Introducing Betty White

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stand with ukraine
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(I know you said you're on your way out to the shelter, now. So maybe drop by a store and buy some 'vitamin C lozenges' or 'throat lozenges' for yourself, too. Sometimes helps if you are feeling dehydrated, and not drinking enough water, or getting any tickling in your throat, too. Hoping your taste buds come back, since...wow...swimming in tobasco sauce...would make my taste buds burn.🌶)

Did you try any of the old tricks...like slightly warming up the cat food, with a bit of warm water, and mushing it around?
Using some 'toppers'...like tarasgirl06 tarasgirl06 's mentioned. Crumbling some treats, (animal digest) onto the food?

Maybe Betty is just used to 'one sort of texture'...so she does not really find the wet food types...appealing?
Good Luck daftcat75 daftcat75 .
Stay Well.
Edit to add:...and Feel better soon.
 

tarasgirl06

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I'm on the hold line waiting for someone to answer at the shelter. I don't think they will. The shelter has seemed to go into "we can't do 💩" mode ever since the pandemic hit. And it finally forwarded to voicemail. 🤦‍♂️ Who knows how many days it would take for them to return my call. I guess I'm getting on some clothes and pulling myself together for an in-person visit to see if they can send me home with some of her shelter food. I could possibly buy more through the vet until we can transition.

She did take a few more bites of the Rawz. It's not totally offensive. Maybe she'll warm up to that one. Figures. She wants the hardest to find food. 🤦‍♂️
Well, but you know how cats can be. Sometimes when Baby Su is reluctant, my roomie goes in there and talks to her while offering her food. Very often, she'll eat for her! This feral kitten who never liked any other human but me, and only liked two cats, seems to really love her. She lets her stroke her, too!!! Maybe Betty likes to be talked to while she eats -- and/or even stroked?
Really hope you can get someone at the shelter to help you out! I know, so many shelters have really dropped the ball. They need to pick it back up again.
 
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daftcat75

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Shelter didn't have any food to offer me. But they told me it was Science Diet Adult Cat: wet and dry. So I went with the chicken flavor in dry. I picked up four cans of chicken in wet and two cans in fish flavors since they didn't tell me which flavor they feed. 🤦‍♂️ And I already know they won't answer their phone. I also picked up a couple of "tins" of Sheba Perfect Portions. It seems like something she might go for. And if not, I'm only out half the amount as the other portion can remain sealed for another cat (or this one in another mood.)

It looks like she nibbled a little more and then "buried it" by kicking the loose end of the mat beneath it over the food plate. She's back to napping in her nook. I'll finish up my day here before I plate some SD for her. If she'll eat this, I have literally the rest of her life to steer her to what I'd rather she eat. I'll also set out some kibble for her for the overnight as much as I didn't want to be feeding her kibble. It's better she eats enough first and then we can work on eating better. Shoot! I forgot to pick up the FortiFlora. If she'll eat the dry, I'll just crumble that over her wet. 😬🤞
 

tarasgirl06

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Shelter didn't have any food to offer me. But they told me it was Science Diet Adult Cat: wet and dry. So I went with the chicken flavor in dry. I picked up four cans of chicken in wet and two cans in fish flavors since they didn't tell me which flavor they feed. 🤦‍♂️ And I already know they won't answer their phone. I also picked up a couple of "tins" of Sheba Perfect Portions. It seems like something she might go for. And if not, I'm only out half the amount as the other portion can remain sealed for another cat (or this one in another mood.)

