It started with a bout of cystitis which knocked his appetite for six. He started refusing food and in a short period of time lost a considerable amount of weight. He went into hospital, twice, and had a raft of tests which showed he had developed a type of liver disease and that his immune system was below par. And that, unless his appetite improved, well, things would only deteriorate further. And you can guess the rest.
It turns out that Bambino is a very bad patient which surprised me for such a cheerful and confident cat. He was angry and disagreeable during his hospital appointments, and trying to wrestle medication down him was impossible. Literally, impossible. Spitting, fighting, wrestling, and nine times out of ten, spat out pills and much foaming at the mouth. Him, not us. We were reaching the point where decisions were being made about his future. The alternative way to deal with his non-eating was to force feed. All I could think of were the historical stories and evidence from the Suffragette cause. Force feeding a cat is an aggressive treatment and we both knew it is something Bambino would not tolerate.
But never say never. Keep trying to encourage his appetite back, that was the thing. We set about trying a variety of brands of cat food. Dry food, wet food, mousses, pâtés, gravies, soups. He just didn’t want to know about manufactured cat foods. At best, he would lick the gravies and jellies off the wet foods. And this is a cat who has eaten cat kibble everyday, no problem, for the last six and a half years.
On the other hand, tinned tuna was wolfed down. He has always liked tinned tuna but it’s always been a rare treat on account of its mercury content. Not an everyday solution. But at least he was eating and ans far as I am concerned any food is better than no food.
And then I tried him with hard boiled egg. Yes, that went down well BUT it had to be warm. And then I tried white fish. Again, a big hit, as long as it was warm. Perhaps warming up some of the tinned cat food would tempt him? Tried that - and I’d say a 60% success rate. I cooked up some beef mince for him. Again, he ate it all when it was warm, turned his nose up when cold. So I’ve bought more beef mince which I have divided into smaller portions to be cooked and served warm.
I bought him some cat treat biscuits from Aldi because they had added taurine, which is a vital amino acid for cats. Loved those. Junk food. But at least he was eating and getting some taurine.
He has regained some weight. He is more inclined to play now. He has returned to walking across the keyboard when I am working and pissing me off by doing so. He is being a bit bitey still, which is not good, but he is better than he was a month ago. He’s got a personal chef and butler service now, you see. Who wouldn’t perk up a bit with that, eh?
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KJ