So, after a recent scare with my two and a half year old, neutered rescue, I'm seeking out ways to help him cope a little better with some changes going on. To help you understand, I feel I need to give you some background... We found him frozen on to my parents step in the middle of a cold Canadian winter. Seems one of my parents neighbours had kittens, and rather than being responsible they decided that they didn't want them and put them outside in -25*c temps. He was in terrible shape when we found him with infected frost bite on the pads of his is feet and face, his eye were infected, and he had a serve respiratory infection (you could hear him breathe all over the house) the vet was up front that he wasn't sure he could make it, as he was only around 8-9 weeks old at the time, he was also very malnourished, he weighed .6lbs. My husband and I decided to give him a chance, and I'm so glad we did- it took almost a year for all infections to be cleared up, but he's been doing great ever since- up until I got pregnant a few months ago. He is very much my cat, he sleeps with me, and it probably comes from the fact that when he was super weak and sick I was the one who syringe fed him and carried him to the litter etc. now that we have a baby on there way, and we have been doing some renovations to accommodate this baby, he's extremely stressed, which I believe brought on his most recent health issue, which has been urinary track issues. After a terrible bout of peeing blood etc, and almost. $800 in vet bills, he is doing ok again, but I have some questions.
1) After doing some research, I have switched him to entirely wet food (he was on a wet/dry combo before) but I can only get him to eat about 6oz a day. As an 11lb cat, that doesn't seem like enough for him to eat? Should he be eating more than that? He completely refuses to eat any of the stuff from the vet, and has been eating a combo of tiki cat and blue wilderness, mostly poultry flavours with a fish flavour once a week or so.
2) what can I do to help his anxiety level? The vet put him on zylkene and it seems to be helping him, but with a baby arriving in around six weeks time, I anticipate his anxiety getting worse- he has never been an animal that likes change.
3) is there anything else I can do to ensure he doesn't have a "flareup" again? I know these urinary issues often become chronic.
Thanks!
1) After doing some research, I have switched him to entirely wet food (he was on a wet/dry combo before) but I can only get him to eat about 6oz a day. As an 11lb cat, that doesn't seem like enough for him to eat? Should he be eating more than that? He completely refuses to eat any of the stuff from the vet, and has been eating a combo of tiki cat and blue wilderness, mostly poultry flavours with a fish flavour once a week or so.
2) what can I do to help his anxiety level? The vet put him on zylkene and it seems to be helping him, but with a baby arriving in around six weeks time, I anticipate his anxiety getting worse- he has never been an animal that likes change.
3) is there anything else I can do to ensure he doesn't have a "flareup" again? I know these urinary issues often become chronic.
Thanks!