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I wasn't sure whether to post this in the "Nutrition" thread or here in "Behavior," so, if after reading, you think it should go in "Nutrition," feel free to move this!
I have a problem.
We have three kitties; Tripod (born with three legs, domestic shorthair, 12 years old), Nicodemus von Wittykitty (domestic shorthair, 4 1/2 years old), and Prince Legolas of Mirkwood (long hair, 11 years old).
Legolas is the most recent addition to our cat family; we adopted him from our local animal rescue July 10th of this year.
All three of these cats are "picky eaters." Up until we adopted Legolas, Tripod and Nicodemus were strictly dry food only, free-feeding. Neither one of them had any interest in wet food (certainly not any "people food"), nor would they eat any cat treats. As a matter of fact, they both turned up their noses at TUNA!
To further complicate matters, Tripod has always had issues with diarrhea and frequent vomiting (clear liquid). After a lot of research and experimentation with different types of dry foods (hampered by my limited income and difficulty getting the cats back and forth to the vet - my daughter and I are both disabled and use wheelchairs full-time for mobility), I finally determined his issue is IBS with diarrhea. Prior to adopting Legolas, I found a dry food that not only do both cats like, but also resolved his diarrhea/vomiting problems (Natural Balance Limited Ingredient). YAY! Tripod is a tiny cat, and he gradually gained roughly two pounds over four months after switching to the Natural Balance (he was about 6 lbs, and weighed 8.2 at his last vet appointment in June).
When we adopted Legolas, with his previous owner he had been on a free-feed (dry food) diet supplemented by a small amount of wet food (served in the evening). Lo and behold, when Tripod saw Legolas eating his wet food, he decided to give it a try and he liked it! (Go figure). So, then the challenge became one of finding a wet food that wouldn't cause Tripod's IBS to flare up, and both kitties would eat. So, I bought a case of cans of the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient wet cat food.
Legolas ate it, but wasn't thrilled. Tripod, on the other hand, LOVED the stuff. So, I began supplementing both cat's diet with a small portion of the wet food every day (about 1/4 - 1/3 of a 5.5 oz. can each for Tripod and Legolas per day).
Everything seemed to be going along just fine, except Tripod has become increasingly obnoxious about the wet food. Meaning, every time I go even NEAR the kitchen, he runs up to me and begins meowing and getting under my wheels. Over the past few weeks, it has become difficult for me to do anything in the kitchen because he won't leave me alone and I'm scared I'll accidentally run over one of his (three remaining) feet. I also noticed he has been spending most of his day lying within a few feet of the cat's food dishes. Waiting. He wants that wet food ALL THE TIME. (These were all hints, obviously, that something is wrong but they apparently escaped my notice).
I should mention here Tripod is the "top cat" in our household cat hierarchy. He's the one who immediately jumps into the litter pans to "christen" them as soon as I clean them every morning, and when I fill their bowls with dry food, he takes a nibble out of each one. That hasn't changed.
Three days ago, Tripod jumped up on my bed and as I was petting him, I thought to myself "Gee, is he losing weight? He seems thinner!" I mentally reviewed the past couple of weeks - was he vomiting again? No. Was his appetite still good? Absolutely. I then wondered if perhaps he was having diarrhea again, so I started following him when I saw he was headed to the litter pans - but no evidence of diarrhea.
Stumped, I thought maybe I was imagining things and perhaps he wasn't losing weight. Then, yesterday afternoon a friend stopped by for the first time in a couple of weeks. Tripod ran to her to greet her, she started petting him, and said to me "Is Tripod losing weight? He's thinner!"
Okay, so it's not my imagination. Trying desperately to figure out what is going on, I asked myself whether he was still visiting the bowls of dry food as often as he had before we introduced the wet food. Thinking back, I realized he wasn't. While he always took a bite or two when I filled the bowls in the morning, I couldn't recall seeing him actually doing much eating of the dry food other than that.
Last night, I did a little experiment; there was 2/3 of a 5.5 can of cat food left from the previous night, and I put all of it in his bowl. He quickly gobbled down the entire thing. Now, if he'd been eating the dry food throughout the day as he did before we began giving him wet food, I don't think he'd have had the appetite to eat all of it in one go.
I can't believe this, but I think Tripod is literally starving himself during the day in the hope of getting more wet food! (Before last night, after eating his portion of 1/4 can, he wanted more. But instead of going to the dry food, he'd just keep following me and meowing. I suppose I thought he was eating the dry food after I went to bed, realizing no more wet food was forthcoming, but apparently that's not the case).
Here's the problem: I simply cannot afford to have Tripod on an all wet food diet, especially due to the cost of the food he needs to control his IBS w/diarrhea. (He's also had some dental issues resulting in multiple extractions, so he needs to be eating at least some dry food). I calculated how much it would cost to feed him the wet food exclusively, and it's around 100.00/month. I can't do it.
I'm really stumped here. Should I cut out his wet food entirely so he'll go back to the dry food? (I feed Legolas his wet food in another room, behind a closed door, so if I do cut out the wet food for Tripod, he won't have access to Legolas' portion). Do I run the risk of Tripod refusing to eat AT ALL if I cut out the wet food?
(BTW - Legolas won't eat tuna, either. How did I manage to end up with THREE cats, all of whom hate tuna? LOL!)
I really appreciate any guidance you may have to offer regarding this issue with Tripod. I've been a cat guardian my entire life, but this is a problem I've never had, nor could have anticipated.
