Our kitties have never been able to resist those little jars of baby food meat. It is expensive, but if you "enrich" his canned food with a spoon of the baby food, he might eat more and it will last for several meals. Just make sure it is only meat and broth, some baby foods have onion added. There are also some good, high calorie canned kitten foods he might like, they are probably not advisable for long-term, but they might help put some weight on him.

Our kitties have never been able to resist those little jars of baby food meat. I was going to suggest the same thing!

I've been feeding my 17 year old cat a spoon full of the chicken baby food daily. A jar usually lasts about 3 days that way. The vet said it was fine for her.

You might try and heat his wet food up a bit in the microwave - be careful it doesn't get hot - you want just warm. I found that my cat will eat more of his canned food if I zap it in the microwave. I started doing that when I came home from the market one day and opened a can I had just bought - it was cold and I remember thinking I wouldn't eat this - it's COLD!. So I zapped it and my cat who normally won't eat an entire can scarfed it up. You could also try using warm water to mix in his wet. My cat also prefers warm meat when he begs from my dinner - he turns his nose up if it's room temp.
It might be worth a shot.
Pat

I dump the can into a foam bowl then fill the can ith warm water and stir into the food. I make a really thick soup my cat will lap it up (I love to her her lapping) then she will walk away and then I add more water. She will eat dry food and has figured out two different brands and styles. I try to stick to them of course the two free-loaaders who visit for breakfast will eat anything Hint I bought a box of 1000 craft sticks (popsicle stick)at the craft store and use those for stirrers and they are easily thrown away saving utensils to clean up.

Although you probably don't want my suggestion, there are several high-fat concentrated nutrition foods available. I had gotten some stuff from the vet for my little guy, Sunny to try to get him built up for treatment. It's only from the vet, though - you won't get it from Walmart. If Mickey is sick, don't try home remedies. Get a GOOD vet and go that route. I never had trouble getting Sunny to eat, but the poor little guy had thyroid issues and couldn't get the nutrition.

You could even ask the vet about adding bacon fat or something. But for your pet's sake, work with a vet and not home cures.

I've been warming his food--I learned that trick when Buddy was sick. It makes a big difference.

Cynic, of course I'm happy to have your suggestion. Mickey isn't sick; he's recovering from an injury. He's had five vet visits (to two different vets) in five weeks. I think we've got the vet thing covered. :-)

I didn't know about the baby food . . . I'll get some today.

Thanks, everyone!

have you thought about a different collar? one of the soft ones? would probably make it easier for him to eat. and sleep. Poor kitty in a bathroom...

Our Yorkie has been sick, and lost a lot of weight. The vet prescribed Mirtazapine--an appetite stimulant--for him, and it works wonders. Good luck!

I'd be taking the collar off for a bit here and there...it probably is really no fun with that thing on..especially trying to eat and drink...

I agree about the taking the collar off and seeing how he does. I know he was getting the collar off before-I don't remember him bothering the wound. Is it healed enough that he can come out of the bathroom and into a small room with you now and then? I bet he would love looking out a window. Trevor eats more if someone is around him. Not sure why. How are the soaks going? How many a day now?

He had the collar off during the day before I went to work (mid-afternoon), but the vet said it would be better to keep it on full time because the wound was feeling hot and she suspected he was licking it. She said he could easily undo all the progress we'd made.

So now it's on him all the time except for the times (usually twice a day) when I sit with him in the bathroom and give him "intensive petting." :-)

The soaks are down to one a day. This was done at my discretion; I'll have to see what the vet says about it. I notified the vet office that I ran out of DMSO several days ago, and they didn't seem excited about this, so I guess Mickey's past the point of needing it. He's still on an antibiotic, but that, too, is almost finished.

Watch the baby food - make sure there is no onion in it. Very, very toxic to cats. Causes Hemolytic anemia.

Is the vet concerned about the weight? If not, I wouldn't be fussing. However if Mickey is truly not eating and losing weight you should ask your vet for Periactin (Cyproheptadine). It's an antihistamine that is commonly used to stimulate appetite in cats. Also prescription a/d is a high nutrient canned food that is used for post-op patients. Your vet should have it.

Hi Tally! Thanks for keeping an eye on all our KT cats! I know I feel better when you pop in to help me with cat questions. Janie

Damn, damn, damn! I talked to the vet this morning, and she said since the wound was dry I could stop the soaks and take the collar off during the day--but I should watch to make sure he doesn't do any damage with licking. She said if necessary I could make a hot-pepper and water solution and dab it on the leg to discourage him.

So I took the collar off and gave him some food, and he ate some of it. A half-hour later I checked on him, and found the area around the scab looking red and raw. Oh, great. I made up some hot pepper solution, but when I cleaned off the wound I found it's actually bleeding. I didn't want to apply hot peppers to it, so I had to put the collar back on. :-(

I see more soaks in our future.....

How upsetting, after all the progress you have made. Climbing a mountain is the hardest as you reach the top--hang in there! (Bad kitty, bad kitty!)

When I have an animal that won't eat, I feed them boiled chicken. No skin.

Over the year, I've found my cats will eat Fancy Feast, especially the ones with sliced food and gravy. It kept one of my cats live for 2 years after she was diagnosed with renal failure.

Over the years, I've found my cats will eat Fancy Feast, especially the ones with sliced food and gravy. It kept one of my cats live for 2 years after she was diagnosed with renal failure.

Darn it. Bad kitty!! Maybe the scab is itchy. The damage probably isn't as bad as you think. He has come a long way.

When the wound has scabbed over again, can you put a little mineral oil on it or any other oil that can be digested by a cat, in case it is itchy? Maybe that is a silly idea, but I know we humans sometimes use vitamin E oil on scabs.