Help! How Can I Make Baby Food More Nutritionally Complete For Short-term Use?

[cheeser]

We've had a major setback re: Buddy's food allergies after that last course of antibiotics, and for the moment, pork is the only meat that doesn't make him feel nauseated. So now we're just down to Hound & Gatos pork, and even then, he doesn't eat enough for a cat his size.

To try to make up the difference, and to keep him hydrated since we almost never see him drink water from his bowls, I've been giving Buddy some ham baby food mixed with bone broth, which he gleefully laps up. Alas, the bone broth only tempts his appetite when it's mixed with baby food.

So until we get this mess sorted out, and see if the new prescription antihistamine helps, is there anything we can do to make the baby food more nutritionally complete for Buddy?

 

[duckpond]

I wonder if you could buy the supplements that some use with raw foods?

 

[Furballsmom]

Could you try unflavored gelatin? It's protein. Hang in there!!

 

[lacy2000]

You can mix some nutrical or vitamin paste into his food. You can find it at Petco.

 

[cheeser]

I wonder if you could buy the supplements that some use with raw foods?

I'm willing to give it a try. I just don't have the foggiest idea what I'm looking for, where to buy it, how to use it, etc.

Guess I better get busy scrolling through the Raw & Home-Cooked section.

Thanks!

 

[cheeser]

Could you try unflavored gelatin? It's protein. Hang in there!!

Thanks much!

Right now, Buddy seems to be tolerating the bone broth okay, and it's pretty gelatin-y. But it's always good to have as many options as possible lined up. Bless Buddy's heart, there's never a dull moment around here, and he certainly keeps us on our toes.

I guess I'm mostly concerned about him getting enough taurine and all of those vitamins and minerals that cats are supposed to have while we try to get back on track re: his food allergies.

Ah, I remember the good old days when all we had to do was just buy some cans of Hill's a/d from the vet's office when one of our cats wasn't feeling well. *sighs wistfully*

 

[Furballsmom]

I understand, I was thinking about that (vitamins etal) as I was typing...

 

[cheeser]

You can mix some nutrical or vitamin paste into his food. You can find it at Petco.

I'll look into that and see if it's an option for us. My heart always sinks when I get really excited about a product that comes so highly recommended, and it contains something he's allergic to.

Fingers crossed!

 

[cheeser]

I understand, I was thinking about that (vitamins etal) as I was typing...

Hopefully, God willing, Buddy will be on the mend soon and all of this will be moot. It's just that we've been through so much with him, especially lately, I'd feel just awful if anything bad happened to him that could have been easily prevented. I beat myself up and feel bad enough about the stuff over which I have no control.

 

[Furballsmom]

I beat myself up and feel bad enough about the stuff over which I have no control.

I'm the exact same way (sigh)
anyway, hopefully as you said, today things are better!

 

[orange&white]

I'm willing to give it a try. I just don't have the foggiest idea what I'm looking for, where to buy it, how to use it, etc.

Guess I better get busy scrolling through the Raw & Home-Cooked section.

Thanks!

Hopefully the baby food and broth diet won't go on long enough that you need to worry over extra nutrients. I'd say that the most critical thing to add would be taurine. Other raw diet supplements are B-Complex, E, Lite Salt (for iodine), fish oil (for Omega-3) and egg yolk (optional). You'd also need a calcium source like powdered egg shells. That seems like it would be a big hassle for you though as you would need to stir those into a lot of baby food, then freeze in ice cube trays or other small containers.

Ah. How about Alnutrin or EZ-Complete? Those are pre-mixed supplements intended to be mixed with either just meat or with meat/liver. You probably could add a pinch to the baby food.

You could cook a pork roast, add EZ-Complete then puree it in your blender for homemade "baby food".

But hopefully Buddy will be feeling better soon and eating his cat food again without you needing to have this additional stress.

 

[cheeser]

I'm the exact same way (sigh)
anyway, hopefully as you said, today things are better!