TwirlyGirly
I have a problem.
We have three kitties; Tripod (born with three legs, domestic shorthair, 12 years old), Nicodemus von Wittykitty (domestic shorthair, 4 1/2 years old), and Prince Legolas of Mirkwood (long hair, 11 years old).
Legolas is the most recent addition to our cat family; we adopted him from our local animal rescue July 10th of this year.
All three of these cats are "picky eaters." Up until we adopted Legolas, Tripod and Nicodemus were strictly dry food only, free-feeding. Neither one of them had any interest in wet food (certainly not any "people food"), nor would they eat any cat treats. As a matter of fact, they both turned up their noses at TUNA!
To further complicate matters, Tripod has always had issues with diarrhea and frequent vomiting (clear liquid). After a lot of research and experimentation with different types of dry foods (hampered by my limited income and difficulty getting the cats back and forth to the vet - my daughter and I are both disabled and use wheelchairs full-time for mobility), I finally determined his issue is IBS with diarrhea. Prior to adopting Legolas, I found a dry food that not only do both cats like, but also resolved his diarrhea/vomiting problems (Natural Balance Limited Ingredient). YAY! Tripod is a tiny cat, and he gradually gained roughly two pounds over four months after switching to the Natural Balance (he was about 6 lbs, and weighed 8.2 at his last vet appointment in June).
When we adopted Legolas, with his previous owner he had been on a free-feed (dry food) diet supplemented by a small amount of wet food (served in the evening). Lo and behold, when Tripod saw Legolas eating his wet food, he decided to give it a try and he liked it! (Go figure). So, then the challenge became one of finding a wet food that wouldn't cause Tripod's IBS to flare up, and both kitties would eat. So, I bought a case of cans of the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient wet cat food.
Legolas ate it, but wasn't thrilled. Tripod, on the other hand, LOVED the stuff. So, I began supplementing both cat's diet with a small portion of the wet food every day (about 1/4 - 1/3 of a 5.5 oz. can each for Tripod and Legolas per day).
Everything seemed to be going along just fine, except Tripod has become increasingly obnoxious about the wet food. Meaning, every time I go even NEAR the kitchen, he runs up to me and begins meowing and getting under my wheels. Over the past few weeks, it has become difficult for me to do anything in the kitchen because he won't leave me alone and I'm scared I'll accidentally run over one of his (three remaining) feet. I also noticed he has been spending most of his day lying within a few feet of the cat's food dishes. Waiting. He wants that wet food ALL THE TIME. (These were all hints, obviously, that something is wrong but they apparently escaped my notice).
I should mention here Tripod is the "top cat" in our household cat hierarchy. He's the one who immediately jumps into the litter pans to "christen" them as soon as I clean them every morning, and when I fill their bowls with dry food, he takes a nibble out of each one. That hasn't changed.
Three days ago, Tripod jumped up on my bed and as I was petting him, I thought to myself "Gee, is he losing weight? He seems thinner!" I mentally reviewed the past couple of weeks - was he vomiting again? No. Was his appetite still good? Absolutely. I then wondered if perhaps he was having diarrhea again, so I started following him when I saw he was headed to the litter pans - but no evidence of diarrhea.
Stumped, I thought maybe I was imagining things and perhaps he wasn't losing weight. Then, yesterday afternoon a friend stopped by for the first time in a couple of weeks. Tripod ran to her to greet her, she started petting him, and said to me "Is Tripod losing weight? He's thinner!"
Okay, so it's not my imagination. Trying desperately to figure out what is going on, I asked myself whether he was still visiting the bowls of dry food as often as he had before we introduced the wet food. Thinking back, I realized he wasn't. While he always took a bite or two when I filled the bowls in the morning, I couldn't recall seeing him actually doing much eating of the dry food other than that.
Last night, I did a little experiment; there was 2/3 of a 5.5 can of cat food left from the previous night, and I put all of it in his bowl. He quickly gobbled down the entire thing. Now, if he'd been eating the dry food throughout the day as he did before we began giving him wet food, I don't think he'd have had the appetite to eat all of it in one go.
I can't believe this, but I think Tripod is literally starving himself during the day in the hope of getting more wet food! (Before last night, after eating his portion of 1/4 can, he wanted more. But instead of going to the dry food, he'd just keep following me and meowing. I suppose I thought he was eating the dry food after I went to bed, realizing no more wet food was forthcoming, but apparently that's not the case).
Here's the problem: I simply cannot afford to have Tripod on an all wet food diet, especially due to the cost of the food he needs to control his IBS w/diarrhea. (He's also had some dental issues resulting in multiple extractions, so he needs to be eating at least some dry food). I calculated how much it would cost to feed him the wet food exclusively, and it's around 100.00/month. I can't do it.
I'm really stumped here. Should I cut out his wet food entirely so he'll go back to the dry food? (I feed Legolas his wet food in another room, behind a closed door, so if I do cut out the wet food for Tripod, he won't have access to Legolas' portion). Do I run the risk of Tripod refusing to eat AT ALL if I cut out the wet food?
(BTW - Legolas won't eat tuna, either. How did I manage to end up with THREE cats, all of whom hate tuna? LOL!)
I really appreciate any guidance you may have to offer regarding this issue with Tripod. I've been a cat guardian my entire life, but this is a problem I've never had, nor could have anticipated.
TwirlyGirly
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