Caring for an Elderly Cat


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Feeding our Elderly Cats.

Not Eating?

Note that any changes to diet may cause stomach upset(diarrhea or vomiting) in some cats. Particularly when they are not feeling well to begin with.

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Add baby food to enhance the flavor. Meat flavors are popular. Read the labels and don't use it if it contains onion / onion salt / onion / powder as onions may cause anemia in cats.

Use canned kitten food for the canned food portion of the mixture. Adult cats are often tempted by the taste.

Mix a bit of catnip into the food . If your cat has never shown an interest in catnip before this may not work but it's worth a try.

Mix a bit of Oregano into the food.

Add a bit of people food such as tuna, chicken, etc.

Try different flavors of canned food. Some cats have a definite preference. Add a bit of water to make a catfood soup. Often when cats aren't eating they aren't drinking enough either. It's a good way to help prevent dehydration.

Add chicken broth or beef broth to the food instead of water.

Add a bit of milk or cream to the food and mix well.

Add a bit of gravy to the food and mix well.

Warm the food before serving. If you are using a microwave catfood heats very quickly so stir it up and check the temperature before serving. You will also want to cover it up when heating (to avoid a mess).

People food such as meat, poultry, canned tuna, canned ham, canned meats (without spices) are sometimes appealing to a sick cat.

Cheese can sometimes perk up a fussy eater. Parmesan (the kind you shred yourself when you buy a block from the dairy case not the kind that sits on the supermarket shelf), Swiss, Old Cheddar will sometimes work . Shred / grate cheese and mix in with cat food.

Organ meat such as liver or heart.

Beef and poultry (both meat and organ meat) may be given either cooked or raw. If serving raw use good common sense (ie. don't leave it out for longer than 20 minutes 10 min on a hot day, don't use plastic dishes, discard the portion that isn't eaten, wash your hands after handling all raw meat, etc). I diarrhea has been a problem then liver is not recommended.


All 'Feeding our Elderly Cats' page content kindly supplied by "Jo.ann.b" a truly generous Elderly Cat Mum.





This page included contributions from Joan (cl-spejf), Lori (vandlor) and Ruth (cl-ruth.s)

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