About Orangie (our cat)

[Z...]

Not sure about CAT scan either, I cannot imagine doing that here as it would be very expansive, but I thought it is the norm in US and Canada.
It would probably cost a bomb if you don't have pet insurance , ultrasound is next best thing, especially if the interpreter is seasoned and proficient. So i would say go for it.

You can get the milk thistle from any health food shop, its not homeopathic preparation. Its the same tincture that is used for liver cleanse in humans.

Even if there is no grains in it I would say avoid commercial cat food like a plague for various reasons.There is too much carbs in whiskas food, in my opinion cats are very sensitive to carbs and they are not meant to have any.

 

[Lilou]

I hear that cats can live up to 20 years, so I am crossing my fingers. She is loved by many, this cat :)

I hope Orange will be okay Alana and any liver issues can be remedied. I had a yellow, long haired cat who looked very much like your cat and she lived 19 years. Her diet was mostly raw organ meat. This was back on the farm, when we didn't buy canned food for our pets.

Our forum is so lucky to have Dr. Herr. I trust he'll give excellent advice. And BTW, Herr, I like your new avatar. I am happy to see you abandoned that donkey in a row boat. :P

 

[Gertrudes]

Orangie is gorgeous Alana :)

I have to agree with Herr Eisenheim's take on commercial food. Several members have also reported their little fellows ' health dramatically improving once their diet was changed to "real" food.
My cat died 4 years ago at age 15. She died of cancer and, looking back, thinking of the food we gave her all her life I only wish I knew then what I know now, famous words...

We called the vet and he said he didn't know what was causing all these, he mentioned her old age, and suggested that we take her to the closest big city (which is about 5 hrs from here and Orangie does not like trips in cars) for a CAT scan.

Could you give her something to make her sleep through the journey? Perhaps Herr Eisenheim will have some ideas.

 

[Z...]

My cat died 4 years ago at age 15. She died of cancer and, looking back, thinking of the food we gave her all her life I only wish I knew then what I know now, famous words...

the famous quote "longer the shelf life, shorter the life span" could be applied here

Could you give her something to make her sleep through the journey? Perhaps Herr Eisenheim will have some ideas.

I wouldn't really go for sedatives because the vet might need to sedate Orangie for ultrasound, Bach flower rescue remedy or valeriana extract might help

 

[Gertrudes]

Could you give her something to make her sleep through the journey? Perhaps Herr Eisenheim will have some ideas.

I wouldn't really go for sedatives because the vet might need to sedate Orangie for ultrasound, Bach flower rescue remedy or valeriana extract might help

Yes, that's more of what I had in mind, something natural. Thanks Herr!

 

[Alana]

Not sure about CAT scan either, I cannot imagine doing that here as it would be very expansive, but I thought it is the norm in US and Canada.
It would probably cost a bomb if you don't have pet insurance , ultrasound is next best thing, especially if the interpreter is seasoned and proficient. So i would say go for it.

We are scheduled to go to the other town next month anyway, so we have some time. My housemates say to try her on milk thistle and the raw food diet first and see how that goes. Maybe ultrasound won't be needed? She seems to be getting back to her old self nowadays, especially since we quit giving her fish oils. But I wonder if fish oils were the culprit, since the catinfo.org writer adds a lot of fish oils in the cat food recipe

You can get the milk thistle from any health food shop, its not homeopathic preparation. Its the same tincture that is used for liver cleanse in humans.

Thanks, got it and she started her treatment today :)

Even if there is no grains in it I would say avoid commercial cat food like a plague for various reasons.There is too much carbs in whiskas food, in my opinion cats are very sensitive to carbs and they are not meant to have any.

I read the catinfo.org post on how to make raw food for cats, and it is doable. We found a pet store in town also that carries it frozen, with a little bit amount of pumpkin in it and some lettuce (but mostly chicken, turkey, organ meats, plus bones). We are thinking on trying her on that to see her reaction first before we buy the equipment to start making our own.

 

[Z...]

Good news, I was also thinking that fish oil cannot be the culprit. Just be careful with carbs, cats should have maximum 2% carbs in their diet.

 

[VincentC]

Not sure about CAT scan either, I cannot imagine doing that here as it would be very expansive, but I thought it is the norm in US and Canada.
It would probably cost a bomb if you don't have pet insurance , ultrasound is next best thing, especially if the interpreter is seasoned and proficient. So i would say go for it.

Speaking of CAT scans, I always wondered if a more modern Superman would have CAT scan vision ;)
As far as pet insurance, once she was diagnosed it will probably be deemed a "preexisting condition", and won't be covered. Maybe try a vet discount program, I've used Pet Assure in the past instead of _http://www.petassure.com?src=bm pet insurance; I've heard of United Pet Care as well; I believe they will help defray the costs even for a preexisting condition.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

Hi Alana:

I just wanted to say I really hope Orangie is going to be ok - *hugs* for the little one

Even if there is no grains in it I would say avoid commercial cat food like a plague for various reasons.There is too much carbs in whiskas food, in my opinion cats are very sensitive to carbs and they are not meant to have any.

I realize you say even if there is no grains in it to avoid commercial foods... but I've been feeding my cat (Luna) no-grain canned cat-food from Natural Balance . I guess my question would be if you can't make raw food, what would be the best alternative?

Also do you have any advice in regards to hair-balls? I've also noticed that once in a while Luna throws up a bit of water which seems whitish, sometimes there is hair in it, but sometimes it's just liquid. Should I be worried? It happens rarely, but it happens. Most of the time when she throws up it's hair-balls though (about once a month, sometimes longer).

 

[Z...]

Hi Deedlet If you want to do everything right, then there is no alternative ;) Would you eat out of the can or packet every day?

