Elderly cats being picky

[Lynda]

Hi, I registered some time ago, but havn't been back for a while !
My 2 ,16 year old girls (not sisters) are getting progressively pickier with their food.
I'm tearing my hair out !
Both of them have got kidneys that aren't 100 % but after months of trying them on special diets,and all of us getting progressively frustrated ! I'm just letting them eat what they like:roll:
Do you think it's worth trying the Royal Canin food variety for fussy eaters ?
Help !

[yola]

I swear by Royal Canin - my 2 persians will eat nothing else; well, apart from prawns, ham, chicken, pate, fish etc etc :roll:

Seriously - if the Picky Eater food doesn't interfere with their dietary restrictions I would certainly try it.

Oh, and by the way, welcome to Catsey!!! :-D

[mable1718]

welcome to catsey

royal canine is quite good are cats have it sometimes and they love it

[alexgirl73]

Hi Lynda! Well, I'm sort of in the same boat at the moment. I have 3 cats, one is on a special diet due to tummy troubles and she'll eat whatever is put down in front of her, one is on good old katkins and the other had a blocked urethra at the weekend. The vet sent him home with special urinary food, he is not enjoying it at all! I have cut out the biscuits for them all due to the scare but as my cat won't eat the special food (or at least only a little bit of it), I've had to let him eat some of his normal katkins too. Tbh with you if your cats won't eat the special diet, give them what they will eat, just monitor their 'treat' in take, either that or speak to your vet! Hope this helps.x

[dandysmom]

My Leia had a spell of cystitis last December when she was 7; first time. She absolutely refused to eat the RC special wet food the vet suggested. So I let her eat her usual wet food, but cut way down on the dry food she had for snacks, and she's been fine ever since, no recurrence. At 16, I'd be inclined to let them eat what they like, within reason. Do let us know how it's going!

[Lynda]

Thanks for all your advice, my vet did say to me it depends how much of a battle you want to have with them over special diets!
Last Friday I had to take Rosie , the Tortie to the vet, as she had some scuffed claws and seemed in a bit of pain, plus having a cut on the side of her mouth.
The vet though she might have been trapped somewhere outside. She checked her thoroughly and put her on painkillers and antibiotics.
She seems much better, but still isn't eating normally.
Cats, they do worry you :roll:

[Kazz]

Hello and welcome.
My cats were elderly and had kidney trouble Chronic Renal Failure CRF - and neither liked the special food - so I let them eat what they wanted my thoughts were - better to eat something than eat nothing.
Oscar was PTS aged 23 and 4months had had CRF for 2 years1 month. And required no fluids or treatment for his CRF. But di had steriods for his arthritis.
Cleo his sister is still here she will be 25 in August and also has CRF she was diagnosed wit it in Jan 2006 and also does not have the special diet she eats what she wants small and often is the answer I think of whatever she likes, for my cats is quality of life is more important than quantity. As long as they enjoy life thats all I want, oh by the way I have learnt to add a table spoon or so of water to their food so they are taking liquid on board.
What are your cats called?
Karen

[dinahsmum]

Sounds like you have a pretty pragmatic vat there and you have the right attitude. Like everyone else who has responded, I think that eating a decent amount is way more important than eating only special diets.
Try to get your girls to take more water too - use Kazz's good tip of adding a teaspoon of warm water to wet food - just makes more geravy for them to lap up.
Good luck, and I hope Rosie is back to normal soon - poor old girl

[Fran]

Hi welcome back here! :D
A few things spring into my head here having owned elderly cats. Firstly, have they had a thorough dental check?? as at their age this could be a reason why they are being picky. Have you had any bloods run for routine type things as if they have suddenly become picky there could be a medical reason why? Thirdly, I have a fussy youngster who has a sensitive tummy too and she loves the RC Sensitive 33 which is for fussy eaters and sensitive tums, give it a try. One thing my vet told me as my cats aged was that as they get older they loose their sense of smell to a degree. Since cats rely heavily on their sense of smell, it might be worth trying really strong smelling foods like sardines etc.. and the stronger smelling cat foods like Whiskers?? Good luck and do let us know how you get on x

[dinahsmum]

Mmmm - on the 'aroma' theme - try to give the food at room temperature, or even a little warmer (to release the appetising smells). When I was trying to tempt my old dear I used to warm her (metal) dish with really hot water, tip it out and then put the food in and let it warm slightly.

[Kazz]

I was going to add my old lady Cleo now adores OhSo Fishy and Meaty by whiskas and I have to say the smell is nice even to me. :) I add a tablespoon of warm water to it too so the smell is more "tempting" shall we say.

