I don't think I can care for my 10 year old girl anymore

Status
Not open for further replies.
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #81

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Sounds positive. Out of curiosity how do you know the amount she’s eating? Are you weighing it before and after she eats?
Yeah, kitchen scale. I been logging this and other cat data since her brother got sick last October.
 

Robyn5678

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 8, 2022
Messages
617
Purraise
964
Not sure we ever asked, but what kind of bowl or plate is she eating from?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #83

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Not sure we ever asked, but what kind of bowl or plate is she eating from?
It's a ceramic raised one. Maybe 4 inches across and not very deep. Tried a whisker fatigue one a while ago and she didn't like that as much.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,437
Purraise
33,200
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
After morning play she wanted to eat and had me go with her to her bowl area, she sniffed the wet and ignored it for the kibble. A bit later she did the same and ignored the wet. If she won't eat this food she won't eat any food that we've brought into the house...Perhaps she just wants to go back to kibble and have the wet food as a snack. That would be glorious. Just a minor update.
Feeby does the same thing, once she has eaten some of a certain food, all bets are off for her eating it again that day! I've thrown out a lot of food due to this. So, lately, I have been putting the uneaten portion in the fridge, opening up a new can and offering her that. She will usually eat some. Later in the day I 're-try' the initial food, add more water and she might eat some again. If not, I add some Forti Flora or crumble up her favorite crunchy treat and mix that in with the food. She might eat some again. I still throw out some by the end of the day.

Let's hope your wish is correct - she eats the kibble and has some wet food for snacks!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #85

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Really considering not even offering wet anymore and just seeing what happens. Is that a good idea or should I actually plan out a week long transition?

She's naturally a grazer and for awhile now has been stepping over the wet food for kibble. Never seen her go back to wet food if it's left out for graze.

I wonder if she'd even notice or care if I stopped with the wet food.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,437
Purraise
33,200
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Really considering not even offering wet anymore and just seeing what happens. Is that a good idea or should I actually plan out a week long transition?
What would this weeklong plan be? Setting up a snack time for her to have some wet food, and just leave out her dry for grazing/the rest of the time? Unless you have plans to donate all that wet food you bought for her, why not put out a bit for her as a snack, leave the rest in the fridge, and throw what is not used after a couple-three days?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #87

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
What would this weeklong plan be? Setting up a snack time for her to have some wet food, and just leave out her dry for grazing/the rest of the time? Unless you have plans to donate all that wet food you bought for her, why not put out a bit for her as a snack, leave the rest in the fridge, and throw what is not used after a couple-three days?
Yeah something like that. Haven't thought much about it. In the pre brother death days wet food was like once a year for one meal. Maybe just go to that.
As for the wet food I'd donate it. I've done that with the bulk purchases she refused to eat.

Edit: if I, the hooman, has a say in this we'd be kibble only as that's what I know and can handle. But cat gonna cat...
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #88

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Sounds positive. Out of curiosity how do you know the amount she’s eating? Are you weighing it before and after she eats?
Yeah, kitchen scale. Kibble is free graze and she eats it as she wants. Normally I just weigh the kibble out when I give her a scoop to see how much she's eaten since the last scoop and to ensure the new scoop is the right amount. I happened to be in the kitchen this AM watching her eat breakfast (new scoop) for what seemed like a good long time and was curious how much she ate and weighed it (.2oz). Me weighing that was an anomaly.

She's nearly eaten the entire AM scoop...just a few kibbles left and she has 3 hours to go for another scoop. I'm really considering just not offering her wet food this evening to see how she does with that.

Back in Feb, I did do a 7 day transition where she went from 100% wet food to 100% kibble but on the first day after the transition (second day at 100% kibble) she didn't want to eat her kibble that AM and I freaked out. I've learned since then that she is a grazer at heart. She's also now been having kibble available free graze for two months. At the last transition she hadn't had kibble at all in 3 months. So perhaps the timing is right.

I'm not knowledgeable about cats but I've found that using a kitchen scale to portion food really helps track how much they're eating when combined with journaling.
 

