Feeding cats when exhausted: food, diet, special food

Unfortunately, domestic cats often end up on the street after being abandoned by their owners. In addition to the fact that during this period the animal experiences incredible stress, it has to learn to survive in a new, completely unfriendly environment, getting its own food. In most cases, abandoned cats turn out to be unadapted to life in such conditions; they fall into a state of depression and starve.

Often cats abandoned by their owners are found in a state of extreme exhaustion and immediately tried to fatten. First of all, you need to follow a special diet, do not load your stomach, take food off your stomach and provide rest. As a rule, an exhausted body reacts with a decrease in temperature, which can be critical. The cat needs to be warmed up.

But exhaustion can occur not only in abandoned cats, it can also affect domestic cats. It is important to notice in time your pet’s loss of interest in food and weakness.

Why force people to eat food?

Everyone considers a cat to be a fairly independent and intelligent animal, and if it refuses food, then there are significant circumstances for this. But some owners forget that the animal is not able to cope with everything on its own, and therefore it needs the help of its owner.

The cat may sit next to the bowl, but will not touch the food.

Important! If the cat is cheerful and looks healthy, and has not eaten for only a day, then you should not persuade it to eat something.
It is better to first take a sick animal to a veterinary clinic, where you can ask the veterinarian how to get the cat to eat.

Medicines after poisoning

The consequences of intoxication in pets are, as a rule, dehydration, disruption of the normal functioning of the digestive system, malfunctions of the heart, kidneys, and nervous system. The affected pet experiences weakness and apathy for a long time. Lack of or weak appetite is a natural result of poisoning.

Drug rehabilitation of the consequences of intoxication is primarily aimed at eliminating dehydration. The owner can independently treat a cat after poisoning. At home, your pet needs to be given subcutaneous injections of Ringer-Lock solution heated to 38 C. You can use Ringer solution with 40% glucose in a ratio of 8:1.

Anti-dehydration drugs are administered subcutaneously into the withers area in a dose of 40 - 50 ml 2 - 3 times a day. The maximum amount of subcutaneous solution should not exceed 150 - 180 ml per day. Such solutions are especially effective for poisonous insect bites, food poisoning, and the ingestion of rat poison.

Subcutaneous injection of Ringer-Locke solution

Many toxic substances lead to the development of bleeding and hemorrhage. To eliminate this phenomenon, the animal is injected intramuscularly with dicinone at a dose of 12.5 mg per 1 kg of animal weight. Injections are repeated every 6 hours for 4 to 5 days. The drug helps reduce hemorrhages and stop bleeding caused by the action of toxic substances.

It is mandatory to use dicinone if a cat is poisoned by rat poison. If the condition is satisfactory, intramuscular injections can be replaced with Vikasol tablets at a dose of 4 mg per animal per day.

Often, a pet becomes a victim of cruel people who deliberately poison cats with the drug isoniazid. In case of such poisoning, in addition to subcutaneous Ringer's solutions, the pet should be administered vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) for 7 to 10 days.

Paste for oral administration "Enterosgel"

To restore the functioning of the digestive system and cleanse the intestines of toxins, it is useful for a sick animal to give Enterosgel orally in a dose of 5 ml 2 - 3 times a day.

Toxic substances, as a rule, have a general effect, damaging many body systems: kidneys, liver, heart. To normalize the urinary system, a veterinarian often recommends diuretics along with subcutaneous injections of saline solutions.

Hepatoprotectors, for example, Hepatovet, Heptral, will help support the liver in case of poisoning. You can also use Karsil, Essentiale. The rehabilitation period should include the use of cardiac medications: caffeine, camphor, cordiamine, etc. Medicines for the kidneys, liver and heart function should be used by the animal only after consultation with a veterinarian.

Vitamins will help shorten the recovery period. In case of poisoning, I often prescribe ascorbic acid in the form of injections and B vitamins, which have a beneficial effect on the restoration of the animal’s nervous system.

Reasons why cats refuse to eat

Pet owners must monitor their pet's diet. Cats are characterized by moderation in food: they either rarely consume food, but in large quantities, or often in small quantities. If a cat has an appetite, this only means that he is healthy. However, if he refuses food for several days, then this is a reason to worry about his well-being.

Fasting day

It's not uncommon for cats to eat less on a given day in an attempt to cleanse their intestines. Such fasting may be associated with habitually overeating the day before or previously consuming heavy foods.

A temporary problem with your cat's digestion may occur due to physical activity. A kitten sometimes expresses its protest in this way, demanding its favorite treat or expressing resentment towards a family member.

You should not pay attention to the fact that the cat does not eat for a day, if then everything returns to normal. There is also no need to try to persuade him to eat. It is recommended to monitor the animal's food intake the next day.

Note! If a cat does not consume food for several days, then this is a cause for alarm. It is recommended to take your pet to a veterinary clinic immediately.

If your cat has not eaten anything for several days, it is recommended to show it to a doctor.

Physiological features

Their nutrition also depends on the physiological characteristics of pets. Especially often, cats may refuse to eat during heat, especially if there is a cat living next door. This also happens with males. Approximately a week before the start of sexual hunting, the animals' appetite may decrease.

Pregnancy also leaves a certain imprint. The owner should monitor the condition of the cat and its nutrition. A pet may begin to refuse food during toxicosis or before giving birth, but not for more than a day.

After giving birth, the animal is also in no hurry to eat, as this is due to a number of factors:

the mother is afraid to leave the kittens;
the cat is experiencing postpartum stress;
difficult childbirth has exhausted the animal, and therefore it needs to recover;
The cat ate more than one placenta after giving birth.

If the kittens feel well, do not force the cat to consume food. However, if you refuse food for more than a day, have a fever, vomiting, drowsiness and lethargy, you should sound the alarm and seek professional help.

