Food mill recommendations for 3-tooth cat

[kuhio98]

Cammie-Cat had her annual dental today. She's still at the vet recoverying. We pick her up in 2 hours.

Cammie only has 3 teeth left. She likes human baby food but want to try to get her to eat more cat (canned) food. She has a few favorites but they are flaked or grilled.

Do you have any recommendations for a small food mill that we could use to grind up her food?
We want something small -- so it doesn't take up the whole counter.
And easy to clean of course.

Please let us know if you have any recommendations.

[Freedom]

She won't eat canned food? My Marlin has only 6 teeth, and he does fine with both canned and kibble. It took about 6 weeks after he had 38 extractions, for his gums to heal to the point that he could deal with it all, but since then he has been fine.

Which canned food brands have you tried?

[katladyd]

Some flavors of Blue Wilderness canned come in a very smooth pate. So do some cans of Wellness. Nutro has some flavors that aren't chunky, but I don't feed much of that brand. You could take a brand that comes in flakes or chunks and run it through a food processor. That might work. If you take you dry and soak in something yummy like tuna juice or chicken broth (low sodium, please), I bet it would be gobbled up in no time!

[Varga]

I have one of these (for human food) and I've been very happy with it so far.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-EHC650-2-Speed-Chopper/dp/B00005MF97/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1326886355&sr=8-3


I bought it primarily because it's small, not too expensive but strong enough to handle things like chocolate and walnuts. But I'm sure it would do great to make a paste out of wet cat food too. Just yesterday I used it on some canned diced tomatoes and it basically turned it into very fine tomato sauce in seconds.
It's easy to clean too. You take out the blades and pop it straight in the dishwasher along with the container. The lid (which is basically the mechanics) you can't put in the dishwasher, so that's a bit more tricky, but I've never had problems keeping it clean with some soapy water and paper towels.

[kuhio98]

Thank everyone. Cammie will lick the juice from cat food, but she doesn't seem to eat it. When she's done, she leaves the chunks of meat all dried out. I was thinking that if we grind them up smaller, she might eat more. She's down 2 pounds in the last 2 years.

Cammie-Cat had a good night. She slept under the bed (not her normal place) all night and never moved a muscle. This morning, she came out and is sleeping in front of the fireplace -- that's her normal place.

She hasn't eaten yet. Hasn't drunk water or peed yet but if she doesn't show pee soon, I'll take her and put her in the cat box myself.

I used to have to do that with Halo when she came home from the vet. She would not go to the cat box, but if I put her in it, she'd pee for a good 5 minutes. :huh:

Thanks again.

[pomtzu]

If you have a food processor or blender, you can just take the canned cat food, even the flaked or chunky bits, and put it thru that with a little bit of water added, and process it till it's mushy. The more water you add, they mushier and more liquid it will be, and easy for her to lap up. You can even do this with dry kibble if she has one that she likes. Just soak the kibble in warm water till it's soft and then process it with even more water - just like the canned food. I do this for my outdoor resident stray, since he has mouth/teeth issues, and can't chew the food like he used to. I do his to a soft pudding consistence, and he loves it, but you can make it even softer than that.

[kuhio98]

If you have a food processor or blender, you can just take the canned cat food, even the flaked or chunky bits, and put it thru that with a little bit of water added, and process it till it's mushy. The more water you add, they mushier and more liquid it will be, and easy for her to lap up. You can even do this with dry kibble if she has one that she likes. Just soak the kibble in warm water till it's soft and then process it with even more water - just like the canned food. I do this for my outdoor resident stray, since he has mouth/teeth issues, and can't chew the food like he used to. I do his to a soft pudding consistence, and he loves it, but you can make it even softer than that.

Thanks. We have as food processor/blender but it is so large and takes up the whole counter. I was looking for something small to make small batches. I'm going to hold off buying anything for now.

[pomtzu]

Thanks. We have as food processor/blender but it is so large and takes up the whole counter. I was looking for something small to make small batches. I'm going to hold off buying anything for now.

I don't have the extra counter space to leave my food processor out all the time, so what I do, is make up a batch that will last a couple of weeks. I break this down into small batches and freeze in zip bags or small freezer containers, and just take out and thaw what I will need for a couple of days at a time. Even if I had the counter space to leave it out, I still wouldn't want to bother with that hassle every day. :(

Just a thought.........

[Karen]

We have a great small food processor, the bowl only holds 2 cups total, so it's about a quester the size of a normal one. In fact, we have two, it's great for chopping nuts or something else in small quantities that would just bounce around in a big one. sounds like it would be perfect for the job!

Looks like this http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Z373TRNFL._AA300_.jpg but with a green base.

[Catty1]

Perhaps her teeth had been bothering her for a while so it was easier for her to lick than to chew even soft food. Oscar lost 7 teeth in November (and 4 had already dissolved due to FORL) - he does have more than 3 teeth left, but before a week was up he was enjoying wet food and kibble again.

Prayers that Cammie feels better soon!:love:

[kuhio98]

We have a great small food processor, the bowl only holds 2 cups total, so it's about a quester the size of a normal one. In fact, we have two, it's great for chopping nuts or something else in small quantities that would just bounce around in a big one. sounds like it would be perfect for the job!

Looks like this http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Z373TRNFL._AA300_.jpg but with a green base.

Karen ~ That looks perfect. I'll check it out on Amazon. We prefer a smaller one. We tried making big batches before and the spoiled little kitties quit eating it after a few days so we ended up making fresh batches.

[maerlyn]

Lisa, I don't know what kind of canned food you're feeding, but I've found that most of the pieces are so soft that they can be easily mashed with a fork. My Grey Boys outside won't eat pieces, chunks, shreds, etc., so when I accidentally bought some, I just heated it, smashed it all really well with a fork, and they cleaned it up. Might be worth a try until you get a processor.:)

[kuhio98]

Lisa, I don't know what kind of canned food you're feeding, but I've found that most of the pieces are so soft that they can be easily mashed with a fork. My Grey Boys outside won't eat pieces, chunks, shreds, etc., so when I accidentally bought some, I just heated it, smashed it all really well with a fork, and they cleaned it up. Might be worth a try until you get a processor.:)

Thanks Sharon. That's what we're doing for now. I add a little water and mash it up. She still won't eat it all, but we are getting more calories into her. :)

I don't know why cat food manufacturer's don't market kitty gravy. I've found dog gravy food, but never for cats.

Cammie-Cat is doing well. Sleeping in front of the fireplace - snoring away. :D

[maerlyn]

Well, that's me, Lisa - old, befuddled, and a day late & dollar short! :D
At least you're getting something into her and she's holding her own. The small food processor certainly looks like what you need. Good luck!

[Shady]

When Tinkerbelle got fussy (she had all her teeth) to entice her to eat wet food, I did the tiny food processor thing for awhile, but I also found buying the pate type cat food, and making a chicken broth to mix with it, just enough to make it lickable..she devoured it...and it was much less work for me...and it adds calories.

I boil a chicken breast, use the broth to keep in a container in the fridge and add it fresh to each meal..you might want to nuke it for a few seconds to make it more palatable and it's much more enticing warm. Good for about a week in the fridge. You can also freeze it in ice cube containers for individual meals if you want to keep it longer.