I think having a party at a restaurant is totally the way to go. That way you can focus on your friends and family, not shopping, prep., serving and clean up. Even if you were doing it at your house it could have been catered. You'll not save any money by doing it yourselves--it's too big of a job. Sure, if you had a ton of friends and family pitching in, then OK, but you don't. I've had two birthday parties for my aging parents, one at a restaurant and one we paid my cousins to cater. Both were lovely and I got to focus on spending time with the guests, like your situation, many had traveled far to attend. And I've done the math on these things, in the end you'll find the costs are comparable unless you pick some place that is extremely high end. The only way you save is if you have a LOT of free help, and even that is debatable because someone has to cajole and supervise the free help. This I know because I used to run a camp and we often had events where we cooked and served 100 kids. Finally the organization put in a professional kitchen and hired staff to feed the kids. So then we could focus on teaching, supervising and caring for them!! Gone were the days where me and three little kids made quiches for 120, but I was YOUNG then, lol!

I agree, get rid of the Pediasure, it's filling him up. It's not necessary, despite the guilt-laden advertising, it should only be used when your child is ill. Just give him small (even tiny) meals. He won't starve. Six meals a day are just as good as three meals a day. Let him graze with a few finger food choices. Give him a hug after he eats, but don't overdo it with either negative or positive reinforcment. Don't make a big deal, he's learning to push your buttons. Mealtime needs to be pleasant, turning it into a battle is one you won't win. Put some food out for him to eat while you are puttering around in the kitchen, but leave him alone. If he eats some, great, if not, he'll eat next time. He won't starve. He'll get hungry and start eating. Don't even allow supplements (Pediasure) into the house, it's taking the place of good nutrition for him. Good luck and enjoy that wonderful boy.

When I rescued my first shih tzu, she was 1-1/2 and I tried everything to get her to eat (different foods). I was fostering other dogs, and she took to the Nutro Lamb and Rice, so we ate that for a while. I used Biljac after that, and for years now I have used Solid Gold/Lamb and Rice (hundenflocken), having added 2 more shih tzus to our family. They all eat it and love it, but look for people food. I tend to put a little chicken, rice, or pumpkin (or other veggies such as peas if I have them) on top, just to add a variety and make it a little more enticing to them...I agree that eating the same kibble year after year seems kind of boring to me. I think several points were made and yes, your shih tzu will eat if not offered something "better" and they are hungry. I would recommend just using a really good quality food, and mine eat twice a day. My first shih tzu is now 15 and in great health except for her eyes which are getting cataracts and some stiff joints (hey, she's old! My joints are stiff too! LOL!) I know you probably worry, but if you consistently try and stick with the food and see if he will eat it. A few days of pickiness might wear off when he realizes that is what is being offered. I've also heard cottage cheese is a wonderful additive (the rescue I was with for years added some to the dogs food). It doesnt have to be time consuming to add a little dollop of something to kibble, and my dogs seems to think it's a real "treat". IMHO

Saintpfla, I can imagine that with diabetes, the metabolic issues make things different- particularly the constant hunger. As you probably know from experience, our issues are on the end of lack of appetite. I'm curious if your kitty does pretty well during the day otherwise? It is so tough to end up on one of these roller coaster rides. For our kitty we have been doing sub-q's regularly for 3.5 years and have tried various acid reducers as recommended by the vet. Sometimes increasing sub-q frequency helps with the vomiting, sometimes not; we haven't had particular luck with the acid reducers decreasing the vomiting. They have helped settle her stomach to eat at times though. What made her a good eater for a while in her illness was that she would eat competitively with her litter-mate. If she thought the food was out for him, she would gobble it down! He passed away from cancer in January, and her weight has dropped by a couple of pounds since then (from 9 to 7, I think)- greif and no one to compete against. Our vet encouraged us to consider getting another cat to get her to eat a little better, and we had an opportunity to take a kitten of a stray that my mother took in recently. We just got him on Wednesday (he's already been checked and is very healthy and safe for her), so we are hoping this might help her more than anything. I'm surprised at how quickly she's already taken to him after just a couple of days. She is eating better already too. Just a thought if you are interested, but there is a book (I had a copy for years) titled The New Natural Cat. She has some ideas about diabetes in there, particularly in regard to homemade meals that are better for the pancreas. I don't know enough about diabetes to give you much other information, but wonder if your cat would benefit from something like that? I'd bet there are recipes along the same lines on the internet- that is how I found the initial homemade kidney diet our cat ate for a while. FWIW, I've found that the premium carpet and upholstery cleaner that you can buy at Home Depot is great for cleaning up cat puke and is very economical. I mix it in an old carpet cleaner spray bottle (22oz?) and it takes just under 2 ounces of that concentrate to mix up a full bottle. A gallon goes a long way that way. Earlier on we were going broke buying bottles of ready mixed carpet cleaner. Best of luck and thanks for the ideas on our old girl.