That is fairly normal, and it is actually good that cats vomit hairballs every now and then. You can help the process by adding a table spoon of olive oil, or get some of the pastes (Hairball Reedy from Hartz for example) and smudge it on her paws at least 3 times a week. When she grooms herself she will ingest it.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

Hi Deedlet If you want to do everything right, then there is no alternative ;) Would you eat out of the can or packet every day?

No.. I wouldn't want to eat out of a packet or can everyday
So I should really start putting her on the raw-meat diet.

So from what I understand from the site Alana provided. If you're going to start feeding raw foods to kitty you have to ease her into it by first cutting some raw meat up (example chicken thigh) and mix it in with her wet-food that she eats now and see if she'll eat it. Once she starts eating it, cut out the wet-food and begin grinding chicken and bones (for calcium) add eggs (optional) with fish oil, taurine, vitamin E, and vitamin B-complex. Does that sound right?

That is fairly normal, and it is actually good that cats vomit hairballs every now and then. You can help the process by adding a table spoon of olive oil, or get some of the pastes (Hairball Reedy from Hartz for example) and smudge it on her paws at least 3 times a week. When she grooms herself she will ingest it.

That's good to know! Thanks so much

 

[Z...]

So from what I understand from the site Alana provided. If you're going to start feeding raw foods to kitty you have to ease her into it by first cutting some raw meat up (example chicken thigh) and mix it in with her wet-food that she eats now and see if she'll eat it. Once she starts eating it, cut out the wet-food and begin grinding chicken and bones (for calcium) add eggs (optional) with fish oil, taurine, vitamin E, and vitamin B-complex. Does that sound right?

yes in this thread http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,27321.0.html there is a link to website that contains everything you need to know about making your own cat food. Its not that difficult and the biggest investment is good quality meat grinder which will grind bones as well.

 

[mcb]

Hi Deedlet If you want to do everything right, then there is no alternative ;) Would you eat out of the can or packet every day?

That is fairly normal, and it is actually good that cats vomit hairballs every now and then. You can help the process by adding a table spoon of olive oil, or get some of the pastes (Hairball Reedy from Hartz for example) and smudge it on her paws at least 3 times a week. When she grooms herself she will ingest it.

We have to do that will Bella -- smear it on her paws -- or she won't touch it. Cassie likes it right out of the tube. She will lick it off our fingers. We are concerned about the ingredients in the pastes, though.

 

[mcb]

...So from what I understand from the site Alana provided. If you're going to start feeding raw foods to kitty you have to ease her into it by first cutting some raw meat up (example chicken thigh) and mix it in with her wet-food that she eats now and see if she'll eat it. Once she starts eating it, cut out the wet-food and begin grinding chicken and bones (for calcium) add eggs (optional) with fish oil, taurine, vitamin E, and vitamin B-complex. Does that sound right?...

Easing them into it can work better; we have confirmed that. The best thing is to imprint them when they are young, but they can adapt later on. I don't know about older cats. If they are coming off of high-carb foods, they may well go through a genetic adaptation, much as we do.

Cats need organ meats (like we do). We have decided for now to buy prepared raw food, rather than having to buy the meat and bones and grind everything. It depends on your situation.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

So from what I understand from the site Alana provided. If you're going to start feeding raw foods to kitty you have to ease her into it by first cutting some raw meat up (example chicken thigh) and mix it in with her wet-food that she eats now and see if she'll eat it. Once she starts eating it, cut out the wet-food and begin grinding chicken and bones (for calcium) add eggs (optional) with fish oil, taurine, vitamin E, and vitamin B-complex. Does that sound right?

yes in this thread http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,27321.0.html there is a link to website that contains everything you need to know about making your own cat food. Its not that difficult and the biggest investment is good quality meat grinder which will grind bones as well.

Yes that was the site I checked out when I wrote the above. Thank you.

Regarding the hairballs. I tried to give her some olive oil but she didn't like it at all so I rubbed it on her paws as suggested and she was forced to lick it off even though she didn't like it ... and I was like "it's for your own good kitty!"

Quick question - does it matter if the olive oil is extra-virgin olive oil? Cause mine was extra-virgin. And I checked out the pet remedy from Hartz

here http://www.hartz.com/Hartz_Products/Cat_Products/Health_and_Wellness/Specific_care/3270095009_hartz_hairball_remedy_plus_paste.aspx

Is that the one?

...So from what I understand from the site Alana provided. If you're going to start feeding raw foods to kitty you have to ease her into it by first cutting some raw meat up (example chicken thigh) and mix it in with her wet-food that she eats now and see if she'll eat it. Once she starts eating it, cut out the wet-food and begin grinding chicken and bones (for calcium) add eggs (optional) with fish oil, taurine, vitamin E, and vitamin B-complex. Does that sound right?...

Easing them into it can work better; we have confirmed that. The best thing is to imprint them when they are young, but they can adapt later on. I don't know about older cats. If they are coming off of high-carb foods, they may well go through a genetic adaptation, much as we do.

Ah, well Luna is a bit of an older cat (12 years). So I guess I'll see how things go. And if I have questions I'll come ask ;)

Cats need organ meats (like we do). We have decided for now to buy prepared raw food, rather than having to buy the meat and bones and grind everything. It depends on your situation.

Interesting! Thanks Megan, I'm in the midst of some big changes in my life currently so after things settle down a bit I'll be changing Luna's diet immediately after. If I have problems finding a grinder or anything I'll make sure to visit the local butcher. And I'll be sure to get her some chicken liver - I'm sure she'll like that. One thing I always noticed though was that she never liked eating any sort of food wet or dry that had beef flavor to it. So I'm not sure how open she'll be to real raw beef, so I'll start her on chicken/turkey/fish things like that for now.

Thank you for all your help Herr & Megan.