Anorexia in shelter cats

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

Student VN — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:39:13 GMT

thanks everyone for your help, Ithink we will just have to really make a point of getting volunteers on board with encouraging cats to eat! thanks again :)

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

fairy — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 17:27:28 GMT

Pilchards in tomato sauce and lots of stroking :-)

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

jojofruits — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 08:54:56 GMT

Hi there

We use Feliway, have volunteers who come in to do cat cuddling, we blend food ( works brilliantly) , use fresh chicken where appropriate and use seperate pairs of gloves for each cat ( infection control and minimise smells)

We also house the cats in pairs, and where the runs are much larger, in small groups pairing them up really does seem to help with their confidence

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

Ceri Boyd — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 21:42:22 GMT

Oh yes definitely agree wth that! Lots of tlc! Also, is there maybe a larger area or different area to try feeding so it's further away from bed and litter tray etc? Ceri x

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

Celine — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 20:23:51 GMT

In my experience there's nothing that gets a cat wanting to eat than a really good cuddle, quite interactive, lots of tickling under the chin and behind the ears. I've seen a lot of cats in hospital then decide to take a look at the food bowl, but often will only eat as long as the stroking keeps going!! Obviously this might not be appropriate if your cats are people-averse, do you have lots of volunteers that can spend time just sitting with and stroking them?

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

Student VN — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 18:13:09 GMT

Thanks Ceri, ye tried heating the food etc and all our cats have hide boxes so I don't really know if there's much else that we can do? I just wanted to try everything before stressing them out with pills etc.

cheers for your help

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

Ceri Boyd — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 17:31:11 GMT

Also hide boxes for nervous cats - place food under this! :)

Re: Anorexia in shelter cats

Ceri Boyd — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 17:29:16 GMT

Have you tried the basics like warming food to body temperature, placing small amounts on paws to lick off, different types of bowls, different foods eg wet/dry? :)

Ceri x