I Don't Know What To Do - 15+yo Cat

[Furballsmom]

I guess I was thinking if there's some calorie dense food available, but if she doesn't lose weight, like you say, (or loses just a tad to become a bit more svelte ), you're right and it's just not an issue ...

 

[daftcat75]

She already eats 4 meals a day - and it still takes at least 1/2 hour to get her to eat just a little over 2 oz each time. She is ready to quit eating after that, so I would have to try to squeeze in a 5th meal!! OMG! Not sure if that is possible!?!?

I think I am going to try to ensure she keeps getting at least 250 calories a day, and continue to weigh her at least once/week for a few more weeks just to see if there is any weight loss at all. It isn't like she couldn't stand to lose some weight, so all is not lost if she wants to stay around 250 calories/day I guess - I just don't her to lose too much at once. But, apparently, that doesn't seem to be an issue at the rate we are going!!

I have been giving Krista about 1/2 to 2/3 of a Stella and Chewy's Selects medallion (about 12 grams) at three of her four scheduled meals. These are very calorically dense at 1.88 calories per gram. That's worth 1.5 grams of her canned food. She doesn't seem to notice the extra half ounce she's been eating at each meal. But I've been seeing the difference in her coat, appetite, energy, and weight recovery. I wish I could feed her more of the stuff. But it's very meaty and difficult for a toothless Krista to get through. I cut it with scissors and serve it 5 grams at a time. Otherwise she gets discouraged with all the "chewing" and a big pile still to get through. Maybe Feeby would also enjoy the Selects as an easy and enjoyable way to get more calories in her. Presumably she has more teeth than Krista and won't need the extra project management.

I also use timed feeders to give Krista access to daytime and overnight snacks.

Krista is about half the cat that Feeby is at 7.4 lbs and she's been averaging over 8 oz and 300 calories now. She is however still getting mirtazapine every other day. I don't feel like letting up on that until she's back to a healthy weight again. Maybe 8.5 or 9 lbs.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks!

Stella and Chewy's Selects medallion (about 12 grams) at three of her four scheduled meals. These are very calorically dense at 1.88 calories per gram. That's worth 1.5 grams of her canned food. She doesn't seem to notice the extra half ounce she's been eating at each meal. But I've been seeing the difference in her coat, appetite, energy, and weight recovery. I wish I could feed her more of the stuff. But it's very meaty and difficult for a toothless Krista to get through. I cut it with scissors and serve it 5 grams at a time.

If the food you are talking about is anything other than pate, that is 'out' with Feeby. Even with all of her teeth intact , she only laps/licks at wet food. Won't eat anything 'chunky'. That is one of the reasons I increased her FF since it is more calorically dense than her urinary care food - which I refuse to give up on totally (yet). Her urinary care food is about 155 calories per 5.5 oz, FF is averaging 95 per 3.0 oz.

I also use timed feeders to give Krista access to daytime and overnight snacks.

With her canned food, I have to scoop and re-scoop her food multiple times per meal. Once she has licked it 'flat' it's a 'no go', until it is scooped back up again - so, timed feeders wouldn't get me much of anywhere. I do leave dry food out all the time, but with 4 meals, she is totally disinterested in it. Occasionally, she will eat like 4-5 morsels.

She is a PIA to be sure, even if she is my PIA!

 

[Furballsmom]

Ummm, let me think.... maybe a different brand kibble?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Ummm, let me think.... maybe a different brand kibble?

I tried Purina dry urinary care in addition to her standard urinary care kibble, didn't make a difference in terms of her interest. Maybe I should try Meow Mix - !!!!

 

[daftcat75]

Thanks!
If the food you are talking about is anything other than pate, that is 'out' with Feeby. Even with all of her teeth intact , she only laps/licks at wet food. Won't eat anything 'chunky'. That is one of the reasons I increased her FF since it is more calorically dense than her urinary care food - which I refuse to give up on totally (yet). Her urinary care food is about 155 calories per 5.5 oz, FF is averaging 95 per 3.0 oz.

With her canned food, I have to scoop and re-scoop her food multiple times per meal. Once she has licked it 'flat' it's a 'no go', until it is scooped back up again - so, timed feeders wouldn't get me much of anywhere. I do leave dry food out all the time, but with 4 meals, she is totally disinterested in it. Occasionally, she will eat like 4-5 morsels.

She is a PIA to be sure, even if she is my PIA!

