Introducing Betty White

[tarasgirl06]

She’s usually the “Fuss me now. I’ll feed myself later type.” Fuss over food.

Murphy’s Cat Law would tell me that she would probably eat if I mixed some FF in it. But I’m trying to get the FF out. And anyway, it didn’t seem to help that much last night. She seemed ready to go 100% rabbit when she wouldn’t touch the 50/50 but ate the 100% portion last night. Maybe we go to 75/25. I also have Vital Essentials in the raw rabbit patties. But let’s not throw the kitchen sink at that sensitive gut of hers.

Yeah. Better not to.
I think that's what it's about with Baby Su, too, because she is a real attention-seeker and once she gets that, she usually will eat at least a few bites to pay me back, or however she reasons it. She also does this after being brushed, which is one of her absolute favorite things.

 

[daftcat75]

Yeah. Better not to.
I think that's what it's about with Baby Su, too, because she is a real attention-seeker and once she gets that, she usually will eat at least a few bites to pay me back, or however she reasons it. She also does this after being brushed, which is one of her absolute favorite things.

Brushing is our go-to activity when she wants fuss.

Shoot! She had a nap. She came down to sniff the food. Then she came to me as if to say, "what is this?! I'm hungry. But not for this."

Do I play a game of wills here or do I bust out the FF and offer her 50/50 or 75/25?

Krista was so easy for 12 years. Cabbie was easy peasy for 10 years. I don't understand why I can't get even one easy week out of Betty.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Brushing is our go-to activity when she wants fuss.

Shoot! She had a nap. She came down to sniff the food. Then she came to me as if to say, "what is this?! I'm hungry. But not for this."

Do I play a game of wills here or do I bust out the FF and offer her 50/50 or 75/25?

Krista was so easy for 12 years. Cabbie was easy peasy for 10 years. I don't understand why I can't get even one easy week out of Betty.

*A girl wants what a girl wants. It's up to you to figure out what the wants are. And to supply them.*

 

[daftcat75]

Alright. She went back to the plate and it looks like she did a fair amount of nibbling. She may yet finish this plate. But this represents only half of what she should eat during the day. It's almost as if we're doing a naked transition (as if I left the other 50% FF off the plate.)
I know she does this, and it always makes me nervous. She'll have more than half of her day's food still left on the plate by 2pm. And then between 3 and 6, she manages to finish it all. But usually she's at least cleaned half her plate over a couple of breakfasts. I still have the other half of her plate reserved thinking I might have to pace her. Yeah right!

Let's see how she does with the rest of this. I'd rather have a hungry Betty by dinnertime who ate half her food than one who doesn't even want to look at a too large plate of food. Even though I don't see the outward signs of nausea or discomfort, it could be settling in her stomach in a way different than the FF. She may be doing her own transition internally and it could just take a day or three for her to feel like she can eat a full day's worth of good food.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Alright. She went back to the plate and it looks like she did a fair amount of nibbling. She may yet finish this plate. But this represents only half of what she should eat during the day. It's almost as if we're doing a naked transition (as if I left the other 50% FF off the plate.)
I know she does this, and it always makes me nervous. She'll have more than half of her day's food still left on the plate by 2pm. And then between 3 and 6, she manages to finish it all. But usually she's at least cleaned half her plate over a couple of breakfasts. I still have the other half of her plate reserved thinking I might have to pace her. Yeah right!

Let's see how she does with the rest of this. I'd rather have a hungry Betty by dinnertime who ate half her food than one who doesn't even want to look at a too large plate of food. Even though I don't see the outward signs of nausea or discomfort, it could be settling in her stomach in a way different than the FF. She may be doing her own transition internally and it could just take a day or three for her to feel like she can eat a full day's worth of good food.

Hoping for the latter and just saying that dinner seems to be more enthusiastically accepted here than brunch sometimes is.

 

[daftcat75]

Hoping for the latter and just saying that dinner seems to be more enthusiastically accepted here than brunch sometimes is.

That used to be the case. Until I got her the poof bed. Now my floof seems to like her poof more than food.

 

[tarasgirl06]

That used to be the case. Until I got her the poof bed. Now my floof seems to like her poof more than food.

There are all these people who say their cats won't like anything they buy for them, and there are all these people whose cats are obese because they eat too much.
Count yourself in the winner's circle.

 

[daftcat75]

She rallied in the late afternoon and finished her plate. Final score for the day was about an ounce and a half, or half what she should be eating. So yeah. She's doing her own naked transition, and I'm okay with that. If she eventually gets back to full calories. Because 3 oz a day is not enough for even her busy schedule of sleep, yelling for fuss, and once-a-day poop zooms.

Played with her while cooking my dinner, and that must have done the trick. She ate for at least a minute while I finished cooking my dinner. Now when I went to look at it, I think she ate off the peaks and so it looks like she ate less than she did. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and grateful that she's crashed out hard in her poof. I can enjoy my beer and baseball.

