the other cats are well catered for.

I'm crossing everything this carries on long enough for him to put some weight on!

You can get special food from vets which is like a mousse, but specially formulated to tempt poorly pusses with little appetite.

Maybe get some of that in as back up?

My vet recommended Nutribound when my elderly cat wouldn't eat. It's liquid that you put on the food which is meant to stimulate the appetite. It really helped. You can buy it online. Might be with having a look or checking if your vet thinks it's suitable.

How about Dreamies? Obviously as a supplement to food, but it will get extra calories into him.