Conference misery::feline

    Welcome to the file!!!  I always get VERY nervous if any of
    my cats stop eating a hearty meal....and it normally means 
    "something" is wrong!!!!  It could be stress...but I tend to
    believe it's some type of infection she is dealing with!!!
    
    She probably LOVES the smell of the gold fish food...and if I
    remember right..=fish food really "stinks".  That's probably what is
    enticing her to eat her food when the fish food is sprinkled
    on top.
    
    
    Sandy

    I agree with Sandy.  Fish food smells awful!!  Yet a cat will be
    attracted to a highly scented food when all else is ignored.  For
    now you may want to just sprinkle just a little bit on her food so that
    she will eat.  Other methods are heating her food slightly, or putting
    the juice from canned tuna fish over it.
    
    She may have a uterine infection since the litter.  You didn't say how
    old the baby was.  I would keep a close eye on her and then call your
    vet as soon as they return.  Watch to see if she is dehydrated.  If she
    is you need to call another vet no matter what, now!
    
    To test for dehydration:
    Pull up the skin at her shoulder blades and release it.  If healthy,
    her skin should very quicly slide back into position.  If it slowly
    goes back, she needs fluids quickly.  Compare her reaction time to the
    kittens for a good test.
    Good luck,
    Karen

      I also have a cat who likes fish food. Unfortunately, she likes to eat
    everything else, too! But your note prompted me to call my vet and he 
    said fish food is very bad for a cat and to keep her away from it.
    Someone else might like to check with their vet and see what opinions
    there are out there. I'm sorry Mini isn't well, but I agree with .1.
    You really need to talk to your vet. 
      I hope she perks up soon. I know how it feels to have a sick kitty.
    
    b.r.
    

    thank you very much for your replies (and for the welcome also!) and
    sorry for not replying any sooner than now, I've been out for a couple of
    days.
    
    My vet is (sigh) still on vacation but she is expected to be back any
    days now so I will surely check things up with her.
    
    Unexpectedly (and luckily) Mini seems to be doing quite better these
    days, she doesn't eat much still but at least she eats regularly. So I
    stopped with the fish food.
    Still, I have to keep her separate from the kitten (Vicky) when they 
    eat because even the minimal distraction is enough for her to stop eating. 
    
    Also Mini's mood is quite better: she is playing again and she is back
    sleeping on my bed and purring and asking for cuddling. I checked her
    for dehidration and this doesn't seem to be the case.
    
    So I guess that things are definetely getting better for her. Anyway, 
    I'll check with the vet asap.
    
    I have another little problem and I figured I'll keep on asking here.
    
    Vicky (5 months old now) simply refuses to eat anything else than raw
    minced meat. And it has to be very very fresh otherwise she will turn
    her back away.
    
    Well, I try to keep a fresh stock of meat for her and also I freeze
    portions of meat as soon as I buy it so that it will still be very
    fresh when I defreeze it and give it to her. But this means frequent
    trips to the butcher and I don't have too much time for that.
    
    If it happens that I do not have fresh meat and therefore I give her
    cat food, whatever the food she won't eat it. Period. And this can go
    on for days. She will still ask for her food, she seems very hungry but
    no way she will eat cat food of any sort. 
    
    I have the idea the raw meat is missing quite a bit of nutritionals she
    needs (ie vitamines ...) (also I'm afraid of belly bugs) so I'm not too 
    pleased with this but I do not have any idea on how to convince her to 
    eat also something else. I changed many kinds of cat food (dry food 
    included) but no way. 
    
    I do not like the idea very much but do you think that when she will be
    hungry enough she will surrender and try the cat food or maybe this is
    just wasted effort on my (and her as well) side? Well, she is quite
    fatty so I guess that a bit of diet won't do her much damage ... ;-)
    
    Is it possible for a kitty to be so stubborn? 
    
    And what if *I* give in and just feed her as she likes? Would this be
    really bad for her health?
    
    Well, this two furry faces are really keeping me busy this days ....
    
