Picky Sick Cat: Cooked Diet

[wildog47]

Okay. I took in a cat at 11 years. and she had never been to the vet. The people who had her didn't like cats and didn't pay her much mind. I've had her for almost a year. the vets determined she has some decreased liver function (not yet failure) she was puking everything she ate until we put her on a drug called denamarin. that stopped the puking. she had chronic ear infections that we cleared. as well as she has very bad arthritis. we are giving her Tri-acta hip and joint maximum strength as well as gabapentin for pain killers. The ONLY foods she can eat without puking is Firstmate Turkey formula. purebites snacks chicken in water. and temptations treats. she loves LOVES and never refuses chicken or ground beef. and also never pukes it up. we have had ongoing issues with keeping her weight up on just the wet food cause she still occasionally pukes it up or just eats 2 bites. we offer her food 4 times a day and leave it for awhile.

I want to start feeding her 2 meals a day of chicken or ground beef. I'm having trouble finding a supplement I can add to COOKED meats. I do not want to feed it to her raw because of concerns I have about her age and immune function. does anyone know any supplements that I can add to cooked chicken or beef. she would still hopefully eat a small portion of wet food each day too.

thank you all!

 

[abyeb]

In this thread: What Magic Ingredients Will Draw Them Away From The Canned Stuff?, Lisahe recommended EZcomplete. I checked their website, and it can be used with homemade cooked diets as well as raw: Food Fur Life - EZ Homemade raw food for pets!

 

[EmmiTemmi]

Alnutrin says on their website their product can be used with "low-fat cooked meat" A Guide To A Balanced, Homemade Cat Food - Alnutrin Supplements I've only used it in raw (using the Alnutrin with Eggshell Calcium), but my picky boy ate it and liked it okay.

I've also seen a product on Amazon called U-Stew for Cats, which is a supplement mix for cooked food, but I don't know how good of a supplement it is.

 

[LTS3]

EZComplete and UStew are two premixes you can use with cooked meat.

TC Feline is meant for raw meat but can be used with cooked meat if you follow these instructions: Cooked Meat

Alnutrin can be used with cooked meat but you may need to add some supplements. See Alnutrin cooked recipe questions.

There are home cooked instructions here: Homecooked – IBDKitties Even if your cat doesn't have IBD, the recipie is still good to use.

Also check out this for more resources and recipes: Home-Cooked Cat Food Resources

 

[wildog47]

omg thank you so much everyone for so many options so quick. my cat has mild IBD too so I think I'll try the IBD diet for her too! I'm lucky that she isn't picky and will try most things I'm not so lucky in that her body doesn't agree with so much.

 

[lisahe]

W wildog47 , I'm still a huge fan of EZ Complete, which isn't cheap but works really well for all kinds of plain cooked meat. Plus both our cats love it. They do have samples now. EZ has been great for both our cats -- they both have kind of sensitive stomachs -- but especially for our pickier cat, who shows occasional signs of mild nausea. Our vet is very happy with EZ's ingredients (she thinks pancreas is especially good for cats like Ireland) and how the cats look. (They're about five and healthy, they just have fairly typical Siamese mix stomachs!)

You have a good start knowing what meats your cat can eat without barfing -- I hope you're able to find a supplement that you can add to to make them into complete meals.