My beloved cat, Ruthie, who is 12 years old went into sudden acute renal failure, after being diagnosed with mild renal failure and being assured by our veterinarian that she had a few years left.
She completely stopped eating, and it was the weekend with no professional care available to us.
I contacted Dr. Jeff Feinman, who referred me to Gale Pope, who is an expert in getting cats to eat. I'll list step by step things I learned from Dr Jeff Feinman and Gale Pope
1. Tempting treats:
TIP: Always warm foods--I heat water in the tea kettle, put into a coffee cup, and gently warm foods by placing it in a plate over the cup.
Baby food chicken or turkey, preferably lamp, Gerber 2nd stage
small bits of her favorite foods (tuna?),
rotisserie chicken,
Wysong Archetype
Dream Treats
other free-dried meat treats
liver, preferable with blood to entice
blend liver and cat food together
My cat rejected all of these wonderful ideas, but she would eat canned salmon juice, and The Honest Kitchen Human Grade Dehydrated Grain Free Cat food. But only scant amounts
She now eats the Honest Kitchen cat food along the canned cat food that I gave her before she was diagnosed. My vet said not to give it to her, but the new food she suggested. But Ruthie is not eating it. I want to follow her advice, but sometimes, practicality wins.
I will continue to watch the training videos to learn more about proper foods, now that she is settled in a calm schedule
2. Subutaneous Fluids
These fluids are imperative to her well-being! Our veterinarian trained my husband and I in the clinic, and it is so easy to do at home. She responded within hours, and now has a renewed spark. We administer them daily
3. Supplements
I asked our vet to give us Vit B, Vit B complex, and Vit C for the fluids. She agreed to the Vit B, but only 3x a week. I informed her I wanted once a day if possible. She refuses the others
I will search for a place that is more agreeable to my input on her care. It's unlikely that I'll find one in this smaller community, so I'm hoping to find a avenue to finding these vitamins
This is a good start for the supplements, and I know that there are more such as the CQ10.
4. Enzymes and Probiotics: Haven't looked into yet
5. Raw food diet. Still working on this
6. Grounding
Grounding is a fancy way of saying "spend time outside with your cat." It's imperative that Ruthie spend time outside for many reasons:
She receives support and energy from:
The ground
The sun
Quiet time with me
I try to spend at least an hour working in my garden with her, or reading, and just cuddling with her. And I have the added benefit of grounding myself
7. Reiki
Physical Reiki is not available to me at this time, but my cousin is sending Reiki energy our way
8. Prayer
What can I say about prayer and the peace and power I've received with it. I am grateful to Dr. Jeff Feinman and Gail Pope for their quick and easy to follow responses to our immediate situation. Their quick and blessedly short responses aided me in getting Ruthie the help she needed in a way that works for her.
All of these steps work together to strengthen our home and our relationship with our animals and have made my husband and I a stronger unit. My biggest priority is keeping my cat calm and allowing her to have a voice in her treatment.
Giving her a voice and options calmed her spirit. Going outside calmed her spirit, and after those things happened, she was more willing to try a food that I gave her and to sit still for the IV fluids.
I still have much to learn, and would greatly love to hear input. And blessings to you all as we continue this journey of new ways to aid our companions to good health, or in my case a sacred time in walking with her during her final steps.
She completely stopped eating, and it was the weekend with no professional care available to us.
I contacted Dr. Jeff Feinman, who referred me to Gale Pope, who is an expert in getting cats to eat. I'll list step by step things I learned from Dr Jeff Feinman and Gale Pope
1. Tempting treats:
TIP: Always warm foods--I heat water in the tea kettle, put into a coffee cup, and gently warm foods by placing it in a plate over the cup.
Baby food chicken or turkey, preferably lamp, Gerber 2nd stage
small bits of her favorite foods (tuna?),
rotisserie chicken,
Wysong Archetype
Dream Treats
other free-dried meat treats
liver, preferable with blood to entice
blend liver and cat food together
My cat rejected all of these wonderful ideas, but she would eat canned salmon juice, and The Honest Kitchen Human Grade Dehydrated Grain Free Cat food. But only scant amounts
She now eats the Honest Kitchen cat food along the canned cat food that I gave her before she was diagnosed. My vet said not to give it to her, but the new food she suggested. But Ruthie is not eating it. I want to follow her advice, but sometimes, practicality wins.
I will continue to watch the training videos to learn more about proper foods, now that she is settled in a calm schedule
2. Subutaneous Fluids
These fluids are imperative to her well-being! Our veterinarian trained my husband and I in the clinic, and it is so easy to do at home. She responded within hours, and now has a renewed spark. We administer them daily
3. Supplements
I asked our vet to give us Vit B, Vit B complex, and Vit C for the fluids. She agreed to the Vit B, but only 3x a week. I informed her I wanted once a day if possible. She refuses the others
I will search for a place that is more agreeable to my input on her care. It's unlikely that I'll find one in this smaller community, so I'm hoping to find a avenue to finding these vitamins
This is a good start for the supplements, and I know that there are more such as the CQ10.
4. Enzymes and Probiotics: Haven't looked into yet
5. Raw food diet. Still working on this
6. Grounding
Grounding is a fancy way of saying "spend time outside with your cat." It's imperative that Ruthie spend time outside for many reasons:
She receives support and energy from:
The ground
The sun
Quiet time with me
I try to spend at least an hour working in my garden with her, or reading, and just cuddling with her. And I have the added benefit of grounding myself
7. Reiki
Physical Reiki is not available to me at this time, but my cousin is sending Reiki energy our way
8. Prayer
What can I say about prayer and the peace and power I've received with it. I am grateful to Dr. Jeff Feinman and Gail Pope for their quick and easy to follow responses to our immediate situation. Their quick and blessedly short responses aided me in getting Ruthie the help she needed in a way that works for her.
All of these steps work together to strengthen our home and our relationship with our animals and have made my husband and I a stronger unit. My biggest priority is keeping my cat calm and allowing her to have a voice in her treatment.
Giving her a voice and options calmed her spirit. Going outside calmed her spirit, and after those things happened, she was more willing to try a food that I gave her and to sit still for the IV fluids.
I still have much to learn, and would greatly love to hear input. And blessings to you all as we continue this journey of new ways to aid our companions to good health, or in my case a sacred time in walking with her during her final steps.