[Fran]

Yes another 'trick' is to warm the food up a little. This is a great way to get slow to wean kittens eating their grub to warm it a little in the microwave ;)

[Lynda]

Thanks for the further advice !
The vet did say it could stress them out further having battles over special diets and taking them back for numerous injections, anyway, she doesn't think they're bad enough to be on steroids yet.
I have been adding filtered water to their food since they've been older ( my family was horrified that's why I bought a water filter ) :p
They've both had their teeth cleaned under GA twice before, and the last time they had a check they were OK.
The vet's reluctant to give them a GA at their age.
I do brush their teeth with cat toothpaste sometimes, but it results in a lot of hissing and struggling :shock:
Interesting comment about the sense of smell, I'd never thought of that !
Rosie, is the Tortie, she's very lazy, and does as little as possible.
Abby is small and black and still whizzes round the garden , up fences , and sticks her nose in everything:roll:

[Lynda]

Thanks for the further advice !
The vet did say it could stress them out further having battles over special diets and taking them back for numerous injections.
I have been adding filtered water to their food since they've been older ( my family was horrified that's why Ibought a water filter ) :p
They've both had their teeth cleaned under GA twice before, and the last time they had a check they were OK.
The vet's reluctant to give them a GA at their age.
I do brush their teeth with cat toothpaste sometimes, but it results in a lot of hissing and struggling :shock:
Interesting comment about the sense of smell, I'd never thought of that !
Rosie, is the Tortie, she's very lazy, and does as little as possible.
Abby is black and still whizzes round the garden and up fences :roll:
I do warm their food up. Husband complains he comes 2nd !

[tilly]

Hi and welcome to catsey. I have a cat who is getting into old age and she gets a blocked up nose and I have found that warming her food helped her.
I would also feed them what they want. If they have kidney problem try to stay away from food with high protien as might help their kidneys. i think most senoir diet have les protien in them if they will eat them. Although I think it is easier said then done!!

Best of luck

Sally

[Lynda]

Thanks Sally, that's very helpful advice.

[Elaine]

If you havent already visited this site, it may be of good use for you.
http://www.felinecrf.org/nutritional_requirements.htm
I too had an elderly cat with kidney issues, he never was a very fussy cat with food but did become picky towards the end. For him this was mostly down to his condition and feeling a little sick due to excess tummy acid etc.
http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=16080

[Lynda]

Thanks Elaine, I'll go and have a look.

[Lynda]

I've just noticed that her tongue on the side where she had a cut on her lower jaw is red and inflamed, so it looks as though it's back to the vets tomorrow :roll:

[Elaine]

Oh dear, the poor girl. I am sure once her tongue has been treated her appetite may be better too xxx

[Mags]

Poor girl , sounds like that could be the problem..:(

[Lynda]

The vet thinks it's an ulcer or a lesion, and that she probably bit her tongue.
I've got to carry on with the pain killers and monitor her.
He suggested I put bonjela on her tongue :shock:

[Elaine]

How is she now Lynda?

[Lynda]

She definately eats better after she's had some pain killing drops,Elaine.
If the ulcer isn't getting smaller by Friday, I've got to take her back on Sat morning.

[dandysmom]

Good luck, Lynda; please update how she's doing!

[Mags]

I'm glad things are beginning to improve Lynda and she is eating better....:D

[Elaine]

Bless her, I hope the ulcer goes very soon for her xxx

[Lynda]

The vet thinks it could be a lesion now.
He's never seen anything like it before.
He said it would be too tramatic to do a biopsy on her tongue, so she's on steroids, and we're keeping an eye on her.
She is eatng better.

[dandysmom]

I'm glad she's eating better. Sounds as if you have a very good vet!

[Lynda]

Even if they did a biopsy, and it was something nasty, to operates would mean removing quite a bit of her tongue, so her thinks the present course of treatment is the right on for now.
He thinks the lesion could have been there before this latest incident.

[alexgirl73]

poor baby, sounds like she's having a right old time of it. But keep up the good work with her!

[Mags]

poor baby, sounds like she's having a right old time of it. But keep up the good work with her!
I hope the treatment works for her and she continues to eat ok....:D

[Booktigger]

Aww, fingers crossed for her.

[Elaine]

Poor baby, I hope the steriods do the trick xxx

[Lynda]

Update on Rosie. She seemed much better on the steroids. The vet's still totally baffled. He took her off them for a week to see what happened, the lesion didn't get any larger, but became slightly bulbous.
It looks like granulation tissue or a bad blister, not a tumour.
I tried to put a photo bucket pic of it on here, but it wouldn't work.
She's back on steroids now, with a review in 3 weeks .
I wonder if I should get him to e-mail the photo to a specialist ?