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  #1  
Old March 21st, 2004, 12:27 AM
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tuaqs tuaqs is offline
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Question Cat: problems with eating

I puree all my cat's food because he was having trouble eating solid food and keeping it down. He eats very small amounts at a time, going to his dish quite often.

He was managing that okay for a few months, but the last couple of weeks he started getting his muzzle into his liquified food, every time he tries to eat. It's all over his nose, and the front of his face, where it dries and cakes in the fur and on his whiskers.

I try to keep it cleaned off but it seems to upset him when I do that, even though I am as gentle as I can be while cleaning his face. I use water only, no soap, on a facial tissue or a face cloth.

I've tried putting the food on a flat plate and putting it in a little bowl. Container shape doesn't seem to make a difference.

Has anyone else had a cat who did this? What did you do to help it?

Does anyone have suggestions for keeping his face out of the food?
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Old March 21st, 2004, 01:19 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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What does the vet say is wrong with your cat? Why can't he keep food down?
This is very abnormal.
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Old March 21st, 2004, 01:40 AM
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Thank you for replying.

The vet didn't say.

Keeping the food down is not a problem.The cat keeps food down fine, now. He just has to have it pureed.

The problem is that he has been snorkling in his food dish without a mask. Do you have any suggestions to prevent him from getting the food all over his muzzle when he eats, other than feeding him with a syringe every hour?
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Old March 21st, 2004, 07:17 AM
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That is a strange problem,never heard of it before...maybe something wrong with his teeth,jaw??
Normal healthy cats would avoid getting messy and if,would clean themselves...I'd say eating in short spurts is normal for a cat,but not sucking it up!
My 3 cats also do not eat "chunky"food only the pate type and they seem to be licking up the food rather than chomping down on it and keep returning to the dishes,unless my little porker got there first
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Old March 21st, 2004, 08:27 AM
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Hmm good questions but have no answers.....but I will say HI!
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Old March 21st, 2004, 10:16 AM
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Maybe feed the cat in a VERY shallow dish. The cat isn't rubbing his head in the food, is he?
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Old March 21st, 2004, 10:37 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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How does your cat act when he is not eating? Is he coordinated? Does he have problems with anything else - walking, jumping, etc?

He has to eat liquified food, and is now shoving his face in it. You say this only started a few weeks ago? Something is wrong with him.

You might want to see another vet to find out what it is.
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  #8  
Old March 21st, 2004, 06:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by LuckyRescue
How does your cat act when he is not eating? Is he coordinated? Does he have problems with anything else - walking, jumping, etc?
He's walking okay, not jumping much anymore, but goes up and down the stairs fine.

Quote:

He has to eat liquified food, and is now shoving his face in it. You say this only started a few weeks ago? Something is wrong with him.
He's not shoving his face in. He just gets his mouth so close that his nose, lips, chin and whiskers end up dripping with food.

Quote:

You might want to see another vet to find out what it is.
Unfortunately, there will be only one more trip to a vet. I'm trying to delay that as long as I can.
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  #9  
Old March 21st, 2004, 06:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Spoiled
Maybe feed the cat in a VERY shallow dish. The cat isn't rubbing his head in the food, is he?
Thank you for the suggestion. I use a saucer now. I'll see if I can find anything flatter that will hold liquid. No, he isn't rubbing, just lapping the food up.
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Old March 21st, 2004, 09:15 PM
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I must say I find it strange as well that the cat doesn't clean it's face afterwards Mine go nuts cleaning after a good serving of wet food ( I have to puree mine as well or they just lick the gravy and leave the chunks...lol)
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Old March 21st, 2004, 10:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Iggette
I must say I find it strange as well that the cat doesn't clean it's face afterwards Mine go nuts cleaning after a good serving of wet food ( I have to puree mine as well or they just lick the gravy and leave the chunks...lol)
Do they get their noses into the food and get it on their whiskers? Are you saying that is normal, he just isn't cleaning it off as he should?

Thanks
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Old March 21st, 2004, 10:40 PM
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No Im not saying that, I give mine about 2 tablespoons at the most so not much there to get messy with. One sometimes ends up with some on top of his nose but he cleans it off.

How much food are you putting out ? All over the whiskers has me wondering the amount of food in the bowl?

You put it on a saucerbut you want it to hold liquid are you adding water

When I say i puree my cats food perhaps I am using the wrong word I simply mash the chunks into teeny tiny bits
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Old March 21st, 2004, 11:17 PM
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I put out one or two tablespoon at a time.

Yes, I must add water in order to process the food in the blender and so that I can strain it. Also, it must be semi-liquid so that he can lap it up. He isn't able to pick up solid food.
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 12:04 AM
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Does he 'lap' it up properly... I'm wondering if there is some form of neurological problem if he can't get his tongue to lap up the food.

I'm sorry your baby is suffering like this...have u thought of getting another vets opinion on why he throws up after he eats?

Perhaps a homeopathic natural vet would be helpful.
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 01:18 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Quote:
some form of neurological problem
I was thinking the same thing, which is why I asked about jumping, etc.

Whatever it is, there is definitely a problem.
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 06:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Luba
Does he 'lap' it up properly... I'm wondering if there is some form of neurological problem if he can't get his tongue to lap up the food.
He does seem to lap okay. He just gets too close.


Quote:

I'm sorry your baby is suffering like this...have u thought of getting another vets opinion on why he throws up after he eats?
Thank you. He doesn't usually throw up if I make sure that the food has been pureed



Yes there is definitely a problem. The why's don't really matter, as it can't be repaired.