The Selects is the boneless option that is supposed to be like Rad Cat. But Krista didn't have to chew quite so much with Rad Cat. Then again, Rad Cat was not this calorically dense. Rad Cat came in around 1.07 calories per gram. So this is nearly twice as "meaty" (calorically dense.) Krista can get away with eating far less and still collecting benefits from them. I don't know that a food processor would work against these dense meat cubes, but maybe my grinder might make it more a lickable texture.

Speaking of lickable texture, Rawz has a Rabbit and Pumpkin Pate that comes out very smooth without the use of xanthan gum which runs right through Krista like a river. By contrast, the rabbit and pumpkin pate is helping us achieve poop stability we seemed to have lost to her bout with clostridium this summer. Even after that passed, it seems the turkey pate no longer agrees with her pooper like it used to.

I'm surprised and grateful Krista uses the timed feeders at all. Before them, I was having to feed her around the clock to keep the acid barfs away. Sometimes she manages to clean both feeders before her next meal. Most times, I'm picking up half of what I put in there. But her meal planning includes her scheduled meals only with the feeders being bonus half portions to keep the acid barfs away. She doesn't get dry food so the feeders bridge the long daytime and overnight gap between her scheduled meals.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Feeby's poops are good - not messing with that aspect, if I can help it!! She is fed approx. 8ish AM, and then every 4-5 hours thereafter, with a brief interruption for hairball/Glyco Flex treat in the late afternoon. She sometimes gets a bite or two from our dinner (fish, chicken, turkey, beef), so that delays the last meal, which can be as late as 1AM. At any rate, by the time she finishes her last meal she is ready for bed and doesn't typically get up until I do shortly before 8AM. That is the only aspect of her life where I have trained her (or, so I think) - that is, to sleep overnight! So, unless she is out of her element, there is no time for other food!!

 

[rubysmama]

You've probably already read this, but I'll post the link to this TCS article in case you missed it, or want to read it again.

How To Get A Cat To Gain Weight – Cat Articles

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks! If she continues to maintain her weight on what she is eating now (??!!??), I will be needing an article on 'how to get a cat to lose weight when she already doesn't eat enough'!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Well, another week has passed and Feeby is pretty much status quo at this point in terms of behavior/eating/drinking/litter box use. So, we are 'good on all fronts' for now. In this past week, she averaged 275 calories a day, so I guess I am not going to complain about that. But, I can't say the same about that scale - which I came close to throwing across the room after weighing her this morning!! The scale registered her weight at 14.8 pounds - I know she did NOT lose a pound in the past week. I guess she is just to 'squiggly' to get an accurate reading, or the scale is a hunk of junk! (Replace computer with scale!!)

This is a convertible scale - to be used with or without a tray. So, I took the tray off, weighed myself, and then picked her up and weighed myself again. That reading came out to be 16.0 pounds. I am going to 'go' with that reading; and from now on use the scale as I did today. For as cooperative as she typically is, there is just something about that scale that she does NOT like! I guess she has the 'stereotypical female aversion' to being weighed!?!? (I wasn't impressed with my weight reading, either. )

 

[daftcat75]

Well, another week has passed and Feeby is pretty much status quo at this point in terms of behavior/eating/drinking/litter box use. So, we are 'good on all fronts' for now. In this past week, she averaged 275 calories a day, so I guess I am not going to complain about that. But, I can't say the same about that scale - which I came close to throwing across the room after weighing her this morning!! The scale registered her weight at 14.8 pounds - I know she did NOT lose a pound in the past week. I guess she is just to 'squiggly' to get an accurate reading, or the scale is a hunk of junk! (Replace computer with scale!!)

This is a convertible scale - to be used with or without a tray. So, I took the tray off, weighed myself, and then picked her up and weighed myself again. That reading came out to be 16.0 pounds. I am going to 'go' with that reading; and from now on use the scale as I did today. For as cooperative as she typically is, there is just something about that scale that she does NOT like! I guess she has the 'stereotypical female aversion' to being weighed!?!? (I wasn't impressed with my weight reading, either. )

Wacky scale morning all around perhaps? Krista feels girthier this week. But my scale gave me three different readings for myself and Krista would only let me get two readings of her plus me. The most optimistic combination of those readings only has her at zero loss/zero gain. The other readings have her losing weight again. That can’t be right. She’s eating as many calories as Feeby and weighs half as much. But we’re also in the middle of a food transition so I’m going to keep working that over worrying about her weight right now.

