Cream tends to separate when frozen and if you do cubes it's going to absorb any odor in the freezer. They make cat milk in multiple small boxes [like juice boxes] non-refrigerated, it might work better for your old friend. Or if you get coffee anywhere on a regular basis steal some indi creamers. If you get snagged just tell your story, your a regular no worries.

I'm sorry you're losing your friend.

I actually freeze cream and half & half in the cartons un opened..but only the pints.

I'd freezes ome cream for the kitty....when you thaw it beat it up to restore the texture...I think Kitty will love it.
Have you tried evaporated milk? Maybe she would like that and it's easier and a little more nutritious for her.
Linda C

Liz, you are a good MomCat. Hope all goes well.

Could you just give her a little vanilla ice cream? Maybe get the no sugar added brand.

Just keep it in the freezer and give her a tablespoon of it each night?

I tried freezing cream, and when I defrosted it, it curdled. So, I thought it was one of those things you can't freeze. Maybe I just did something wrong.

They do make ultra-pasteurized cream that has a long expiration date. Oh, what about those little individual packages of half and half like they have in convenience stores. Maybe there's a place you can buy those. I don't normally go for the extra packaging kind of thing, but for this it might be just the thing. Maybe Sams or Costco would have those?

Sally

I seriously doubt the cat is going to be quite so critical as most of us would be of the texture. Bet she'd eat it separated or not.

Why don't you do this--whip some cream until stiff, drop dollops onto waxed paper or parchment, freeze until firm, then pop into a ziplock bag and freeze. When you want to give the cat a treat, just plop one on a plate, give it a couple of minutes to defrost, and let the cat enjoy.

Alternatively--our cat does love ice cream. I always let her lick out the bowl, so she gets a little taste, but not too much dair.

And my husband keeps a can of ReadiWhip in the fridge just for the cat. She gets a tablespoon or so every night before bed.

We're careful not to overload her with too much dairy, but it's definitely a treat they love, and certainly does have nutritional benefits, if enjoyed in moderation.

We find our elderly frail cat gets....um...."internal upsets" if we let her have too much fat in her diet. She loves milk but regular milk is no longer digestible for her as it was when she was younger. So I buy the UHT cartons of lactose-free milk and they last for ages in the refrigrator, even after opening. (A good thing as it takes a while for an old cat to get through a litre of milk.) I started buying lactose free when I realised the special "cat milk" they sell in the pet food section is merely lactose-free milk with some taurine (vitamins) added, at twice the price of regular lactose free.

Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions and the kind words. This girl doesn't like the catmilk, though a prior cat loved it. I'll definitely look for some lactose free milk or the drops that are supposed to convert regular milk to lactose free. I had forgotten that was available. I'm afraid ice cream is too tempting to the humans here!

Just an update on MollyCat and her cream. She wouldn't eat the lactose free milk - though she kept sniffing it as if to figure out just what on earth was wrong with it! I was kind of surprised as she always loves the milk at the bottom of cereal bowls, and that's just what this tastes like to us.

We just started buying larger cartons of cream, and I will get a half-pint to keep in the freezer as a backup. The cream is her treat, not her main diet; though there are days whe would like to eat nothing but cream. :) I think she's gained a few more ounces, which leaves her just under 4.5 pounds, far better than the 3 pounds she was down to at her worst a year ago.

Thanks for the pu date on Kitty-cat.
Linda C

I just stumbled across this thread searching for something else.

Suzu, my cat who died last Spring, lived to 21 years old, so I have some experience with elderly cats. She was always a pretty good eater, until the last week or so, but she did get more particular as she got older...things she used to just love, she had to be coaxed to eat.

Well, I did a bit of research and found that as cats age, so does their sense of smell, which is apparently their primary sense of "taste" as well.

I noticed she didn't care for her canned food once it had been refrigerated, so I took to zapping it for a very short time, just to take the chill off, and that helped. It gets stinkier, you see.

She really couldn't eat much dry food the last couple of years, and I noticed as well that she ate less at a time, but more often, so I started giving her only about a tablespoon at a time, any time she "asked".

Another thing she liked, that helped put weight on her a couple of times when she had lost too much weight was chicken livers. I'd buy a container of livers, saute them in a generous amount of chicken fat and run them through the food processor. At her age, I wasn't worried about whether or not the fat was good for her heart or anything, I just wanted to fatten her up a bit.

Another thing....just on the off chance...once, when she was about 17, I really thought I was going to lose her. She just kept losing weight, ate less & less, etc. I kept at her with the livers, and I think the chicken fat helped her dislodge the largest hair ball I've ever seen. Then, her appetite came back...I guess it was just taking up too much room. She almost never had hairballs when she was younger, I guess her system just wasn't dealing with them as well anymore. So, you might want to try your kitty on hairball remedy, just in case.

Good luck!