Finding out, or figuring out, how to work around it is my quest. I need to get enough food into him every day without him wearing most of it.
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  #17  
Old March 22nd, 2004, 06:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Luba
Does he 'lap' it up properly... I'm wondering if there is some form of neurological problem if he can't get his tongue to lap up the food.
He does seem to lap okay. He just gets too close.


Quote:

I'm sorry your baby is suffering like this...have u thought of getting another vets opinion on why he throws up after he eats?
Thank you. He doesn't usually throw up if I make sure that the food has been pureed



Yes there is definitely a problem. The why's don't really matter, as it can't be repaired.

Finding out, or figuring out, how to work around it is my quest. I need to get enough food into him every day without him wearing most of it.
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 06:45 AM
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I'm starting to wonder if this kitty has some sort of digestive problem if it vomits up dry food and small bits can't be tolerated.

I'd say a vet visit might put your mind at rest as I don't think your feeding routine should be so difficult as you say
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 06:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Iggette
I'm starting to wonder if this kitty has some sort of digestive problem if it vomits up dry food and small bits can't be tolerated.

I'd say a vet visit might put your mind at rest as I don't think your feeding routine should be so difficult as you say
Thank you for the vet suggestion. The vet clinic already has over $800 of money which I had to borrow to pay them. The cat cannot be repaired by a vet.

As I wrote earlier, my dear little kitty has only one more trip to the vet left on his punch card. I want to delay making that trip for as long as I possibly can.

Vomitting is not a problem. The cat seldom vomits.

The feeding routine is not difficult.

My concerns and questions are about ways in which I might be able to arrange things to prevent food from accumulating on his face and whiskers, and from there on his forepaws, as well.

As Iggette noted, cats like to keep clean. He's not able to clean himsef and I'm not always available to wash him each time after he browses throughout the day and night.

Thank you all again for your comments. Can anyone recommend another message board site where I may by chance find someone who has experience with this problem?
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 06:51 PM
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 07:24 PM
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He's beautiful!!! I don't have any suggestions that haven't already been suggested. What about a margarine lid? Or try feeding him less at more intervals throughout the day? Could you wipe his face as often as you can (when you are up/home) so that he knows what he needs to do?? Hmmmmm!!!!
Good luck with that!!
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Old March 22nd, 2004, 07:48 PM
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Quote:
Can anyone recommend another message board site where I may by chance find someone who has experience with this problem?
If you would tell us what is wrong with him - the name of the illness, or what is causing it - we may be able to be of more help, or offer suggestions.
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Old March 23rd, 2004, 12:57 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Catt31
He's beautiful!!! I don't have any suggestions that haven't already been suggested. What about a margarine lid? Or try feeding him less at more intervals throughout the day? Could you wipe his face as often as you can (when you are up/home) so that he knows what he needs to do?? Hmmmmm!!!!
Good luck with that!!
Catt31,
Thank you very much.

I'm trying the margarine lid now. What a good idea! I never thought of that. Maybe getting away from the ridges in the saucer will help? He's not feeling like eating, for the moment, so I'll have to wait to see if that will work.

I try to keep a supply of fresh food available all day and night for him, with either two or one tablespoon per plate.

I do wipe his face with a tissue every time that I'm nearby after he eats. I wash his face thoroughly, a couple of times a day, with a facecloth and warm water. He's not keen on that, though, and I don't like to stress him any more than I have to. He's been so good about letting me give him his insulin. I don't want him to try to avoid me because of face washing.

On edit:
He had the same problem, even with the margarine lid.
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Old March 23rd, 2004, 01:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by LuckyRescue
If you would tell us what is wrong with him - the name of the illness, or what is causing it - we may be able to be of more help, or offer suggestions.
Old age and seizures have taken away some of his abilities. It takes a long time to recover from the losses after a seizure.
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Old March 23rd, 2004, 05:39 AM
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Old March 23rd, 2004, 08:23 AM
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Tuaqs. He is a beautiful cat and to me,with all his healthproblems and age,I would not stress too much on the sloppiness...
Like you said seizures and being diabetic might have contributed to his slackening of his yaw or anything else...
If he is an older cat,like you say,I would try to make the rest of his life as peaceful and without stress as I can,he certainly has enough to deal with,as do you
Maybe if you leave him messy,he would eventually,in his own time clean himself,after all between insulin-injections and seizures,he most of all needs love and peace.
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Old March 23rd, 2004, 08:48 AM
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Aww that poor little thing!! I agree with Chico....let him live his last days in peace and without stress!! If his face is messy...oh well!!! You both are under a lot of stress, worrying about messy whiskers is so very minor!!

Just keep doing what you are doing and love him more than ever!! Sorry the margarine lid didn't work out - glad you tried it though!!! Good luck and give your boy a hug from us!!!
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1 dog - Brick
2 cats - Spunky & Tux
1 very mean tiger barb (who killed all of our other fish)
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GONE TO CRITTER HEAVEN:
1 house gecko - George (RIP)
2 giant african land snailS - Kaimah (RIP) & Kamau (RIP)
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Old March 23rd, 2004, 11:01 AM
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What's his name? I think we should always say the name of our animals as a proper introduction Not just "my cat"or "my dog",it's so clinical,they do all have names that we lovingly give them...
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  #29  
Old March 23rd, 2004, 11:28 AM
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I guess the seizures may have caused some neurological damage...?

Could you get large paper plates, and spread his food out in a very thin layer for him to lick up? It seems to me it might be less messy that way?

Or, you could get a large syringe, and feed him that way.

Hey, all of us might end up with our faces in our plates one day, and just hope someone cares enough to put up with us.

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Old March 23rd, 2004, 12:17 PM
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Very true,Lucky
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