I need a cat whisperer {seriously}

[Amber St. Clare]

This Verizon strike has my husband working 12 straight hours and sleeping long hours when he gets home . As a result, he has precious little time for us, let alone the cat. {I barely see him.} Oscar is all out of sorts--he refuses to eat or drink and spends most of his time {that I'm aware of} lying on his place on the dining room table {don't judge} like a stuffed animal with his back to us. He used to come over for a little visit during the news at noon, now he ignores both me and my son. I'm worried I am going to have to take him to the vets for an IV infusion as I montor the litter box and there's minimal output.

He went on hunger strike last summer when when my husband went away and it caused all kinds of health problems for him. I'm very serious here--does ANYONE have any suggestions for getting an extremely pissed off cat to eat? He's an senior citizen and has health issues already and I am at my wits end.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[iLander]

Did you try a can of sardines (in water)? And a lot of praise?

I give my cat a can of sardines for Christmas and he loves it.

I suspect it's a vet thing, though. Animals can be problematic, I had to take my little dog last week because she managed to rupture her anal glands and I've been rubbing goo on her butt twice a day for a week now. Lovely.

 

[cookies]

You may want to try feeding him some fish, the kind that can also be eaten by humans. It works great on my cat, no matter what state he is in. When we first got him, he hid under our bed, and refused to come out until I put a bowl of dried fish near the bed frame. He always goes crazy over fish that is caught alive and cooked fresh. For the fresh fish, we fry it in the pan for a little bit with wine, vinegar, and soy sauce, then add some salt and some water so the cat can have some delicious broth to go with the fish. He also likes dried saltwater fish a lot (we usually steam it before giving it to him).

Did he vomit? If so, you may want to take him to the vet.

 

[y2kitty]

Google Jackson Galaxy, find his website and ask him.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Islander and Coookie--thank you. I will run down to Stop and Shop and get a piece of fish and get my son to cook it and feed Oscar.

HereKittyKitty. I will google that site.

Thank you all. Oscar means a lot to us and we want to keep him healthy.

 

[Gypsy]

Okay... so my advice is some "rescue remedy" (google it) and something that smells like your husband plus a Feliway plug in. And some kitten milk (in a can at the pet store). If he even has a little of the kitten milk a day it will provide both liquid and nutrients. My cats love kitten milk. You can see if he does too. It's different enough from their everyday that it perks their interest.

I'd put the plug in where he lays (in the dining room) and put something that smells of your husband in a pile near it. I'd put the cat milk in a bowl near the stuff that smells of your husband and try to get your husband, one night when he's home, to put the cat at the bowl then leave (don't stay with him). Use rescue remedy as it says on the bottle.

I'm sorry honey. ((HUGS))

 

[Matata]

Get another cat as a companion for Oscar.

 

[movie zombie]

clear some hours in the day and just lay beside kitty, your tummy against his back. just be there. give him some pets. make him the total object of your focus and attention. do this each day. if you could wear a t-shirt your hubby wore the day before it would make it even better.

 

[LGK]

I had two older kitties die this last spring/summer, and I tried *everything* to feed them. Here's some of the things that can tempt kitties to eat:

Baby food, the meat varieties, warmed gently in microwave, and some cats do better if you put it on a finger for them to lick off. Also try gently wiping a dab on their noses.

High calorie canned cat food from teh vet

Super high calorie nutrient goop you can get at pet stores, which is what I mostly went with at the end for my guys- when I gave up with force feeding, I'd pop their mouths open like you do to pill, and wipe this stuff on the tongue- it was calorie packed so any little bit helped. I can't remember what the brand name was- after O.P. passed away I never wanted to see this tube again and chucked it, so I can't pull it out to check, but I'm sure there's a number of types.

When eating gets critical, feed him *anything* he might be tempted by- cruddy stinky cheap wet food, canned tuna, cooked chicken, sour cream, whatever. Any favorite foods whatsoever.

Good luck! Poor guy. You're sure it's just that he's upset and not sick?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

How is your kitty doing now? Like LGK said, you can warm the food in the microwave as it increases the auroma and your senior kitty may not have as good of sense of smell since she is older.

I would take her in. When my senior kitty quit eating, turned out she was sick!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

How is your kitty doing now? Like LGK said, you can warm the food in the microwave as it increases the auroma and your senior kitty may not have as good of sense of smell since he is older.

I would take him in. When my senior kitty quit eating, turned out she was sick!

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Just to give you all an update: After my trying the food route, the t-shirt suggestins and and various websites: Oscar didn't rally. Yesterday morning he had a stroke and we took him to the vet's office for his final journey.

We are all extremely sad and upset, but the poor thing couldn't walk, his tongue was hanging out and his lips were blue. It was his time and we didnt want to keep him any longer and suffer one more second than he had to .

Thanks for your suggestions. It's not a happy time at the St. Clare house right now.

 

[dragonfly411]

I'm sorry!

 

[iLander]

Awwww, so sorry to hear this

Big hugs to you, Amber, you gave him a good life.

 

[LGK]

I'm so sorry. We just lost our older kittyboys and it's incredibly difficult even if they had a long and happy life. Ack, totally tearing up now.

 

[audball]

So sorry to hear about Oscar. You're in my thoughts.

 

[movie zombie]

RIP kitty.

you did the right thing. it wasn' easy but it was the right thing. Oscar will live in your heart forever.

 

[tyty333]

I'm so sorry Amber.

 

[Gypsy]

Aww honey. I'm so sorry. ((HUGS))

 

[centralsquare]

I'm so sorry to hear this....my condolences.

 

[Autumnovember]

Oh my...I am so sorry

 

[susimoo]

I am so sorry. Sending you all a big hug. xxx

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Thank you all for your kindness.

Our vet call this morning. They have a homeless 3 year old female and are wondering if we are interested. Apparently her owner has to go into assisted living and they are wondering if we are interested in adopting so soon. My guys want to, but I don't think I am ready yet...and I'm the one who will be with her all day. This is something I will have to think about tonite, long and hard. It's only been 48 hours for heavens sake! Anyway,l thanks again for your thoughtful and comforting words.

 

[packrat]

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry Amber!

I know it's hard to think about a new kitty right now...When we put our Bella down a few months ago, I was 100% against anymore cats, I just wanted to have the one we had left and that's it..I decided that b/c we're getting a puppy soon, I wanted the puppy to grow up around cats as playmates, not just the crotchety Britta. A couple weeks after Bella was gone we got Chucknorris, and then a month or so later we got Opilio. The kids handled Bella's passing better than I, but the new kittens helped them. And the kitties help me too. They'll never in a million years replace my perfect Bella, they're their own individual kitty-selves and never meant as replacements..I just think of them as..a continuation I guess.

You'll always have your love for Oscar in your heart, but hearts are stretchy and can make room for a new kitty who needs love too.

 

[pregcurious]

I'm sorry, Amber!

My cats always loved canned dark meat, shredded tuna, especially the tuna juice.

 

[LGK]

Amber, I ended up getting new kitty Dex about a week after I lost Rat, due to DH's urging. I was really glad I did. He was a comfort. It's not like you're replacing your loved one you lost, but you have someone new to comfort you and distract you. The house can feel mighty empty unfortunately. Of course it's your choice but I wanted to let you know I too had some reservations about getting a new cat so soon, but was very, very glad I did. Anyway I hope you're doing OK. It's so hard to lose a loved kitty.