I haven’t been impressed with my own scale readings in a while. I weigh myself naked when I’m trying to track my own weight. But when I’m trying to track Krista’s, I take my reading with clothes so I can say, “well I don’t really know that’s accurate with these clothes on.” I have heard of some cat guardians who will put rocks in their pockets when taking their own reading so that they can more easily dismiss that number and keep the focus on their cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

There's a way to reset/recalibrate these scales I think. With the bathroom scale I have, I just activate it and then let it shut off without actually weighing, then start it again and weigh.

 

[rubysmama]

Well, another week has passed and Feeby is pretty much status quo at this point in terms of behavior/eating/drinking/litter box use. So, we are 'good on all fronts' for now.

For as cooperative as she typically is, there is just something about that scale that she does NOT like! I guess she has the 'stereotypical female aversion' to being weighed!?!? (I wasn't impressed with my weight reading, either. )

 

[FeebysOwner]

In true 'go figure' Feeby style, she slept by my head last night - first time in months! But, it didn't start out that way, given she went to hang out in some strange place in the living room when I was getting ready for bed. So, I picked her up and put her on the bed. Initially, she did her 'now-norm' walk up to the head of the bed and then immediately turn around to get back by my feet to lay down. Only this time, she turned around again and laid down by my head.

She has also picked up eating a bit of her dry food - kind of like she used to do. 4-5 morsels as she passes by the food bowls, here and there throughout the day. Still, mostly no more than 1/16 cup daily, but there were months where she wouldn't touch it at all. So, now I will need to monitor that and slightly reduce her canned food so that she isn't getting too many calories in a day. Speaking of which, this past week she averaged 280 calories per day, and today she weighed 16.2 lbs - assuming you can believe this scale. Of course, I did NOT do what I said I would do and weigh her daily for a week - maybe I will try to remember to do that this coming week
Nonetheless, it would seem that she gained weight on 280 calories?!?!

 

[Furballsmom]

Feeby!!?? Are you hiding a food stash?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Well, I didn't weigh her daily as I said I would, but, did so 3 different times this past week. 16.2, 16.0, and then today 16.2 - take your pick?!?! She averaged 260 calories per day over the past week. I guess she isn't as impressed with her canned food meal schedule as she was, considering she is now consistently eating more morsels of dry in between - but still no more than 1/8 cup in total per day. I am pretty consistent on feeding times though...so, who knows. She does eat a bit less canned as a result, so I guess she is keeping herself 'in check'.

Still loving her bed/box I made - uses it every day and it has replaced coming to bed at night on numerous occasions!! Oh well.

The only thing I cannot figure out is the daily on-and-off squawking - it's not fleas (thankfully), so I am going back to the boredom concept, as I noted in my other thread (What to do for a 15+ yo cat who is bored but doesn't like to play?). If it happens around her feeding times, I feed her. If it happens at other times, I just go over to her and pet her and give her (unwanted) kisses!! I try to play with her using some of her 'old' toys, but that is a big NO THANK YOU. I guess she is just pre-occupying herself by exercising her vocal chords , while she tests my patience and nerves !

 

[Furballsmom]

LOL

 

[rubysmama]

The only thing I cannot figure out is the daily on-and-off squawking

Per What To Expect As Your Cat Ages – Cat Articles, older cats do sometimes start to meow more.

 

[FeebysOwner]

So, after reading the article and thinking about the information that is in it - one of the few things talked about that doesn't come with an explanation is the more frequent vocalizations. I guess I will search the internet to see what I can find, but I guess I am wondering if anyone here has ideas about what is behind this. Just feeling old, less secure, more needy because they know their body is going through changes, and they are seeking attention/security/confirmation?

I am pretty sure this isn't illness related with Feeby since other than being sedentary and napping a lot - which has been going on for years - all else seems to be going OK with her now. The extra squawking started with the flea infestation, but never really let up after that was resolved. At least then, I could explain it to myself.

 

[Hellenww]

I wonder about that too. Yoshi turned 13 in September. He's never been vocal. Big pitiful yowling when his brother wouldn't play with him, but mostly he'd open his mouth and nothing would come out. When he did make a noise this 16-18lb house panther sounded like a little kitten. Last year he started making more noises and every month there is more. He has a whole vocabulary of different noises now. He always meowed my partners name in perfect syllabic rhythm but used to only do it to wake her, now it's several times a day. There are a bunch of different little mews to announce his movements. He even has a special yowl for turn on the faucet. It's like he suddenly realized he could make noise. Last week he knew there was turkey in the fridge so he sat in front of it and screamed until I came and moved him. I did give some turkey 1/2hr later, didn't need him learning screaming gets turkey.