Kitten won't eat non-recovery food...

[Sugar Plum]

Hi, After being told about a sad ad, Wednesday night I got a rescue kitten from some people who couldn't afford vet care. She turned out to be 6 weeks old. I took her to the vet. She was given anti-diarrheal medicine, wormer, probiotic powder and recovery/ convalescent food. Everything went well, 'till we ran out of prescription food.

The vet didn't want her to get it indefinitely. I've tried other quality kitten food. Since her diarrhea is still intermittent, I also have tried Fruitables pumpkin for pets with goat's milk, as recommended by a competent pet store employee. She won't eat anything.

It's Thanksgiving weekend here and the vet made it clear that being on recovery food indefinitely was a bad idea anyway, though, I must say, it's the best smelling cat food I've ever smelled.

She has a follow up appointment on Tuesday morning, but, meanwhile, what would entice her to eat? I could cook. What would I make? I have a whole shelf of a variety of wet kitten food. She doesn't like it.

I've no idea what they were feeding her.

I also feel like I'm in a battle of wills with a teeny, tiny kitten. She doesn't seem to understand that I don't actually have any more prescription food.

What would you suggest? I'm used to cats (!), not kittens.

Thank you very much! Her name is Rafaela Puff.

 

[Columbine]

Hi, and welcome to TCS Thank you for taking this little girl in. I'm sure she appreciates it

What was the recovery food? I'm guessing Hill a/d or Royal Canin Recovery. If I'm right, it might be a texture issue rather than a taste one. Recovery foods like those are very soft and moussey, much softer than most regular cat or kitten foods - even paté style ones.

Have you tried her on Royal Canin Mother & Babycat or Hill's Kitten 1st Nutrition Mousse? They're designed for weaning, and are much softer than regular mousses.

Alternatively, get a regular mousse/pate type kitten food, and blend it really well with some water, low sodium chicken broth (with no onions/garlic in the recipe) or goat's milk. Add just enough liquid to get the same consistency as the recovery food.

Another option would be to try adding a topper to entice her. Something like crumbled Pure Bites type treats or a little Purina FortiFlora are my go-to choices. You don't need to use the recommended dose of the FortiFlora, as you want it for the taste and smell rather than the probiotics.

Lastly, warming the food to make it stinker and more enticing can really help tempt fussy or sick kitties.

I've just realised that you might be unable to shop over the weekend. If that's the case, I'd try poaching her some chicken or turkey, or roasting some plain without seasonings. It's not balanced, so isn't suitable long term, but it's fine to get you through the weekend. Some kitties adore scrambled eggs too (again, no seasoning, and preferably no milk unless its goat's milk), so that's another option.

Most cats seem to find plain meat baby food irresistible too, so that might be another option to try (again, only suitable for a day or two ).

Good luck! I hope you find a food she'll happily eat very soon

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I think it is a bit ridiculous of the vet to worry about feeding her recovery food "indefinitely" since she hasn't even been on it a week. However, I guess you can't even reach the vet to ask for an extension, correct?

In addition to all the good advice Columbine has offered, you can try adding some canned tuna in water, canned chicken in water, or even baby food meats (no onion, garlic, etc,) to the wet kitten foods you have - instead of giving any of those foods to her without any kitten food added. That way, if she will eat it mixed together, she is still getting proper nutrition from the kitten food. And, over time you can increase the amount of kitten food as you reduce the amount of the 'enticer' foods.

Is there any way to reach out to the people who had her before you to see what she was eating for them?

Also, when you get a chance, share a pic of Rafaela Puff with us!!!

 

[StefanZ]

If necessary you may "force feed" her some with a needleless syringe...

Goats milk or kmr are alternatives too to keep her going.

 

[jen]

There is no reason a kitten that young can't be on the recovery food longer. Esp if only a week. She needs to be eating. You could also start putting out a quality dry kitten food and a variety of canned to see what she likes. Might need to water it down a bit.

 

[Sugar Plum]

The recovery food was Hill's, with an aqua label. I have fortiflora, those are her probiotics. She loves them, but was still rejecting food sprinkled with them and I don't have much left.

The vet was at an emergency hospital - I had been expecting a 14 week old kitten (what the ad said), not a tiny one I didn't know what to feed, and it was 10:00 p.m. Her follow up is with my regular vet, so, since they rotate at the emergency clinic, I'd probably get some other vet who hadn't seen her. Not an ideal situation.

It had been awhile, when I posted, and I was worried. However, she has finally decided to eat Hill's Kitten Liver & Chicken. Not the best ingredients, IMO, but eating anything is better than not eating! I have enough cans to last 'till Tuesday, if need be. I bought multiples of all the brands.

That's a good idea. I have high quality dry food, so will water some down too.

Here she is! Her eyes changed color today. They were blue when she came home. She's also getting more silvery and less black.

 

[Columbine]

Oh my goodness, Rafaela Puff is absolutely GORGEOUS

Great to hear that you've found a food she'll eat Who cares about the quality of the ingredients right now - what matters is that she's eating! Get her settled and healthy first, and the rest can come later. After all, the best food for your cat is the one she will happily eat. The best food in the world is useless from inside the tin

 

[FeebysOwner]

Glad she is eating!! And, she is adorable!!