Tigger's Mum

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Apr 17, 2022
Messages
222
Purraise
507
Location
England, UK
One thing we tend to forget - animals grieve too. Missy has lost her feline companion. She may well still be suffering from the effects of that. I lost my German Shepherd Dog just over 2 years ago to old age. Lucky (one of my black cats) and Buddy the dog were best friends. It's only fairly recently that Lucky has stopped looking for Buddy, sniffing in all the places Buddy used to sleep. Cats like other cats for company (or sometimes dogs) and when one is no longer there, the other does miss them and like humans, the grieving process can take longer for some.
 

Furballsmom

Cat Devotee
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
39,271
Purraise
53,927
Location
Colorado US
I wonder if she'd even notice or care if I stopped with the wet food.
Whether she does or not, the idea/purpose behind feeding canned food is to avoid or minimize the heavy carbohydrate load that all kibble has. There seems to often be increased stress on the kidneys when just dry food is fed and Chronic Kidney Disease, Urinary Tract Infections and bladder blockage issues can occur.

There is commercial raw cat food, I don't recall if you tried that, in addition to canned food. There are also foods such as this;
Muridae Pet - Mouser Pet Food
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #91

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Whether she does or not, the idea/purpose behind feeding canned food is to avoid or minimize the heavy carbohydrate load that all kibble has. There seems to often be increased stress on the kidneys when just dry food is fed and Chronic Kidney Disease, Urinary Tract Infections and bladder blockage issues can occur.

There is commercial raw cat food, I don't recall if you tried that, in addition to canned food. There are also foods such as this;
Muridae Pet - Mouser Pet Food
I know, I'm aware. Like the thread title says, I'm at the end of my rope with my beloved little girl and anything she and I do is to help me so that I can keep helping her. I'm not in a position of strength to continue to take care of her, something needs to give to reduce the stress on me. If that means she just gets kibble then that's what that means and we deal with any health concerns in the future...but we at least have a future.

Ironically she was UTI free for 9 years on this particular rx kibble for uti and when she was off of it for a month and only on wet food she got a uti. She's been doing good with uti since being on a partial kibble diet and should only get better the more kibble she eats b/c she gets more water that way (it makes her thirsty).
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #93

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
It works in this fashion because the sodium content is higher. There's tradeoffs, some big ones.
I know...believe me, I know. The stress I'm under feels like a wet blanket that is enveloping me and that's the reasoning to do this...or frankly anything with my beloved cat. If I can't get in a position of strength I can't care for her and I'm not having a life.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #95

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Thanks Furballsmom Furballsmom
So far she's done well today with the kibble. I'm still kinda trying to figure out her preferred eating times. The old PM time isn't working anymore for some reason...she's just not interested in food at a that time though I did notice the neighbor dogs were out at that time going nuts so maybe that's it.

My current plan is to transition her over this coming week in a stepped approach that reduces the wet daily and increases the dry daily. Any tips or suggestions? Anything to watch out for? If she starts being stubborn what do I do?
 

Robyn5678

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 8, 2022
Messages
617
Purraise
964
In the end, this is your kitty and your life. If eating kibble is what will bring less stress to everyone, then maybe that’s what should be done. As long as you’re aware of the health implications it could have. Like I said in an earlier post, I fed mine only dry food for 16 years and she didn’t have kidney issues until she was 15.

You have to do what is best for you and your girl. We can offer advice but there should be no judgement from us
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #98

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Curious if this behavior is normal or what...
For breakfast she ate 0.6oz wet and 0.3oz kibble. It took an hour and me being with her. The wet was eaten in three batches until she is done with it. The kibble about five batches. 1.3oz of wet and 0.8oz of kibble were offered.

A batch is she eats until she walks away.

I assume she likes her food but I don't know how to tell. This behavior seems fairly normal. Even when we had set meals with no graze it was hard to get an ounce into her at a meal.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #100

louisstools

1 cat with me, 1 in heaven
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 20, 2022
Messages
391
Purraise
539
Location
Missouri
Sounds normal to me. Mine come and go from the food bowl many times
Hmm. How frequent will they do that? Missy is essentially done eating until the evening. And she usually eats more in the morning than evening and next to nothing over night.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top