Hi LJ,
I think what Michelle was asking is what has the vet diagnosed Minnie
with besides the felv. Felv in and of itself does not make them sick.
It makes their immune system weak and they can't fight off diseases as
well as cats that don't have felv. You have to know what is making
Minnie sick in order to know how to treat it. If your vet is telling
you only that she has felv and not treating whatever is making her
sick, only trying to keep her alive with fluids, then you need to see
another vet or talk to your current one about diagnosing what's going
on. Do try offering Minnie other things to eat, if her stomach is
upset, she may be less likely to eat things that she's eaten before.
Use your imagination and think like a cat. Sometimes they will lap
food, but won't chew. Sometimes warming food will bring out the aroma
more and get them to eat. Please do try the baby food. Get Beechnut,
rather than Gerbers and an all meat type, like chicken, turkey or
beef. Beef is harder to digest so you might be better off with
poultry, but I have one kitty that won't eat any except the Gerbers ham
baby food. You have to just keep trying. I've had kitties stop eating
and when I give them just a taste, (with putting food in their mouths,
either with my finger or syringe), they'll start to lap it off the
bowl. It sort of gets them kick-started and reminds them they are
hungry.
Another hint for getting cats to drink more water is to get one of
those kitty fountains. It circulates the water in the bowl and some
cats are more likely to drink running water, maybe they are attracted
to the sound of it. Give her plain broth and try the liver shake
recipe that has been recommended on the list. Here's a recipe from a
friend of mine that has worked well for some of my cats, (I've also
added colostrum to the recipe):
The
following is a sort of 'tonic' I developed during episodes in my cats
of
inappetence and/or vomiting, diarrhea, etc., when they wouldn't eat
food. This
is a short-term option I have used successfully to provide some
nutrients while
supporting the cats back to health. I give it via oral syringe, usually
in 1/8
tsp or 1/4 tsp doses at a time every 30-60 minutes depending upon the
individual circumstances.
1/4 cup plain
chicken
broth (I prefer it fairly watery and not too much fat; I usually have
some of
this in the freezer from when I crock-pot a chicken for one of the
above
recipes)
couple drops PetTinic
2 smidgens of
KMR (VetSolutions Kitten
Milk Replacement formula)
2 smidgens of Slippery Elm Bark powder
1 smidgen of
Acidophilus
powder (Kyo-Dophilus)
Sending prayers for you and your beloved Minnie that she gets better
very soon,
Please do find yourself a vet that can help you,
Nina
l.j. crabtree wrote:
What exactly is wrong with Minnie? I may have missed
some of thethread.Is
she being treated for anything?
Felv, michelle. i hate that she is suffering like this...
she has been my constant companion for the past ten years
LJ
