Trying to find something he'll eat

I'm trying to interest Bert in eating more. His congestion is more of a problem than the cancer in a way because he cannot smell. I am using Ocean drops (3 or 4) dropped in his nose twice a day and use a baby nose syringe twice a day and in a steamy bathroom in the evening for ten minutes. His eating is erratic so he's losing too much weight.

The question: I am using Baby food a lot, but, he is getting bored. I looked at the Baby dinners, but, they all have 2% onion powder. Even the Health Food store broths all have onion powder or garlic powder. I know onions are not good for them, but, how large of a problem would that be?

You name the food I have pretty much tried it right down to anchovi paste, crabs, shrimp, tuna. I puree most everything with a blend stick. There are so called nutrion pastes in pet stores, but, they are loaded with corn syrup.

Thanks

 

A little onion powder might be OK but 2% seems like too much. Have yo discussed with your vet the use of an appetite stimulant?

 

KMR kitten milk/cat milk for extra calories?
guess the rule at this point is that there are no rules. anything he will eat is fine. will he eat deli meat or rotisserie chicken or KFC? those are big hits around here...
oh, mcdonalds or burger king hamburgers, too...

 

Dr. Lisa suggests FortiFlora as a flavor enhancer as quoted here below. It works well when Tigger is off his food. I just sprinkle a little over the top.

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19370

"If your cat won't eat PPs, try rolling them in FortiFlora or parmesan cheese.

I love FortiFlora as a flavor enhancer. Everyone should have it in their cupboard for times when cats stop eating or when you want them to try a new food.

FortiFlora is a probiotic but I am not using it for that purpose. Therefore, I don't care if it is outdated. In fact, I think the stuff in my cupboard expired in '07. I am just using it as I would use salt and pepper on my own food."

I believe some vets carry it but here it is online:

http://www.petfooddirect.com/Product/79 ... Supplement

I am so sorry that you and your sweet Bert are going through this. Sending prayers for your boy.

 

Hi George

I'm sorry to hear that Bert and you are having such a rough time. I don't know if you remember, but my late cat Earl was sick for a very long time and lost a tremendous amount of weight and muscle, and we struggled with that too.

If Bert is enthusiastic about eating, if he still has his zest for life and is otherwise happy -- basically, if the problem is just mechanical that he can't pass enough food -- I'd seriously consider putting in a quick PEG tube. This is done with an endoscope and the anesthesia time is minimal, and you can feed him the bulk of his calories that way. He may still want food by mouth and you can give him a little of whatever he can eat, that's fine, but at least you'll be able to push a lot of fluid and calories in through the tube. We've used these a few times in end-stage heart patients who need a ton of meds and fluids by mouth but are not otherwise ready to throw in the towel; we can keep them hydrated, keep them on their meds and they can hang in there and enjoy life for a bit longer.

I'm sorry to hear that the oncologist was such a dud. Is there another onco at the same practice you can see? A good oncologist is a specialist also in palliative care and in helping with quality of life during terminal illness. My dog was recently diagnosed with late-stage lymphoma (I am still in shock over this, it's hard to type that sentence) and I can run to his oncologist with any concern and she is happy to listen and advise me or reassure me, as needed. When you're up to it, I'd make sure to tell the medical director where that oncologist works about how you feel. Not for spite, but so the oncologist gets valuable feedback on his actions.

Regarding your onion question, I do worry about cats eating onion much more so than dogs. I wouldn't feed it at all. Two of the studies showing links to onions and anemia in cats were done on cats fed baby food with onion powder :sad: You might want to try squash for variety. I don't know why but a lot of cats like the squash baby food. You could also cut the food with tuna juice, etc to change up the flavor.

Keep posting, and let me know if I can help.

 

I'm afraid we have a poor selection of vets where I live. Bert's where he is because of one mis-diagnose after another and with different vets as well.

During one of the chemos under anesthesia Bert stopped breathing. The vet brought him out, but, he was blind from it. It was hell for three weeks until his sight came back. With his diabetes, Asthma and throat cancer going under again is out of the question.

The main problem with his eating is his congestion. He can't smell so food is not recognizable. the vet knows this and has him on Dexametasone every three days and clavamox. I give him nose drops and steamy visits in the bathroom.
He drinks water and KMR okay.

Don't ever let your vets give steroids for Asthma. There are inhalers that work very well. My problem is the vet refused to okay them so Bert was on steroids for years until I found I can get what I need out of Canada and learned on Fritz the Brave site.

 

Yes, Jess, I do remember and now your poor dog. I feel for you. I know what you mean by tough sentence. there were some things I could not write.

Good luck with yur dog.

 

Hi George, I have KMR if you need it. It is only two weeks old. Kept in fridge. It's the powdered form. Let me know.
Glad Bert is still hanging in there! I also have by nature canned cat food. The consistancy of it would be great in puree form. I have chicken and liver, and turkey and liver 95%. Low carb no glutens.
Hang in there boys!

 

Thanks Peggy, I'm good with food.

You know what thevets are like here. There idea of palliative care is call me when it's time...I'm serious.

Bert [aws at me and crys to eat when I am making a plate for him...he is humgry and wants to eat. But, when I put the food down he can't smell it so he sits there staring at me for the longest time like..Okay Dad, what's this stuff? I t does not matter what I put down. I fianlly resort to syringe feeding od KMR or Ensure for cats. I told two vest about the stuffy nose and one say it might be the tumor moving up there and the other says it is viruses coming back to get him with a compromised immune system. They just tell me to use nose drops and steamy bathrooms.

Any ideas?

Berts spirit is still thriving, but, this thing is gaining. Help!

 

If the vets think it is viral, l-lysine may help.

 

I agree with Karen regarding the lysine if it is viral. Worked very well for Tigger within a couple of days last Fall when he an an URI. I hope that is all it is George and that this helps.

 

Can Bert still taste? Microwave his food for 10 secs and then puree (press) it with a spoon until it's gooey. Use a syringe to put the food into his mouth. Hopefully, he'll remember the taste??

Patty&Varinia(GA)