Thanks, hon!

It's a little frustrating right now, because on top of everything else, a couple of neighbors are working on some home improvement projects at all hours. And doggone it, they have the worst timing! I barely get started trying to feed Buddy, and that awful racket starts up again and makes him a nervous wreck.

 

[Furballsmom]

hmmm, thinking about this, would a white noise something-or-other, like a fan, or sounds of waves, --something, help?

 

[cheeser]

Hopefully the baby food and broth diet won't go on long enough that you need to worry over extra nutrients. I'd say that the most critical thing to add would be taurine. Other raw diet supplements are B-Complex, E, Lite Salt (for iodine), fish oil (for Omega-3) and egg yolk (optional). You'd also need a calcium source like powdered egg shells. That seems like it would be a big hassle for you though as you would need to stir those into a lot of baby food, then freeze in ice cube trays or other small containers.

Ah. How about Alnutrin or EZ-Complete? Those are pre-mixed supplements intended to be mixed with either just meat or with meat/liver. You probably could add a pinch to the baby food.

You could cook a pork roast, add EZ-Complete then puree it in your blender for homemade "baby food".

But hopefully Buddy will be feeling better soon and eating his cat food again without you needing to have this additional stress.

Bless you! I greatly appreciate your help!

Taurine is the one I'm most concerned about, but I'm A-OK with the convenience of a premix covering all the bases.

 

[cheeser]

hmmm, thinking about this, would a white noise something-or-other, like a fan, or sounds of waves, --something, help?

Well, most of the time we can get by with Feliway diffusers, Zylkene, a sound conditioner, a 20" fan that's really noisy and drowns out a lot of ambient noise (we live one street over from a major thoroughfare), and run the radio and/or TV. But the construction noise practically on our back door step is a bit much, and is so loud, you can feel the vibration.

On the bright side, maybe thunderstorms won't bother Buddy quite so much after all of this hammering and whatnot.

 

[Furballsmom]

and is so loud, you can feel the vibration.
On the bright side, maybe thunderstorms won't bother Buddy quite so much after all of this hammering and whatnot.

Oh lordy!! Well, other than a basement and your positive thinking, hopefully they don't take much longer to get done whatever it is they're doing!

 

[white shadow]

Taurine is the one I'm most concerned about, but I'm A-OK with the convenience of a premix covering all the bases.

Hi again cheeser !

From my own experience, I'd advise adding Taurine in addition to any "complete" product you use (Alnutrin/EZ-Complete) - you can get it at 'ordinary' health supplements retailer. I use Now brand capsules as it's pure without 'fillers'. How much/how often/for how long.....here's a post on that: Minnie Has Slightly Elevated Alt & Alkp

And, here's a post on why: Taurine and blindness ?

Hope that helps !
.

 

[cheeser]

Hi again cheeser !

From my own experience, I'd advise adding Taurine in addition to any "complete" product you use (Alnutrin/EZ-Complete) - you can get it at 'ordinary' health supplements retailer. I use Now brand capsules as it's pure without 'fillers'. How much/how often/for how long.....here's a post on that: Minnie Has Slightly Elevated Alt & Alkp

And, here's a post on why: Taurine and blindness ?

Hope that helps !
.

That is indeed most helpful. Thank you so very, VERY much!

 

[lollie]

Thanks, hon!

It's a little frustrating right now, because on top of everything else, a couple of neighbors are working on some home improvement projects at all hours. And doggone it, they have the worst timing! I barely get started trying to feed Buddy, and that awful racket starts up again and makes him a nervous wreck.

They were re-roofing here and I thought my girl was going to have a nervous breakdown. She ended up with a hairball due to more shedding than normal,(which she always has trouble clearing) and I couldn't help her a lot because of her hiding.

At times like those she wants baby food instead of her regular wet. I've purchased taurine to mix with it before, but one sniff and an accusing look, and she wouldn't touch it. Thankfully, she also likes dry food when she has a hairball, so I leave that out.