This poof may have backfired for her overnight eating. But it's doing exactly what I had hoped for my after-work baseball before bedtime.

 

[Caannes]

I wish I knew. I feel like I’m failing her. But they haven’t all been the same which makes it hard to say, “this looks like hairballs,” or, “this seems like IBD.” Wednesday night was just an empty irritated spit up as you would expect from eating carpet fibers. But what had her feeling so ill as to eat them in the first place? I’m glad to say that last night she rejoined the clean plate club.

I suspect the shelter misguessed her age and that she may be even older than five. Her joints creak and she moves down things like Krista did in her senior years. I may get her a ramp or two. And if we can sort out the food, I’d like to try her with a fish or salmon oil.

Shelters don’t misguess, they underestimate. Like Tinder, but for cats.

 

[daftcat75]

Shelters don’t misguess, they underestimate. Like Tinder, but for cats.

I told her that when we figure out her gut, her joints will be the next we work on. I know when she wakes up from a nap, because I can hear her joints crack and creak from across the room. In two weeks, she finally gets her teeth cleaned and the vet can make another estimate. I can’t believe how glacially slow feline healthcare has become in the last couple years. I have had her two months this Friday. And we’ll finally finish the “new cat howdy do” next Friday. Hopefully we’ll be done until next year’s checkups.

 

[Caannes]

I told her that when we figure out her gut, her joints will be the next we work on. I know when she wakes up from a nap, because I can hear her joints crack and creak from across the room. In two weeks, she finally gets her teeth cleaned and the vet can make another estimate. I can’t believe how glacially slow feline healthcare has become in the last couple years. I have had her two months this Friday. And we’ll finally finish the “new cat howdy do” next Friday. Hopefully we’ll be done until next year’s checkups.

I’m now sort of used to handing off my cat in a parking lot with everyone masked and distanced. Like a spy movie…what’s in the bag? Just a cat, certainly not government secrets. Now I will just go wait under the tree there for your return…
I hope all goes well!

 

[daftcat75]

You know how I know the Rawz rabbit is a better food for her? Her first RR poop, hot off the presses, and I couldn’t smell it.

 

[daftcat75]

She did eat better on the overnight. Which is surprising. Because I swear she was simply moving from one sleeping cloud to another. 82 grams went down. 18 grams remained in the morning. Finally tally yesterday was 108 grams or a little more than 3.75 ounces. About half what she should be eating. I know she likes the stuff because she does eat it. But it seems like even she is offended by the smell of rabbit. I know she likes rabbit. It’s the only treat I’ve found that she’ll eat. I’m assuming she is slow eating because of the transition. Yeah. I rushed it. But I don’t think FF was the right food for her and I don’t feel like dragging her along on it. Tough love. I think as her gut gets used to the new food, her eating will pick back up again.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She rallied in the late afternoon and finished her plate. Final score for the day was about an ounce and a half, or half what she should be eating. So yeah. She's doing her own naked transition, and I'm okay with that. If she eventually gets back to full calories. Because 3 oz a day is not enough for even her busy schedule of sleep, yelling for fuss, and once-a-day poop zooms.

Played with her while cooking my dinner, and that must have done the trick. She ate for at least a minute while I finished cooking my dinner. Now when I went to look at it, I think she ate off the peaks and so it looks like she ate less than she did. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and grateful that she's crashed out hard in her poof. I can enjoy my beer and baseball.

This poof may have backfired for her overnight eating. But it's doing exactly what I had hoped for my after-work baseball before bedtime.

It's hard to beat a good poof! I like to combine the two -- take my dinner tray in and lounge on the bed in front of the TV. And since Baby Su likes her food served ON the bed, we enjoy dinner together. Elvis sometimes likes his there, too.
Come ON, Betty! Eat! Eat! EAT!!!

 

[daftcat75]

I know she had nibbles at 5am. But I don't understand how she goes so long during the day without eating. So I hear her wake up from her nap around 1 pm because I hear her smacking her lips. "Well, why don't you go eat something?" So she jumps down and then stands in front of me, "well, why don't you feed me?" I grab her plate and set it in front of her. Sniff. Sniff. "Not this." I still had some powdered S&C freeze-dried rabbit dinner morsels in a baggie nearby from yesterday. Sprinkle, sprinkle. "Ooooh! What's this?" She may need her Rawz rabbit meals "seasoned" with S&C. At least for now. I hope I didn't just create a permanent preference. At least it's the same protein. I don't have to worry about what mystery fish in FF is doing to her. We'll just stay the course like a naked transition. I'm sure if I scrolled back, I would have found that it took her a week or two to get up to clean plates on FF.

