CAMPYLOBACTER: Anyone else had it?

[Goosey Lucy]

Kushka, my beloved cat of nearly 19 years, is finally succumbing to kidney disease. I am trying to make her final days as enjoyable as possible but am finding it hard to give her food she will eat. Typically for a cat with her condition she is becoming very choosy about her food. She is also struggling to keep food down.

 

She seems to like sloppy food. She will lick the gravy/jelly off proper cat food but leave any meaty/solid bits. Tiny amounts of chicken and steamed fish are ok as is the occasional poached egg. Does anyone have any other ideas? Other meat seems to aggravate her stomach.

 

She has been on a diet for kidney disease very successfully for the last 10 years or so but my vet and I feel there's no point giving her this food anymore as she simply doesn't want to eat it.

[DebC]

Sorry to hear that your cat is poorly. When our old cat was that age, and equally fussy, her favorite food was Aldi Kitten food in the foil tray. We bought some by mistake because the labels all look the same . But one day we had run out except for that one, so we gave it to her as a one off - she eat more that day than she had in ages so we regularly bought it for her, at least she was eating. The vet said given her age and lack of food otherwise it would be ok. so it became a regular!

 

hope she does well.

 

all the best

[Goosey Lucy]

Thanks Deb, no Aldi over here but I'll try some kitten food tomorrow. Tbh the smell of most cat food puts me off so I don't really blame her for not wanting to eat it.

 

My vet is saying the same as yours, some food is better than no food.

[DebC]

Opps didn't notice your location! Hope she eats something. I have to say our cat was so fussy that that by the end she would only eat Aldi food (at least she was cheapt to feed!), but I'm sure any kitten food will help.

[Goosey Lucy]

Looks like Kushka is the same age as Purdy when you lost her. No worries about the location, I'll try and adapt any ideas. I'm just running low at the mo.

 

Sorry about Purdy

[Tutti Frutti]

Aww I'm sorry to read about your cat. It's so incredibly hard, they ARE a member of the family and you want to do all you can to make them happy and comfortable. My three at 17 and a bit and the two sisters have renal failure, although the brother seems to have got away with it so far (touch wood!). The girls hate their renal diet too so we mix in the odd pouch of posh cat food and, just like Kushka, they lick the jelly off. So sometimes I mash it all in with a fork and, if I'm lucky, that works. We got desperate as they both lost a lot of weight so have tried all sorts but the vet recommended red meat (beef, lamb) over white (chicken or fish), saying that opinion has changed. So I bought some good mince and put it in an icecube tray and froze it. Then I take a couple of cubes out, microwave for a few seconds, let it cool and give them to the girls - one loves it, the other will eat it if she's starving but her appetite is very wonky right now (so I'm resorting to Whiskas cat milk - it's creamy and she laps it up. I know milk is off the menu but, in desperate times, something is better than nothing!).

 

HTH. Good luck

[Chucky Mama]

Warming strong smelling food helps - frying is good & adding a little garlic can also make it more palatable. It is best to offer something little and often. There is a pre made food called Liquivite that is specifically made for anorexic cats. It will be quite high in protein which is not ideal for your cat but I think that feeding a low protein diet is academic now really. Your vet should be able to get you a tin to try. If your cat has really not eaten anything a shot of i/v valium can get them going again (may not be a good idea though if vomiting as they can consume huge amounts after valium).

[Goosey Lucy]

Thank you so much for your replies.

 

Strangely it's strong smelling food she is avoiding.Today she's had a bit more poached egg. She likes the runny yolk so I mash it all together and she eats some of the white. She had a steroid injection last Friday which I think helped a little with her appetite but its effects are wearing off now I'm due totake her back again to the vet a week today but know I can take her sooner if necessary.

 

Milk, even cat milk, has always made her sick so I probably won't try that but will investigate the Liquivite food.

 

I'm not working at the moment so can offer her tiny portions of food.

 

I'll try frying a piece of fish for her later.

 

Forgot to mention she also has a thyroid problem, is arthritic and almost deaf so some medication she used to be on (Metacam) has been used in the past but isn't being recommended at the moment. I'm not expecting a miracle and for her to improve, all I want is for her to be comfortable.

 

Thank you again.

[Minnie&Moose]

So very sorry to hear about your cat. Our ageing male, who has had kidney problems for the last 7 years, will eat white fish when he's having a bad time with his kidneys. We buy blocks of frozen coley and cod from the supermarket and give it to him cooked (I microwave it and then add some water). We then feed him small fish only meals with plenty of the cooking liquor - sometimes he just laps up the fishy water but usually he'll take the lot. I also sometimes find he does better with warm food rather than stuff straight from the fridge.

 

Hugs to you and your cat.

[bethany]

I hand raised my cat and so when she got ill as a baby I had to feed her soft food so most of what I tempted her with was in liquid(ish) form from my finger tips to tempt her. All I could get her to eat was cheese, even soft cheese went down well, weetabix mixed with cat milk (cimi milk from the vets) and tinned tuna. The thing about cimi milk is it has all the nutrients they need from food but is a substitute. My cat never liked cat milk but she loves that, even when ill. However... it comes in biggish tubs so is more costly than normal cat milk. Its basically like baby formula milk and smells almost identical to SMA.

 

Hope that helps

[Goosey Lucy]

Thank you Minnie&Moose and Bethany.

 

Kushka is looking much better. We've had no more bouts of sickness and she's eating as much chicken and white fish as I want to give her. I think she has appreciated some proper food. She's still not wanting any packet food and has gone off oily fish but she looks twice the cat she was this time last week.

 

Thank you for all your ideas and support.

 

Here is a photo I like of her, it's a bit old but sums her up really well.

 

 

Lucy & Kushka

[Chucky Mama]

Lovely photo, glad she had something to eat, I'm sure she will feel much better for it

[Minnie&Moose]

Great picture - I particularly like the tongue Good to hear she's eating and not throwing up.

[Goosey Lucy]

Kushka is to be renamed Lazarus! Seems to be almost back to her normal self but still a bit picky with food. What the vet will say when we go on Wednesday is anyone's guess. I don't think he was really expecting to see her again.

 

Thank you everyone x

[Minnie&Moose]

That's great news Lucy. I'm so delighted to hear that Kushka has managed so well for so long with kidney disease. Max (our mog) has now done >7yrs with it and it's been wonderful (mostly!) but quite an emotional roller coaster over the years.