Gracie update 11: The Jewish Mother Complaint
This cat simply Will. Not. Eat.
I bought a tube of Nutri-Cal. I put it on her paw. She tucked her paw underneath her, ignoring the sticky stuff all over it. I washed it off, then went for the bigger guns. I opened the can of salmon Fancy Feast. She was still interested in the smell, but did not eat. She started making those retching motions and licking her lips, which the vet said means she’s still nauseous, so I let her be. I called some friends, who urged me to try the Nutri-Cal again. I put a little bit on my finger and rubbed it inside her mouth, which forced her to eat it. She made the retching moves, but she also ate it. And kept it down. So I started giving her a small bit every half hour or so. Then I brought out the next big gun: The tuna Fancy Feast. She seemed REALLY interested in that, I held it up to her, and she actuallly licked it once or twice. But didn’t eat. More Nutri-Cal. Then final big gun: Real tunafish. Tig went nuts. She came over while I was opening the can. But she wouldn’t eat it. I put some in her mouth. She ate that, but then walked away offended. So. One last glob of Nutri-Cal, and now I’m going to bed, because they had me up at five a.m. and I never did get back to sleep.
Tig’s still hissing at her, but he isn’t trying to attack her. And she’s walking away. She goes up and down the stairs with impunity. I never found her hiding place, but I shut the door to the guest room so she can’t hide in there again. She was on the sofa when I got home. She jumps up and down with no apparent problems. In fact, I just followed her upstairs and found her trying to hide in my closet again. So I got her to jump on my bed again, and we stopped for a petting and purring break.
So here’s the problem: It’s as if Gracie has utterly forgotten how to eat. How do I get her to remember? And please believe me when I tell you she will NOT eat any of the foods your cats eat. She is one of the world’s pickiest cats. She likes dry food of almost any brand, some wet foods, tunafish, and that is it. She doesn’t eat table scraps. If I give her chicken broth, it’s going to be with a syringe and squirted down her throat. I tried pouring tuna water on her dry food. No luck.
The good news is she’s drinking on her own, and I see her use the litterbox regularly (only to pee, of course, not having eaten anything in nearly two weeks). She’s lost about half a pound. But she’s not at death’s door yet, and I don’t think that -osis thing that’s supposed to affect her liver has set in. (Like I’m going to remember medical terms. All I know is that all the vets are scaring me to death with visions of Gracie’s liver suddenly going “Chug… chug… kaff… kaff… kek.”)
Anyway. For now, putting Nutri-Cal glop down her throat is the way I’m going, and I’m thinking chicken broth via syringe tomorrow if I can’t get her to eat anything else. Any other ideas? Anyone else have the pickiest cat eater in the world?