It looks like she nibbled a little more and then "buried it" by kicking the loose end of the mat beneath it over the food plate. She's back to napping in her nook. I'll finish up my day here before I plate some SD for her. If she'll eat this, I have literally the rest of her life to steer her to what I'd rather she eat. I'll also set out some kibble for her for the overnight as much as I didn't want to be feeding her kibble. It's better she eats enough first and then we can work on eating better. Shoot! I forgot to pick up the FortiFlora. If she'll eat the dry, I'll just crumble that over her wet. 😬🤞
Sounds like a good plan and even though it wasn't a good outcome with the shelter (they do need every bit of food they have, we know) at least what they fed her is available in stores. As to the dry, that sounds like a good plan; I don't really have any objection to my cats nibbling on a high quality dry like Blue Buffalo. I know feline diets are a highly personal subject, but my many long-lived, healthy cats can't all be wrong and they've always eaten both wet and dry. Before BB I fed them Nutro adult chicken, and salmon. They loved both. As long as a cat has plenty of fresh water available, I don't have a problem with having some dry in the diet. Both Baby Su and Elvis love their water and after I looked up how much water a cat should drink, I don't think they are drinking too much. Elvis loves his fountain; Suha just drinks from her bowl at her feeding station. We all drink tap water.

Burying food is something people argue about, too, but in observing wild felids, I believe it's their way of concealing their prey until they return to it. I don't think it's a gesture of disgust or dislike.
 
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daftcat75

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I have also successfully moved her litterbox to the larger enclosure specifically for that purpose. This is great because the box in her safe room was behind my desk chair. She thought I should be working from the beach this morning. 😹🌴
 
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daftcat75

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She’s finally starting to eat. I’ve lost track of how much because of the different foods and different plates I tried with her. A few bites of Fancy Feast. Maybe half a 3 oz can of Rawz rabbit, maybe 1/4 can of Science Diet. And maybe an 1/4 cup or Science Diet Dry. I gotta meet her where she is rather than trying to get her where I want her out of the gate. I have literally the rest of her life to work on her diet. 😻👍 Less if she doesn’t eat. 😿
 

dustydiamond1

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She’s finally starting to eat. I’ve lost track of how much because of the different foods and different plates I tried with her. A few bites of Fancy Feast. Maybe half a 3 oz can of Rawz rabbit, maybe 1/4 can of Science Diet. And maybe an 1/4 cup or Science Diet Dry. I gotta meet her where she is rather than trying to get her where I want her out of the gate. I have literally the rest of her life to work on her diet. 😻👍 Less if she doesn’t eat. 😿
She'll eat. If she ate at the shelter she'll eat for you, it's just a matter of figuring out what. Just remember she has had so many changes in such of a short time that she probably needs the comfort of familiar kibble, texture is pretty important. Gypsy doesn't overeat so for dry we free feed Purina One Hairball formula. I chose it when she adopted us 5yrs ago due the lack of recalls. We rotate ff gravy lovers, Sheba wet single portions in gravy and ff petites in gravy. She likes the ff cheddar delights in gravy but it is impossible to find on the shelves now. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon.
 

dustydiamond1

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She’s finally starting to eat. I’ve lost track of how much because of the different foods and different plates I tried with her. A few bites of Fancy Feast. Maybe half a 3 oz can of Rawz rabbit, maybe 1/4 can of Science Diet. And maybe an 1/4 cup or Science Diet Dry. I gotta meet her where she is rather than trying to get her where I want her out of the gate. I have literally the rest of her life to work on her diet. 😻👍 Less if she doesn’t eat. 😿
:clap::clap2::yeah::lovecat2::hangin:
 

Lari

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If I recall when I got Lelia she was on Purina pro plan. I planned to switch her to Wellness because that's what my not yet husband was feeding his cat. I bought a small bag of the pro plan and slowly mixed in more and more of my choice kibble. But she took to the wet food right away. If course, she was only 4 months, so not as set in her ways.
 
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daftcat75

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She ate a little bit of everything last night. But the only plate that was clean in the morning was the kibble. This morning she was all yelling and very little eating. She took a number of bites of Fancy Feast. But didn’t touch the Science Diet wet or dry. I can’t wait until I find something that excites her. I mean besides the banana.
436C9FA3-0EE4-4BB2-B778-BE9E27055549.jpeg
Maybe we’ll look at some commercial raw this weekend.
 
