From:
Roger Vaughn
Date: 2002-06-11 10:34:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Lizzie's eating problems - please help!
> I am new to the board, I just found it yesterday when trying to
> find a GOOD vet in the area. Lizzie is 2 1/2 years old. We have
> had her since she was about 4 months and purchased her from a pet
Hi, Jennifer.
I didn't know Amway even HAD a cat food! I'm not surprised, though. I
have absolutely no idea what the nutritional value of the stuff is, but
it's a good bet it's not the best thing for her. Have you tried any
name brand kitten foods? Try Iam's or Eukanuba kitten foods - perhaps
she will accept these better than the ferret foods. Most kitten foods
are going to better for her than cat food.
It's difficult to get them to try something new. I have one guy who
flips out at the very *sight* of anything moist. Still, we got him to
eat Bob Church's chicken gravy! It's an excellent food - especially
rescue food - for them. Look here for info:
http://www.trifl.org/gravy.html.
For something simpler, instead of the baby food, you can try mixing
some of the cat food with the heavy cream and perhaps some Nutrical
added. If you grind up the cat food first (a coffee grinder works
great), it will moisten faster and turn into kind of a paste. It takes
more cream than you would expect - kibble is really dry stuff. I
suggest the cat food only because it's a familiar taste for her. A
better kibble would obviously be a better choice.
To get her to try something new, you may have to be insistent. Scruff
her, and when she yawns, wipe a tiny bit of food onto her gums or
tongue with your fingertip. Once she actually tastes it, she might
like it and take it on her own. It might take a few tries, though.
About her energy level - this just might be the way she is. It's worth
checking into, though. Go to your vet and and ask for a blood glucose
test as well as a complete blood count (CBC). It's possible that her
blood sugar is chronically low (though this doesn't sound like
insulinoma) or that she is anemic. Either would cause her energy to be
low.
FWIW, we went through something similar with one of our guys last
year. After a bout of GI illness, he was low on energy and did the
flat-ferret routine for months. He was, and as of his last CBC still
is, anemic as well. He has lost a lot of weight since the beginning of
the year, but he has gotten his energy back. He's now a bouncy, happy
little boy - still our best war-dancer. We still have no explanation
for the anemia, the weight loss, or the recovery. As long as they are
generally healthy, sometimes it's not worth pursuing.
Roger & the Fibonacci Ferts