Feeding the Beastie

Black princess cat Samantha, the sweetest and gentlest little feline, 14 years old, has been a puker for a long time. That and a cougher, seemingly choking up every other day or so. Late last year, after cleaning up after her maybe 4 times a day, I decided something had to change. 

I was giving her 2 or 3 hairball treats daily, but it appeared she was needing to get rid of hair more and more frequently. She's a shorthair, but she was licking herself frequently and ingesting a lot of hair. I think perhaps her guts were bothering her and she was licking a lot to relieve the stress in that area. Just a guess, but it's probably a better guess than that of a vet.

I looked for remedies online. After reading numerous posts, I put together my exclusive, magic formula: 

I feed her small amounts of canned food, usually a rounded teaspoonful, 6 or 7 times a day, making sure that I use a clean dish each time. Cats are finicky and as they age, they get even finickier. A clean dish is a must. You don't want to mix foods either. They get confused by that.

Also each time, I drizzle olive oil over the food, perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. I also discovered that extra virgin olive oil has too strong a taste for cats. The olive oil that says for sauteing and grilling is perfect. Pour it into an oil dispenser for ease of drizzling the olive oil onto the food. 

As for the food she eats, she's become a real fan of the type with gravy. In fact, she refuses to eat most other kinds, exception being Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets, and Fancy Feast Aristocats Chicken. Sometimes she just eats the gravy and leaves the meat, which must be really foul. I believe the kind of meat put into pet food is disgusting and comes from who knows where on the animals. Even though I'm a vegetarian, I do feed her meats because cats can't survive in good health eating only grains and greens. 

I put a small amount of dry food in a bowl for her to have as she likes, although she no longer eats much of it because of all the canned food servings. I give her only the Blue brand for Indoor Cats, available at pet stores. That brand has meat as its first ingredient(s) where most dry cat foods have rice and other non-meat items as the first few ingredients. Cats aren't made for that.

In addition to the olive oil trick, I give Samantha the hairball treats each time I feed her, 2 treats one time, 1 the next, and so forth. The brand is Temptations and the foil packet says Hairball Control on it. These are carried alongside the canned cat food in any supermarkets. Along with the hairball treats, each time I also add 1 Whiskas dental treat (chicken flavor in foil packet), which is crunchy and she really likes it. It does nothing for her teeth, but it adds to her enjoyment.

Once a week, or sometimes every two weeks, I brush her with a soft brush, the type that's available at pet stores. Even though she's a shorthair, she does need to be brushed, but not daily. I've read where daily brushing a shorthair cat can cause them to stop grooming themselves. 

Fresh water is a must too. I keep a bowl of fresh water by her food dishes. And, crazy person that I am, I also keep a large mug of fresh water on the table behind my chair in the living room. She seems to drink most from that and I know she's getting enough water that way. Cats are notorious for not drinking enough. They don't get thirsty like dogs do.

Stopping her puking and coughing took some time, trying various remedies. It's not 100% effective because she has vomited once in the past 6 weeks. But I consider that a major success. Although every little cat is different, I believe this formula will work for any of them. The important thing is to watch and learn. They're telling us what they need, if only we'll pay attention.