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daftcat75

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Oh YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And good news about the grazing. As long as she's eating and enjoying! And of course, she's a banana lover. What cat isn't?:winkcat:
I'm just not sure how much she's enjoying her food. She's very reluctant to eat. When she does, it's just a few mouthfuls. It makes me wonder if she doesn't have some mouth pain. She does follow me around and talk to me like she's hungry though.

So far, Fancy Feast Classic chicken is the favorite of all of them. But she's still not even eating a can. And today, she's got kibble out and FF and Rawz rabbit and even Tiki Cat Ahi Tuna with Crab. She took one sniff and that was it. I must have the strange cat who doesn't like fish.

Vet doesn't have an appointment for her until Feb 15. I booked that. We still have more food to try and I'll try the other Rawz and some commercial raw with her this weekend. But if her eating doesn't pick up, I may call around to see which vet does have an earlier opening. Worst case: we go to the ER. Neither of us want to do that because it's generally a long wait in the car waiting for them to come get us. Starting tonight, I will weigh what I plate, and what I pick up. Need to make certain she's nibbling enough.
 

tarasgirl06

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I'm just not sure how much she's enjoying her food. She's very reluctant to eat. When she does, it's just a few mouthfuls. It makes me wonder if she doesn't have some mouth pain. She does follow me around and talk to me like she's hungry though.

So far, Fancy Feast Classic chicken is the favorite of all of them. But she's still not even eating a can. And today, she's got kibble out and FF and Rawz rabbit and even Tiki Cat Ahi Tuna with Crab. She took one sniff and that was it. I must have the strange cat who doesn't like fish.

Vet doesn't have an appointment for her until Feb 15. I booked that. We still have more food to try and I'll try the other Rawz and some commercial raw with her this weekend. But if her eating doesn't pick up, I may call around to see which vet does have an earlier opening. Worst case: we go to the ER. Neither of us want to do that because it's generally a long wait in the car waiting for them to come get us. Starting tonight, I will weigh what I plate, and what I pick up. Need to make certain she's nibbling enough.
*PRAYERS* and best thoughts and wishes for Betty! Elvis isn't that much of a fish fan, either. It may just take a little more time for her to feel comfortable enough to really work up an appetite.
How are you feeling, too?
 
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daftcat75

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*PRAYERS* and best thoughts and wishes for Betty! Elvis isn't that much of a fish fan, either. It may just take a little more time for her to feel comfortable enough to really work up an appetite.
How are you feeling, too?
So I’m a ball of nerves. I thought adopting a new cat would calm me down. But I’m more stressed than I have been in nearly 18 months. I think I heard her nibbling at the plate while I was out of the room. But I don’t see much of a difference when I returned. My one solace is that she ate nearly 30-40 grams of kibble last night for 6 to 8 lbs worth of cat. She’s 9 lbs. For now…But she doesn’t seem to have touched her kibble this morning or today. 🤦🏼‍♂️😿 And this business of not getting into the vet for two weeks is 🐂💩
 
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daftcat75

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But as for the mystery illness? Well that came and went uneventfully. I may have been dehydrated as I only drank a large coffee and a beer on Betty’s first day home. Then I didn’t sleep much at all that first night. Head and heart feel fine. Until I think about whether Betty is eating enough and if she’s got something yet undiagnosed like dental grief. 🤦🏼‍♂️😿
 
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daftcat75

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Yay Betty! She looks so happy. This is great news! :cloud9:
She’s a sweetheart and definitely a daddy’s girl already. But I’m still struggling to determine if she’s eating enough. She yells at me like she’s hungry. But only eats a few mouthfuls. But then she keeps talking like I’m supposed to give her something else? 🤷🏼‍♂️ She currently has three different wet to choose from (with a Tiki Cat fish wildcard she keeps rejecting): Fancy Feast Classic Chicken pate, Rawz rabbit pate, and Science Diet Adult Chicken. She also has a plate of the Science Diet kibble. She only ever seems to take a few mouthfuls. Regular vet is booked for two weeks. 🤦🏼‍♂️🐂💩 Emergency vet is going to be too stressful since we would have to wait in the car for hours until a cat doc is available. Dogs get much better service at the ER. 😾
 
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