When Erin isn't happy

[makbike]

First, have they cultured the drainage from her nose? Second, have they drawn blood and tested her thyroid levels? Cats with hyperthyroidism will become very vocal, lose weight, may develop diarrhea and vomiting, are unsettled, etc. Finally, have they taken xrays of her head/face to make sure there are no foreign bodies in her sinus cavities?

Keep us posted and good luck.

[bmccasland]

Elk - I'll see what Whole Foods has, that's about my only option. Will also check the web link. Heck, I'm willing to try just about anything. Better food costs less than vet bills....

Matbike - most recently she did have a blood draw, when she first was sick (both ends) two months ago, and x-rays. Thyroid leves were normal, WBC was high, but on a subsequent blood draw two weeks later it was coming down. Noting on x-ray. She has had a nasal lavage in the past. The best she ever got was after a round of azythromycin (2 x daily, 30 days, fortunately tuna flavored).

I think part of her irritability was hunger. Little piglet snarfed down a large serving of canned (from WF) cat food this morning. For some reason she has trouble eating kibble. Last night I locked her in a spare bedroom with a little box, food (kibble), and water. She ate about 1/2 cup, with a lot spread on the floor.

Well, I need my morning coffee. Then get dressed and off to the Vet.

Y'all have fun, and be safe out there while I'm gone!

[sbctwin]

Hugs to Erin and bmccasland. I hope you have a safe trip.

[Thorn]

Poor thing...

Just wanted to pop in and second Elk's comments. My girl cat has always been the allergy cat. Her weight dropped down low and I thought she was headed out. The vet tossed up her hands. Figuring that she was old, and probably dying, I switched out her food from the "healthy" stuff to the rich stuff (hey, if it was me, that's what I would want ). Surprise of all surprises, she has perked up and is now a healthy, bouncing troublemaking 13 year old cat.

Changing the food is easy...and if they really like the new stuff, you feel a little less awful when they cry.

Good luck with the fur kid.

[LBTC]

{{{{{BMC}}}}} and {{{{{{{Erin}}}}}}

sending healing, happy, calm butterflies to you both. I hope Erin gets to feeling herself way soon!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We had 3 cats get kidney failure, one after another, on various foods.
Then I switched them all to Paul Newman's Organic dry cat food, and they are thriving. PN's has no wheat, no "meat by-products" (made from diseased or dead animals arriving at the slaughterhouse) and only organic vegetbles- so no pesticides.
Our one cat Lydia that was a large cat but only 6.5 pounds and skeletal an dragging around miserably is now 6 months later sleek and sassy and shiny and happy and bouncy. They love the food, and it smells so good when I open the bag, like fresh roast chicken.

[ibcycling]

Warm thought for your kitty. Hopefully the change in food will help her. Cats are better designed to eat wet food than they are kibble. Their sharp little teeth are made for tearing soft stuff, not crunching hard stuff. They also tend to not eat of they can't smell so a strong smelling can of food may tempt her to eat more than kibble. The health of my old man improved drastically when I switched him to a quality canned food!

I hope she's doing better when you get back.

Lora

[elk]

Heck, I'm willing to try just about anything. Better food costs less than vet bills....

A truer word was never said...

and don't give up if she doesn't go for something...Lisa got lucky and all her cats like PN food (which is really good food) but sometimes you have to try a few...they'll often give you samples....

A friend of mine whose cats were junk food junkies (think friskies) love he Orijen, and my raw fed dogs instantly gave it a tail up..

It KILLS me that the vets hardly ever even ASK what an animal is eating...and that they push the most unwholesome foods...look at the ingredients on the cans in the waiting room. And then multiply that by 2 meals a day for years and years and years...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It KILLS me that the vets hardly ever even ASK what an animal is eating...and that they push the most unwholesome foods...look at the ingredients on the cans in the waiting room. And then multiply that by 2 meals a day for years and years and years...

Yes indeed. And one of those cat foods recalled because of deadly gluten from China was one of the "special" really expensive veteranarian cat foods sold for "renal health".....imagine!- paying a fortune for special "kidney health" food you buy from your vet, that actually gives your cat kidney failure!
This China toxin recent pet catastrophe taught us all one thing- that we need to carefully look at what is in pet food we buy, and that toxins can easily be in ANY commercial food- whether bargain or "high end" (Eukanuba was also recalled for example). Read the labels. Avoid all gluten for now (both wheat and rice), and meat "by-products", be wary of wheat, and look for organic ingredients. Ugh.

[Eden]

Since the cat food scare I've been feeding my kitties Ziwi Peak - (its from New Zealand). It only has meat and fish in it - no meat byproducts, no grains period.
My cats love it (well they love the Venison and the Venison and Fish flavors, but they aren't fond of the Lamb.......) and they look absolutely fabulous on it. They are nice and fit looking with wonderful shiny fur.

I give them a little Avoderm kibble for a treat every once in a while, but I'm hearing more and more now that they don't need kibble to keep their teeth clean. A long time ago I was told to feed my cat only kibble because he had tartar. Now I hear that an all kibble diet is more harmful to their kidneys (cats don't really like to drink and should get most of their moisture through diet!) and doesn't really keep teeth clean.

I was pretty shocked when all of the stuff about the gluten came out that so many brands of cat food all came out of the same big vat - from cheap store brands to uber expensive boutique brands - they were all the same crap.

[mimitabby]

since the cat food scare my cats are eating 50% whole ground chicken. And guess who's grinding the meat! me! their other 50% is the nutro brand catfood.
I got a catfood recipe from one of the cat ladies in town; their fur has gotten sleeker and my fat cat is no longer fat.

[onimity]

I'm with the others, my cat had terrible allergy problems which manifested themselves with digestive nastiness, a poor appetite, weight loss and a general desire to make everyone else miserable as well. I tried everything I could think of, medications, 'prescription' foods, acupuncture... I saw dozens of vets & the thing that finally fixed her problems was high quality wet food and no dry food *whatsoever.* She simply can't tolerate it in spite of the fact that she loves it. (We brought home a sample for my other cat and she got into it... BAD news) My cats eat a combination of Wellness (Old Mother Hubbard) and Merrick foods and we've had no problems since starting them on that routine.

Both are made entirely of human-grade ingredients & if your local store doesn't carry them they should be able to order them.

Her dry treats bothered her too, but a local pet store makes a lot of treats out of pure chicken, she loves those more than any others...

Good luck & I hope that Erin feels better!

Anne

[elk]

since the cat food scare my cats are eating 50% whole ground chicken. And guess who's grinding the meat! me! their other 50% is the nutro brand catfood.
I got a catfood recipe from one of the cat ladies in town; their fur has gotten sleeker and my fat cat is no longer fat.

You and me, Mimi. My 4 dogs get whole ground raw chicken and turkey...which I ground myself (for many years) but now I can buy them in convenient frozen "chubs" -and this Orijen "6 fish" kibble which makes my collie shine and keeps her color really rich. Proteins, vegetables. The only grains they get are in the occasional cookie....

Arguably, grains of any kind are filler, and not only unnecessary--they can in fact be unhealthy, to dogs and especially cats....Cats are more pure in thier carnivorous-ness.

Do you give them raw wing tips? Clean their teeth like nothin else...

I have been obsessed with dog nutrition for 15 years....it's like my hobby...!!I tend to go on and on...

My motto is get mostly food made as close to you as possible that is as whole as possible and has passed through the least amount of hands...

BTW: Eukanuba is Iams. Like Science Diet, it used to be a decent food...but not anymore.....