I have the crow's nest "booby trapped" with an Assisi Loop from Krista's days up there. After the first few weeks, I couldn't ever get her to sit still through a full Loop session. So I taped the Loop underneath the crow's nest she slept in. Now that it's become a favorite napping spot for Betty, I'm tempted to start Loop sessions for her joints. But I remember it did weird things to Krista's gut. So one thing at a time. Let's give Betty another week or two to complete the food transition before I introduce something for her joints.

The Luxolite (bentonite clay) came in yesterday. I have something to shoot in her besides egg yolk when she's looking nauseated.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I know she had nibbles at 5am. But I don't understand how she goes so long during the day without eating. So I hear her wake up from her nap around 1 pm because I hear her smacking her lips. "Well, why don't you go eat something?" So she jumps down and then stands in front of me, "well, why don't you feed me?" I grab her plate and set it in front of her. Sniff. Sniff. "Not this." I still had some powdered S&C freeze-dried rabbit dinner morsels in a baggie nearby from yesterday. Sprinkle, sprinkle. "Ooooh! What's this?" She may need her Rawz rabbit meals "seasoned" with S&C. At least for now. I hope I didn't just create a permanent preference. At least it's the same protein. I don't have to worry about what mystery fish in FF is doing to her. We'll just stay the course like a naked transition. I'm sure if I scrolled back, I would have found that it took her a week or two to get up to clean plates on FF.

I have the crow's nest "booby trapped" with an Assisi Loop from Krista's days up there. After the first few weeks, I couldn't ever get her to sit still through a full Loop session. So I taped the Loop underneath the crow's nest she slept in. Now that it's become a favorite napping spot for Betty, I'm tempted to start Loop sessions for her joints. But I remember it did weird things to Krista's gut. So one thing at a time. Let's give Betty another week or two to complete the food transition before I introduce something for her joints.

The Luxolite (bentonite clay) came in yesterday. I have something to shoot in her besides egg yolk when she's looking nauseated.

Lil BUB had the Loop. I'm wondering if her family could provide any info about how, or if, that affected her appetite. Mike Bridavsky has been very friendly and communicative when time allows, so he may be able to shed some light on this. He and his family are very involved in helping special needs cats (and others) in BUB's memory.

 

[daftcat75]

Popped again.


I'm sure this was my fault for trying to add too much S&C too soon to get her to eat the Rawz. I shot a bit of Luxolite in her to help with any acidity. I'm tempted to try the Vital Essentials Raw Rabbit patties as her "bland" food. But that just seems like asking for another incident. Let's see how she does tonight with Rawz rabbit.

This is so frustrating!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Popped again.


I'm sure this was my fault for trying to add too much S&C too soon to get her to eat the Rawz. I shot a bit of Luxolite in her to help with any acidity. I'm tempted to try the Vital Essentials Raw Rabbit patties as her "bland" food. But that just seems like asking for another incident. Let's see how she does tonight with Rawz rabbit.

This is so frustrating!

Yes! and she must feel so much stress over not being able to keep her food down. No wonder she is reluctant to eat sometimes. Baby Su goes through this at times. But she's 17. Poor Betty!

 

[daftcat75]

Yes! and she must feel so much stress over not being able to keep her food down. No wonder she is reluctant to eat sometimes. Baby Su goes through this at times. But she's 17. Poor Betty!

I wonder if I should just abandon the nibbling and get her onto timed meals. Although she hasn’t brought up any hair in a week or two, I wonder if it’s all coming out in her poop, or if she has a hairball brewing that is less than what would need to be ejected.

I’m going back through my Krista notes. She used to eat 50-60 gram portions. I can’t fathom Betty eating that much in one sitting. Though I’d sure like it if she would.

I don’t want to starve her. But I wonder if I should try enforcing a schedule.

I may also try mixing Rawz chicken into her rabbit if she’s so put off by rabbit on its own. At least it’s still Rawz. But that’s a lot of food that is being dumped down the sink.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I wonder if I should just abandon the nibbling and get her onto timed meals. Although she hasn’t brought up any hair in a week or two, I wonder if it’s all coming out in her poop, or if she has a hairball brewing that is less than what would need to be ejected.

I’m going back through my Krista notes. She used to eat 50-60 gram portions. I can’t fathom Betty eating that much in one sitting. Though I’d sure like it if she would.

I don’t want to starve her. But I wonder if I should try enforcing a schedule.

I may also try mixing Rawz chicken into her rabbit if she’s so put off by rabbit on its own. At least it’s still Rawz. But that’s a lot of food that is being dumped down the sink.

Yeah, it doesn't do any good if it's all going down the sink. I'm SO glad that my time of feeding the garbage disposal is over and I hope it's going to stay that way. No idea why they were doing that, but they're happily snorking again and that makes me very happy.
Have you weighed Betty recently? As long as she's looking good and weighing in well, you're doing it right but she sure does seem delicate in the appetite department! Really hope you can find a good balance food-wise.