    Thank you all again for being so supporting with my questions and ciao!
    
    graziella
    
    

    
    Raw meet is not a good idea to feed anybody these days with worms and
    all. It might help to get real smelly food I am not sure if it was
    wiskas or friskies that realy stink. Sometimes just adding a little 
    tuna water over their food seems to do the trick. 
    We have one cat that does not eat any canned cat food, he nibbles a 
    bit and that's it but loves the IAMS dry food. So if that is available
    in your area, you might want to try a sample on her. 
    
    Good luck, 
    
    Shaw

    Ohhhh...you have one spoiled kitty on your hands!!!
    
    I agree that keeping a kitty on only raw meat is not a healthy
    choice.  Cat food has many vitamins a cat needs to survive....such
    as Taurnine which a cat needs to prevent heart problems and there
    are other vitamins they need.    
    
    My suggestion would be try real hard to make her eat some cat food
    but you might have to transition this very slowly.   Start by using
    cat food and mixing the raw meat with it.  Then start putting less
    meat in it every day.   It's going to be tough and the kitty might
    put on an "Act" and not eat for a few days....but you must be
    persistent because she will eat when she is hungry.
    
    I see no problem using the meat as treats....but instead of buying 
    raw meat you might want to try buying slice chicken or slice roast
    beef!  Good luck....
    
    Sandy   
    
    
    

    I agree with what Sandy says. You also might want to try temping her
    with baby food, which most cats think is candy. Once kitty realizes
    that she likes something other than raw meat, she might be willing to
    try something else (cat food).
    
    Also, you might want to try leaving out some dry food for her and keep
    monitoring the bowl to see if she has eaten any.
    
    good luck,
    Deb

    yes! they can be so stubborn!  state's exhibit A is my stella who, from
    age 7 weeks to 10 weeks,
     was sooooooo stubborn i did not think i would
    live to survive it.  she wanted people food.  no cat food would do it.
    
    ended up with gerber's baby food, which she would eat.  then, i mixed
    ground up dry cat food with the baby food, using more cat food eat
    time.  eventually, it was all cat food.  but whatta haul!  hang in
    there!
    
    diane
    with stella & stanley

    As the proud pet of 9 full grown cats and four kittens I can tell you
    right now that cat food is all they can have, with the exception of the 
    tuna juice and every so often scrambled eggs.
    
    The vets say never give them people food, because of spices and
    preservatives that only humans can tolerate and then some of us can't.
    
    What they make cat food out of is not very tempting, but it is for them
    and other notes have indicated some good brands of food.  I have found
    from raising over twenty different cats, that when all else fails and
    you don't give in they will eat what is left for them.  
    
    It may seem cruel, but you must run the house not them.   As for your
    Mini and her "mini" depression this could be that she is in fear that
    her offspring is wanting food or frustrated that she is still around.
    
    One of my older cats had two litters to close, didn't have a chance
    after the planned pregnancy to get her in before she was pregnant.
    Regardless after having the second litter and keeping four of her
    offspring she got real sassy.  She would act forlorn and picky then she
    went into a sassy stage.  Even now with the new ones she fears that
    they are coming for milk and they do that with all the cats. 
    
    My suggestion is that make time for Minni, she may feel left out,
    because of Vickie.  Feed her seperate and see how she does.  As for
    Vickie stop the people food now, with the exceptions, cause you will
    have a finiky cat on your hands. 
    
    I cat sit for enough of my friends and neighbors and let me tell you
    their cats are so finiky that I look to mine as great felines they eat
    what they are served.  Though Christopher Robin likes to steal
    tollhouse cookies from the cooling rack.  Which are not good for him,
    but I find the evidence after the fact.
    
    Good luck, but keep strong

    thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
    
    I started feeding Vicky (the kitten) with half raw meat and half cat
    food, she was not really happy with it but after a while decided to
    give in. 
    
    I make sure that the meat and the cat food are very well mixed so that
    she won't be able to pick up only the meat but still is very funny to
    see her doing all what she can to get just the meat. Anyway after a
    while her dish is empty so I guess that she had it all.
    
