I love my 10 year old girl cat but I'm at my wits end with meal times and could some advice to make this situation easier for both of us.
I've basically spent the first four months of 2022 recovering from meal changes related to the passing of our other cat and trying to get my girl cat back on a schedule that works and with food she will eat that keeps UTIs at bay. Lots of blood, sweat, tears, loss of sleep, and weight lost on my end. But with my vet's help we have a type of diet that works now it's a question of making it easier for both of us b/c I can't keep this up for years and years.
Problem 1: Sometimes she flat out refuses to eat what I offer her even though it's something she ate earlier in the day or the day before. She will only lick wet food so it needs to be runny but if it's too runny she "runs out of energy before finishing the serving". She also seemingly wants a different flavor every meal which presents problems b/c I have to puree her food with water to get the texture right and my blender won't handle single serving sizes (1.5oz). How do I solve this? I don't want to keep wasting food b/c it's hard to get at times.
Problem 2: Potentially related to not liking her food, sometimes at meals she'll eat a little bit then walk away and sit down a food away. If I move the bowl she'll eat a bit there. This can go on for maybe 5-6 moves before she gives up entirely or finishes the serving. How do I solve this? The last few weeks of her brother cat's life he ate like this b/c he was unable to eat on his own due to the cancer and he needed to take breaks. I'm not sure if she's replicating this behavior or if it's b/c she's not too interested in the food.
FWIW, she will exhibit the above two behaviors (refusing, wanting to be 'mobile') even at breakfast when it's been 16 hours (she wants to eat at 6am and 2pm and is content grazing the rest of the evening ) since her last wet meal excluding the free grazing of the kibble (on average .6oz is what she eats between dinner and breakfast the next day). If I "give in" and try a different flavor that hits the spot she'll eat the whole serving in one sitting in like 90 seconds so I know she's hungry.
I thought about trying a tough love deal with her but she needs a daily medicine, lactulose, for the constipation. She's a real fighter and it's not worth it for me to try and give it to her orally with a syringe. (If she needed a long term medicine I couldn't sneak in her food I don't honestly think I'd give it to her b/c it's just so much effort.) So I've been putting it in her wet food but when she's not eating it all or being difficult about eating she's not getting the whole dose.
Appreciate any suggestions yall have.
A bit of pre-story... prior to Sept 2021 my girl was on the same diet for the previous 9 years: Purina UR/SO rx kibble for chronic UTIs and she got .7oz for breakfast, .7oz for breakfast, and .7oz at bedtime.. In Sept 2021 her brother cat was diagnosed with terminal cancer and that flipped everything "cat" related on its head. His food changed from the rx kibble to a rx wet, his meal times changed and she wanted "extra" meal times and the wet food. This is why everything changed. She's also had constipation issues off an on but was largely managed due to this food making her drink more up until mid-2021.
After he passed in December I tried to get her back on the old diet of the rx kibble but for the first time in her life she started refusing food. So to get her to eat the vet said give her wet food. It took me about a month to find something that she could eat, partly b/c she will only lick her wet food and I needed to find a pate I could puree to be smoother and more soupy.
We found a brand she liked and after a month of eating nothing but this (4 meals a day, 5-6oz a day) her UTI problem came back with crystals. Vet recommended a blended meal plan of 3oz wet food and up to 1.5oz kibble (both by weight) a day.
Another month to adjust her meal times and allotments but her UTI goes away along with crystals. But the constipation returns, possibly b/c she's now older or maybe b/c of something in the diet, not sure; She had a full on blockage that needed an ER visit in July 2021 so she does have a history of constipation.
After he passed in December I tried to get her back on the old diet of the rx kibble but for the first time in her life she started refusing food. So to get her to eat the vet said give her wet food. It took me about a month to find something that she could eat, partly b/c she will only lick her wet food and I needed to find a pate I could puree to be smoother and more soupy.
We found a brand she liked and after a month of eating nothing but this (4 meals a day, 5-6oz a day) her UTI problem came back with crystals. Vet recommended a blended meal plan of 3oz wet food and up to 1.5oz kibble (both by weight) a day.
Another month to adjust her meal times and allotments but her UTI goes away along with crystals. But the constipation returns, possibly b/c she's now older or maybe b/c of something in the diet, not sure; She had a full on blockage that needed an ER visit in July 2021 so she does have a history of constipation.
I've basically spent the first four months of 2022 recovering from meal changes related to the passing of our other cat and trying to get my girl cat back on a schedule that works and with food she will eat that keeps UTIs at bay. Lots of blood, sweat, tears, loss of sleep, and weight lost on my end. But with my vet's help we have a type of diet that works now it's a question of making it easier for both of us b/c I can't keep this up for years and years.
Problem 1: Sometimes she flat out refuses to eat what I offer her even though it's something she ate earlier in the day or the day before. She will only lick wet food so it needs to be runny but if it's too runny she "runs out of energy before finishing the serving". She also seemingly wants a different flavor every meal which presents problems b/c I have to puree her food with water to get the texture right and my blender won't handle single serving sizes (1.5oz). How do I solve this? I don't want to keep wasting food b/c it's hard to get at times.
Problem 2: Potentially related to not liking her food, sometimes at meals she'll eat a little bit then walk away and sit down a food away. If I move the bowl she'll eat a bit there. This can go on for maybe 5-6 moves before she gives up entirely or finishes the serving. How do I solve this? The last few weeks of her brother cat's life he ate like this b/c he was unable to eat on his own due to the cancer and he needed to take breaks. I'm not sure if she's replicating this behavior or if it's b/c she's not too interested in the food.
FWIW, she will exhibit the above two behaviors (refusing, wanting to be 'mobile') even at breakfast when it's been 16 hours (she wants to eat at 6am and 2pm and is content grazing the rest of the evening ) since her last wet meal excluding the free grazing of the kibble (on average .6oz is what she eats between dinner and breakfast the next day). If I "give in" and try a different flavor that hits the spot she'll eat the whole serving in one sitting in like 90 seconds so I know she's hungry.
I thought about trying a tough love deal with her but she needs a daily medicine, lactulose, for the constipation. She's a real fighter and it's not worth it for me to try and give it to her orally with a syringe. (If she needed a long term medicine I couldn't sneak in her food I don't honestly think I'd give it to her b/c it's just so much effort.) So I've been putting it in her wet food but when she's not eating it all or being difficult about eating she's not getting the whole dose.
Appreciate any suggestions yall have.