Home again home again

[abendgules]

 ...for both me and the pusscat.

Harley returned home on Friday, less some patches of shaved fur, and Robert stayed in to care for Madam over the weekend while I went to Dance moot.

She is rapidly returning to her usual self - snoozing on favourite spots, surveying the close to track other kitty activities, and heading out on patrol. When I called on Sunday she's headed out the door mid-morning, and still wasn't back in past noon. We're hoping the morning and evening crazies come back, where she bounces off the furniture dying to chase something.

It was sooo good to hear her purr when I got home!

The main concern now is that she's noticeably thinner. She's a petite cat, and now weighs 3kg, down from 3.25 - which from her perspective is 10% of her bodyweight - so her back and hips look bony to me, and she feels bony when you stroke her. She didn't have a lot of weight to spare to start with.  (Jeez, shell out hundreds of pounds and get less cat back - not even an upgrade...)

She seems to consider food as fuel, rather than entertainment (not a boredom eater), and doesn't seem troubled by missing meals - we're the ones worried about her weight.

Vet says feed her anything that appeals to her - whatever (meat) works to fill her out is ok. I'm hoping Robert the creative cook can come up with something!

Comments

[ingaborg.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad! Did she have surgery in the end or were the antibiotics and general care enough?

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

Nope, no surgery in the end, just hydration, antibiotics, and a bit of time. Very relieved.

[ingaborg.livejournal.com]

That's really good. It sounds like your vet made a good call.

[suelet.livejournal.com]

Lovely! I'm so happy for you!

The other option is plain flavoured high fat yoghurt. I've started giving it to Soda because it's the one thing she will go quite rangy for, and it seems to help at *ahem* the other end of things too. At her age I have to worry about how much protein she's getting because her kidneys aren't working efficiently, but your little miss isn't at that stage yet...

I'm happy your little one is home.

[ormsweird.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear Harley is home! Have you thought about nice oily fish? I know mine go nuts for sardines etc if they get a mere whiff of them. Might not be so pleasant for you and Robert on the reverse end though. :)

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

Robert won't mind a bit!
We did try sardines while she was ill - no interest.

It seems our strict 'no treats' approach to feeding cats has backfired on us - Harley doesn't connect our food with her own at all, and seems genuinely indifferent to foods that other cats love, like tuna.

We'll keep trying, obviously, but it is a bit odd - like a child who turns down dessert...

[maryf.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear she's getting better!

[my-stitching.livejournal.com]

You might try some wet food that is designed for kittens. Kitten food tends to have a higher caloric value that food designed for adult cats. Glad she is home and getting better!

[ethnowoman.livejournal.com]

Yay Harley!

How about liver? Full of nourishing stuff.

Laryssa is maybe trying to get hold of you.. she's moved to London now and I think maybe her soul is dying a bit of loneliness. I got a VERY long email from her! Anyway I'm sure she would love to see you and the pusscat if you have time?

[jpgsawyer.livejournal.com]

Yeah great news. Shauna always goes goes for Tuna or Pork.

Hills AD

[first-fallen.livejournal.com]

I'm sure your vet would've recommended a nice high-calorie diet like Hills AD (it's what they give recovering patients to bulk them up). Otherwise kitten food as stated above.

Not that I've ever had a problem getting my ravenous hordes to eat, but you could also try tuna juice over her regular food. It's like crack.

Re: Hills AD

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

Yup, had it as recovery food while she had a fever. No interest now.

We've tried some pouched recovery food for variety. The gravy was popular, but the soft kibble was left to dry out.

[merlyn-gabriel.livejournal.com]

I am so glad to hear she's home and doing okay. Not much I can add about the food thing but one thing we used to do in the clinic was warm up baby food ( mostly turkey and chicken) and that always went down well too.

[frrsawyer.livejournal.com]

Very pleased to hear that the little miss has made it home and without the need for any surgery. Hope she's back to her usual madness and mayhem soon.