It's almost 3 am and I am cutting cat food into smaller pieces, AMA
Go ahead, ask me anything
What the heck am I doing in the middle of the night cutting up slices of cat food into smaller pieces of cat food?
Our 17 yr cat lost a lot of weight recently and we are trying to get him to gain it back. He is hungry but has gotten a little more picky. He enjoys his special vet renal diet, but the wet style he likes only comes in 2 flavors and I don't want him to get sick of it. He can sometimes eat 2 of the 3 oz cans a day.
But he really, really likes to lick all the juice/liquid off. So we have been buying those little packets of Friskies (or whatever brand) of broth packets that come with some slices of cat food, as an afternoon and midnight snack. He loves the broth...yay! We tried regular broth...nope, hard to find some without onion powder or garlic. But he leaves the slices, because apparently they are too big. If I cut them up a little more, he will eat them. What the heck?
Last weekend I was having an anxiety attack...as I was shaking and struggling to breathe normally, he would just put his paw on me and purr. Just look right at me and I could feel his whole little body vibrate. So that is why I am up in the middle of the night doing whatever I can to help him feel better.
But for crying out loud...he used to eat mice...now I am serving him special diets, cutting up his food...I am drawing the line at baby bird feeding it to him.
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17 is a pretty good age for a cat. It is lovely that you are both there for each other.
hmmm, baby bird feeding does sound a little freaky. Syringe or bottle maybe? I hope he feels better.
We used to think we were "dog people"... until one stormy night in April we heard this pathetic noise outside. And there was this black cat about 6mos old who adopted us and our 2 dogs. Since then, we have adopted 2 more dogs (and the first 2 have passed on) so there were times he was a 10 pound kitty in a home with 4 80lb+ dogs and was still boss.
He doesn't know he is a cat...drinks out of the dog bowl, steals their food, sleeps in their beds, plays with their toys, and starts play fights with their tails.
He also comes when called..better than one of our dogs. He is so very cuddly and loving...he needs to be with the "pack" all the time. He is absolutely precious to me...he always knows when I am sad or sick or just need some extra love and he will attach himself to me more than usual. Right now I am in bed, lying on my stomach with him on my back...I can roll from side to side and he just rolls with me..like he put a quarter in and I'm some kind of carnival ride.
We are so lucky he chose us...
character. it's funny how cats can think they are the boss. my cat would sleep in the bend of my knees but when I had to switch sides (which I almost hated to do because I didn't want to disturb him) but I would switch sides and he would just sleepily sit up until I was settled again and return to sleep in the bend of my knee. yes, they are precious to us. and they need us. it's nice to be needed.
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someone also suggested kitten milk - we will try that too. I am so sorry your cat when through those months of painful poo.
I know the fancy feast brands and stuff aren't the healthiest, but at 17 he deserves to be spoiled with what he will eat. Once he gets his little belly back then we can talk about restricting diet to just the renal diet.
much love to you
Just to clarify though, the Stimson worked well for about two years, it was only that last month when they stopped working and I wanted to switch her back to Fancy because she would barely eat and got so constipated 
. Hope your kitty starts eating more!
The meanest kitty in the world doesn't care for bits or shreds and cutting the stuff with a knife or even regular kitchen shears is hand-crampingly difficult. Herb shears turn bits and shreds into pate and they even come with a cool blade-cleaner sheath.
Luckily they have them at Amazon.
but man he drinks the broth like crazy which I am happy about, since that helps prevent dehydration. I might have to try baby food as an occasional snack as well. Others have mentioned it so anything to give him some variety
His feeding schedule is pretty much every 4-6 hrs. I can't just leave food out for him - 1) wet stuff dries up and eewwww or 2) dogs eat it. Since I am home, I feed him whenever I get the meow and the paw.
In return I get warm cuddles and lots of purrs - seems like a good trade
been there, done that he used to go hunting and eat mice and anything else he could get.
Once we moved back to Minnesota and into the city he became full time indoor cat (before we lived on a rental property near 300 acres of farmland). When we were uneducated pet owners, our pets got Alpo, Meow Mix etc. Then we graduated to Iams and Science Diet, then finally to Blue Buffalo and Taste of the Wilderness. They also get higher quality treats, with fewer weird additives. We look at the labels for their food more than our own.
We spent an hour researching a new litter box - we wanted one that he could get into with ease now that he is getting older and he needs another box downstairs, but we didn't want an open one because the dogs treat the litter box like a buffet. But then I read sometimes cats feel trapped in a covered one or that it's too dark. He has always had a covered one...then I worried all this time he was having a bad potty experience. Then I realized I really overthink things...lol
We finally found an awesome dome shaped one that has a little a ramp...he loves it. Dogs still knock the lid off when we leave but that is another battle.
One thing about rescue pets - they are sweet angels and every day with them is a gift. Sometimes a stinky gift, a pain in butt gift, or a really expensive vet gift - but still a gift
Kudos to you for going the extra mile for him. He's fortunate to have you... 
You can't love a cat more than the cat loves you. 
But you can try.