Luna is NOT eating her diet food! (Just had a "talk" with Luna, and she ate a bit)

[Kirsten]

After Luna has been diagnosed with struvite crystals in her bladder again, she got Hill's s/d to resolve them. She's usually not picky, but she doesn't like this one (and judging from the look of this food, I can clearly see her point ;)).

The first two days, she ate it, but it was easy to see it was no fun for her. But now for the last two days, she ate only a tiny bit and refused to eat the rest. Hope it's just the heat that we have at the moment (during the last heatwave, Luna and Lily didn't eat much either, and their appetite came back when it cooled off). But I will check her mouth later, to be on the safe side. When she got some tartar removed last week, her gums started bleeding, so maybe she got an infection. But my guess is that she doesn't like the new food!

Kirsten

[Randi]

Kirsten, it is dry or wet food? When Fister first started on Hills S/D, we tried both - he didn't want the wet at all, but the dry he liked. I hope it's just the heat. Check her gums in any case.

Oh, and about her blood count - I don't think you have to worry, Fister's was also a bit off due to the anesthesia.

[Medusa]

The little stinker. Her gums may still be bothering her a bit. Try not to worry too much. She'll eat soon enough. Just keep an eye on her. (As if I have to tell you that.)

[krazyaboutkatz]

I hope she'll start eating soon. If not then maybe you could try another brand like Royal Canin. Storm won't eat his wet food unless it's been refrigerated first. I know he's a strange cat. I've also been having to mix his presription food with some Felidae wet food to get him to eat most of it. Good luck.:)

[Kirsten]

Ugh, just saw she had thrown up earlier today (guess it was her, not Lily). No food, but a yellowish liquid. Maybe she had upset her stomach? :(

Randi, I got s/d wet food for her, that way I hoped to make sure that Lily won't eat it. Well, I will watch this for a couple of days. They say it's gonna cool off from tomorrow on, so if it's just the heat, things should get better.

BTW, I checked her gums; they don't look bad, but I saw something like a tiny "bloody lump" on the outer side of one of her molars. Maybe it's bothering her.


Took some photos of it, so you can see it:

http://www.catmom.de/pix/gums1.jpg http://www.catmom.de/pix/gums2.jpg


The photos didn't turn out well, even though Luna gave me about half a dozen tries. Isn't it amazing what a good girl she is? So sweet of her that she allows me to do such things, especially after her recent vet experience! :)




Kirsten

[Emeraldgreen]

Kirsten, I think the photos you took are very good. The wet food is a good idea for extra hydration and flushing and will help if that bump in her mouth is bugging her rather than tough crunchies. However, S/D does come in crunchies (as I'm sure you know) and I used to feed it to Tiger when he had been blocked and had surgical treatment. He was on it for 5 or 6 weeks or so to help dissolve any remaining crystals and then we switched over to dry medical Preventive which is equivalent to dry C/D. He has been on Preventive for about 6 years now and loves it. But if you want to try another wet food for dissolving crystals, Medi-Cal makes a tinned food called Dissolution. It has little chunks of food with gravy. Tiger didn't go for it which is why I had to give him the dry S/D. Thankfully the dry worked. I know it's hard to keep other cats from eating it but if you can put Luna in a room for an hour or so and throughout the day to let her munch away and not let the other cat into that room it might work. If you can get the crystals dissolved and get her onto a diet like Medi-Cal Preventive, it's a great diet for all cats and your other cat could be on it too. My cats really like the taste of it and as the name suggests, it is preventive with regard to crystals. :)

[Kirsten]

Well, like Tiger, Luna is also supposed to eat the s/d for 6 weeks, and after that, she can either eat Hill's c/d, or a urinary diet that's avaible here, called Kattovit Urinary. She already ate it in the past, and so did Lily. It's probably equal to Medi-Cal Preventive, which I haven't seen here so far.

With the canned Hill's s/d, I will give it a chance for a couple of days, but when she's still not eating it, I have to get the dry version of it. If that's the case, I need to reorganize our daily routine, because usually they eat their breakfast when I have mine, and after that, I leave for work. To seperate them from each other while eating would take more time, so I'd have to change our schedule. But I hope she will still get used to her canned s/d...

Kirsten

[Kirsten]

Well, when I came home from work today, I saw that she still had her breakfast on her plate. She didn't eat one bit during the day. :( Instead, she sat next to her plate and gave me an accusing look, it was just heartbreaking. I sat down next to her and explained to her why I have to do this to her. And I remembered Amelia Kinkade's book (animal psychic) and what she said about "sending" pictures to them. So I tried to send her a picture of her bladder, as I saw it in the ultrasound, to make her understand that she has to eat the diet food to make her feel better, and to take the pain away from her bladder. And believe it or not, she started eating!! She did not eat all that was on the plate, maybe she ate half of the food, but it's a least a beginning.

Even though I was I was happy that she finally ate, I was concerned that the food wasn't fresh. After all, she got it this morning, and even though it has cooled off a bit, the temperatures inside here are still about 75°F. So I checked the food, but it did not smell rotten to me.

Kirsten

[lvpets2002]

:) Well I agree with the others.. You might have to try the dry.. My Bri is on the dry & likes it pretty good.. Oh by the way Luna your Thank-You Card was just so Beautifull.. I thought meowmom was going to cry.. You get well wittle sweetie pie Luna..

[Catty1]

I have to add - yes, that beautiful pic of Luna - in my very own email! :)

I know it is weird to say 'thank you' for a 'thank you email', but I sure love it!

I seem to recall you sending mental pictures to Luna from work once, when she had been peeing and likely missing you - and the peeing stopped for a while!

You just might have a gift there! :) Hope Luna continues to eat.

[Kirsten]

Luna is glad to hear you liked "her" card. :)


I seem to recall you sending mental pictures to Luna from work once, when she had been peeing and likely missing you - and the peeing stopped for a while!

Candace, I almost forgot about that, but now I remember it. :)

Well, not sure if she really understood what I "told" her yesterday, but she ate her food today. She still doesn't love it, because she didn't eat it at once (as she usually does), but she ate it. :)

Kirsten

[catmandu]

Cats are so incredibly fussy Kirsten that the fact that Lunas eating her new food at all is a major victory. Maybe she just needed some time to get used to the new flavor and texture.
Thats great news as the Found Cats tend to be a lot more new food resistant.

[Medusa]

Atta girl, Luna!

[phesina]

Well done, Luna! Keep visualizing the special food making you and your bladder feel better and better.

And thank you from me also for the lovely thank-you note and beautiful picture of yourself that you sent!

Love from Pat and cats