food question

When we first started Charlie on his insulin, he was getting 100% of his daily caloric intake from his e-tube. Since he came home a week before we left to visit my family for Christmas, most of his transition back to eating regularly came from my vet. We've been back for a week and he hasn't needed any tube feedings , but I'm still struggling to get him to eat a consistent diet of healthy wet food. I was hoping to get some advice. I really want to get the tube removed, but will not do so until I think he is eating well enough.

I have tried a variety of different foods. He does like some of the FF varieties on the low-carb list, but will not always eat them. I have tried all the tricks: warming, Parmesan, pureeing. I ordered some forti-flora but haven't gotten it yet. The vet gave me m/d, which he refused to eat (she was feeding him something different while he was boarded there). From what I've read it's not that good anyway so I'm fine if he won't eat that. He prefers the foods that are high in fat (and unfortunately the food that is high in carbs.) He really likes 9 lives tender slices, but I'd like to get him on something healthier. Any suggestions of foods that are similar in texture but with better ingredients?

Also, I do want to try a raw diet. Any suggestions on where I can order some, and also if there are any sites that offer sample sized?

Thanks!!

Spitzer has also had problems with appetite and nausea/vomiting; my vet has me giving him an appetite stimulent and an anti-nausea/vomiting med. It has been 2 weeks, and so far, it seems to be working.

Maybe discuss doing this with your vet.

There are 2 varietys of FF that are pate but have chucks in them: Chunky chicken feast and chunky turkey feast. Maybe if you added some warm water you could turn the pate part in a sort of gravy but it would still have the chucks in it...

Also if you live near a petsmart their brand Sophisicat -one kind comes in a pouch with gravy and it looks like they are good(except the chicken and rice one). The petsmart near me does not carry the pouches so not sure if they all will - I have also read on here that they are changing this brand so if you find any and your kitty likes them be sure to stock up.

Good Luck!!

Have you tried sprinkling your cat's food with freeze dried chicken or bonito (aka tuna) flakes? I've gotten both at Petco. The freeze dried chicken is often with the dog treats.

This spreadsheet with food info has several varieties of raw food listed. You may need to go to the manufacturer's sites to see where you can purchase it in your area. Feline's Pride used to send out a sample pack. I don't know if they're doing this any more, though.

Thanks for the help. :smile: I did consider talking to the vet, but I wanted to give him some time before giving him even more meds. Luckily he is enjoying food again now, and I know he wants to eat...he is very vocal about it! And he will always come running when he hears me opening the can or opening the cabinet where his food is kept. He just seems to prefer certain textures. I have not tried sprinkling chicken or bonito, but I did try sprinkling Parmesan. He just licked the cheese off and left the rest. I will definitely try the FF chicken and turkey, and look for that Sophisticat. I have tried mixing in the low carb pate with the 9 lives and he will eat that just fine. For dinner tonight I found some sliced FF varieties that are better than the 9 lives, but still have some fillers. I did a 2:1 ratio of sliced to pate and he gobbled it up!

DaniCoz said:

, I do want to try a raw diet. Any suggestions on where I can order some, and also if there are any sites that offer sample sized?

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Here's a coupon for a free trial sized bag of Nature's Variety frozen raw with a store purchase of $5 or more: http://hosting.fyleio.com/14321/public/Catfocus_coupon-raw.png Buy a few things from the pet store and pick up a bag of food :smile: The Nature's Variety web site has a store locator so you can find a local store: http://www.naturesvariety.com/locator I know Petco now sells Nature's Variety but only the canned and dry foods, not the raw.

Primal Pet has a sampler pack of some of their cat raw diets, http://www.primalpetfoods.com/ There's a store locator on the web site.

I've gotten free samples of frozen and freeze dried raw food from the pet store. Ask your local pet store if they have any.