    This morning I tried to give them only cat food and Vicky was not
    really happy, at the end both dishes were empty but I do not know how
    much each of them actually eat because Mini is sooo slow in eating and
    I do not have all the time of the world to sit there and check what's
    going on. Usually I sit there up to when I am sure that both of them
    are eating well and then I go and look after my business.
    
    Anyway, they are really funny. Yesterday evening for istance I gave
    them EXACTLY the same food. They both eat up to half their portion,
    then looked around a bit suspicious, checked each other dishes and BOTH
    went on eating from the other one dish!!! How do you say "grass is
    always greener ..." ;) ??
    
    Thank you again for you support and ciao!!
    graziella

    Glad to hear that Vicky is working her way through her eating problems.
    
    After advising on the facts that you should never give the kittens or
    cats people food, well I have to admit that this past weekend  I had
    made my famous pesto lasagna, filled with lots of vegetables and
    several meats.  While the people were serving themselves the kittens(
    awaiting new homes) and the other cats sat under the table awaiting the
    humans to drop this forbidden fruit.  The black and white kitten who
    looks like Figaro from Pinnochio (sp) went to everyone to see if he was
    going to get his own plate.  I was telling this to my best friend John
    who has one of the littermates, and he told me it is highly unusual for
    cats to eat tomato sauces etc.....  I told him in this house they
    beg to lick the cans when I am making a sauce, that an tuna fish they
    going crazy for, and I should say anything with a tomato base they will
    eat.
    
    So see if Vicky will try some vegetables.  Last night after shucking
    corn they were there trying to eat the corn husks.  Heaven knows these
    cats are fed, my market bill shows that....
    
    Let us know how they are progressing.
    
    Elise

    My Kostas gets a pureed tomato every night in the summer, and a saucer
    full of pureed tomatoes every other night (he will only eat Progresso
    brand). This is good for him since he is an FUS cat.
    
    Deb

    
    Wow!  So does the Princess Panther Jane!  (But it has to be MaMa
    Spinglers home made spagetti sauce. - None of that doctored canned
    stuff for the Princess :-)  It's a good reason for spoiling her, she
    has such good taste, who could disagree with her choices????
    
    Like Princess, Like Attorney!
    
    Feline Silly today
    
    Sue & Furry crew

    This is great to hear about this, because people thought my cats were
    strange, but now that I ran a sanity check through here I can tell
    them about your babes.
    
    I'll be making homemade sauce this weekend and let's see what they
    will do with that.
    
    

    Forgot the other thing that Clarisse loves to eat champagne roses, and
    roses in general.  I found six out of twelve of the long stem roses
    bit in half a few weeks ago.  If it is a flower she will go after it,
    but the champagne roses, very expensive, are her all time favorites.
    
    Like growing the catnip they won't let it get past the first few
    leaves.
     
    How is Vicky doing?????

    RE: .13
    
    Uh, It is only the pureed tomatoes that come from a can (and then only
    durring the off season). When he eats spagetti (which he loves), I
    would never dare give him spagetti sauce that wasn't homemade
    (contining lots of hamburg, a little zuccini and plenty of fresh
    hand-grated cheeze for a topping! He'd sue (and win)!
    
    Deb
    
    

    hyall,
    
    Vicky and Mini are definetely ok these days.
    
    Mini (mummy cat) is back to her old self, eating regularly and actually
    putting on weight. 
    
    Vicky is still fuzzy with cat food and I serve them a mix of meat and cat 
    food most of the time. 
     
    She is really stubborn though because she needs to skip at least two meals
    before even trying to eat pure cat food. 
    
    It happens infact that I run out of meat and therefore just serve her cat 
    food. When she is not hungry enough (ie she had her regular food the 
    evening before), she will meow very hungrily when I fix their stuff, but 
    as soon as I serve it to her she just sniffs at it, tries to cover it like
    with litter and turns back (maybe trying with her mother dish just in
    case ...)
    
    I never tried to give them any veggies, let alone tomato sauce, because
    they never seemed interested in people food.
    
    Thank you for asking and ciao to everybody
    graziella