Feeding the Sick Cat

A short cat health thought/tip, no more. There are diets – “nutritional therapies” – for sick cats. They are meant to improve the chances or rate of recovery. Their effect is slow and certainly not immediate.

The cat caretaker should reflect on the appropriate time to introduce a new diet to their sick cat. This is because when a cat is feeling unwell and perhaps nauseous and also if the new food causes vomiting and/or diarrhoea the cat might develop “learned taste aversion” leading to the diet being rejected or poor long term acceptance.

Is it fair to say that some or perhaps all of these nutritional therapies or food for sick cats are strong on flavour and smell? If so, these foods are more likely to result in learned taste aversion.

A study or studies have concluded that taste aversion can last for up to 40 days. However, it can be permanent.

The way to avoid this is to ensure the cat is eating reasonably, initially, and then introduce the new diet.

A comment by Suzy’s Zoo on the Caring for a FIV cat page by Elisa states:

….We also highly recommend a product called Viyo Recuperation that is like a tasty gravy the kitties LOVE that can help ward off dehydration and stimulate them to eat. You can give by syringe, just put a bit in a little bowl or top it on wet or dry food! 3 bottles in a box for about $30. Just remember to refrigerate after opening. (Warning! The kitties may try to steal the whole bottle after just smelling it! Lol)

This lists the ingredients of this product:

Food supplement for sick cats
Food supplement for sick cats
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

I don’t know whether what I have written has any bearing on feeding this product to an unwell cat. It might.

Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.

7 thoughts on “Feeding the Sick Cat”

  1. Would this be appropriate for an elderly cat? My Twinkie is 16 years-old, has lost about 1/3 of her weight, and is now on canned food. She prefers the strips with gravy, but licks up the liquid and leaves about half the meat. I give her a spoonful at a time, about 1/4 can, let her feed and then return the remaining strips to the can to be recovered with gravy. I feed her on demand. Maybe this product would help her eat a little more. She seems fairly content, is alert and active (goes up and down stairs & onto beds & sofas). She has no potty problems and spends most of the day with me. I have used Nutri-Cal ($6.99 on Amazon for a 4.25 oz. tube) in the past for a cat with FIP, but I like the fact that Viyo is a liquid, and this might be something Twinkie would like. What do you all think? The picture I am attaching is from about 6 years ago–she is smaller and scruffier now.

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    • Would this be appropriate for an elderly cat?

      Yes, I am feel sure it is. Twinkie seems like a 16 year-old-cat in decent shape for her age and her eating habits are pretty typical – eating the very tasty stuff (all the flavoring is in the jelly and gravy) but leaving the “cardboard” as I call it.

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  2. Yes Viyo is a staple with the cats! Have been using it for a couple of years now for sick malnourished or underdeveloped cats and kittens! The key is to keep them eating we found Harris Teeter Rotisserie chicken is very appealing to them! Pedialyte to hydrate!

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