Feeding a Sick Cat
The sick or injured cat must eat if it is to have a rapid recovery. If the vet places the cat on a special diet, follow it meticulously. Cats recuperating from injuries can usually be fed the regular diet.
If the cat refuses to eat, try catering to its taste. Cook the food, if necessary, and try tempting the cat with a variety of foods. Beef liver, kidneys and hearts, cooked or raw, may be appetizing. Experiment with the diet—the results are worth the trouble. Tomato juice, egg yolks and brandy have all been used to stimulate a sick cat’s appetite.
The very weak cat will have to be hand-fed. Feed liquid or softwoods. Put liquids into a plastic bottle and feed by taking the loose skin on one side of the mouth near the corner and pulling it away from the teeth to make a pouch, slowly pouring in liquid foods such as broth, baby cereal and warm milk. Soft foods, such as liver paste, can be placed on the cat’s tongue.
Switch to a liquid diet, also, whenever the cat has difficulty in keep-in down solid foods. Feed the liquids in small quantities several times day. Once the cat is able to retain liquid and soft foods, you can gradually change to more solid foods.
Should diarrhea be present, eliminate the regular solid foods and change to a starch diet. Boiled rice, macaroni or cottage cheese will help bring the diarrhea under control. In severe cases of diarrhea give the cat a tablespoonful of diarrhea medicine; such as a pro-praetor brand, or one prescribed by the vet.
In general, do everything you can to get the cat to eat, even if you have to violate some of the rules of cat feeding.