Note! Even fasting for 24 hours can lead to health problems. Obese cats have particularly severe liver damage. Therefore, even on a diet, it is necessary to regularly feed cats.

Stressful state

An animal can take on a sick appearance when there are changes in the house. This can be caused by repairs, rearrangement of furniture, the arrival of a new person in the house, the absence of the owner for a long time, as well as a change of place of residence. This unsettles the cat, causing it to refuse to eat.

A problem can be moving the animal's bowl to another place that he does not like. The cat will not eat if there is a source of noise, bright lighting or heavy traffic nearby. If this happens, then the cat is stressed, which games and affection will help to cope with. However, if it does not go away, then you should be careful, since it can aggravate chronic diseases.

A cat may not eat for many reasons.

Health problems

Deterioration of the general condition or the development of diseases can cause a lack of appetite in the cat. Most often this occurs due to the appearance of diseases associated with the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, liver, helminthiasis, foreign bodies in the digestive tract, gastritis, and the appearance of tumors.

Other reasons

Cats are finicky animals, and therefore may refuse to consume food if it is of poor quality. A sudden change in menu can be stressful for an animal, but it also does not accept routine like a human.

Important! You should not feed your pet the same thing for a long period of time.

The condition after surgery can also negatively affect the animal's appetite. Anesthesia drugs often suppress physiological processes. The period of recovery from anesthesia can take about 8 hours, but the animal will be lethargic for a couple of days after the operation.

Don't forget that cats are predators. They could refresh themselves during a walk with a caught mouse or just grass. They cannot finish several dishes in a row because they are full, and therefore in this case they should not be forced.

Possible methods of supplementation

So, what method of supplementary feeding of an infant (or feeding if the mother is absent) should be chosen? We all know that the vast majority of mothers use a bottle for this purpose. Oddly enough, this method is precisely the only wrong way! The fact is that a baby sucks a bottle differently than a breast.

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He does not open his mouth so wide (even when using a bottle that is as close as possible to the shape of the breast, the child opens his mouth a maximum of 90 degrees, but it should be 120-150 degrees). In Fig. 1 is correct, in Fig. 2 incorrect application, spoiled by the bottle. It is easier to suck on the bottle, because

do not go straight away (you need to nurse for a while before milk appears)
go too fast (it happens that the milk gushes so much that the child almost choke and has difficulty coping with the pressure)
walk too slowly (“tight” chest)
go and then stop (to cause a new rush, you need to suck the breast again “idle”)
walk sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, at varying speeds
nipples can be quite long or flat/inverted, which is also uncomfortable for the child

The bottle does not have all these shortcomings. Of course, breasts also have their own advantages - they are warm, soft, mother’s. But often the advantages of the bottle outweigh the benefits, and the baby may refuse to breastfeed. If a mother bottle-feeds frequently, the risk of failure increases significantly. What happens next? The mother either quickly switches to artificial feeding or stubbornly pumps.

But pumping is very hard work; the vast majority of children are already exhausted by this process by the age of 6 months. In addition, the nightly pumping required to maintain milk supply is extremely tiring. Instead of putting the baby to the breast without waking up and continuing to sleep, the mother should get up on the alarm clock, take a pre-sterilized breast pump (and maybe even sterilize it before feeding), pump and only then give milk to the baby.

Pumping takes away our time to live, to communicate with the child, worsens our quality of life and reduces the pleasure of motherhood (for most women). It also often happens that because of the bottle, the baby’s latch deteriorates (especially if the child receives a bottle after birth - this is very bad! - and in the first two months after birth).

As a result, the baby, who agrees to suckle, takes it incorrectly. The most common consequences are possible pain during feeding, cracked breasts (and therefore a high probability of mastitis), and in any case a rapid decrease in the amount of milk. If the latch is incorrect, the breast is poorly stimulated, milk flows weakly, the baby begins to lack milk, the result is mixed feeding, then artificial.

One of the fairly popular methods of supplementary feeding (for example, in maternity hospitals that have the status of “Baby-Friendly Hospital”) is a syringe with the needle removed. Supplemental feeding with a syringe is carried out as follows. The syringe is purchased at the pharmacy. A disposable syringe is inexpensive - about 4 rubles. Sizes may be different, you can choose one more convenient for you and your child.

The needle is removed, leaving a small plastic tube sticking out of the syringe. Milk comes out of the syringe when pressed, you gently press on the piston and the milk flows out. You can directly suck on the syringe and at the same time inject milk. You can inject milk with a tube at the end of the syringe into the corner of the child’s mouth.

You can let your baby suck your finger, pad up, while injecting milk with a syringe into the corner of the mouth (see more about finger feeding). You can inject milk into the corner of the baby’s mouth right during breastfeeding - this will result in supplementary feeding at the breast. True, in this situation it will be more convenient to use a syringe with a long cannula or with a probe, see.

Extended syringe

You can often also buy a syringe with a “long cannula” at the pharmacy (this is what dentists use) - like in the picture on the left above. You can make such a syringe with an extension yourself by purchasing a tube at a pharmacy or medical equipment store. For example, you can use a nasogastric tube or a venous catheter (also called a “butterfly”). The tube is attached to the syringe (as in the figure on the top right). After this, it is much more convenient to carry out using a syringe

finger feeding, when the child is allowed to suck an adult's finger, with the pad facing up, while milk is injected with a syringe into the corner of the mouth
a variant of finger feeding, when the tube is attached to the finger - the child sucks the finger and receives milk through the tube
An option is to inject milk into the corner of the baby’s mouth directly during breastfeeding - you will get supplementary feeding at the breast.

Supplemental feeding with a teaspoon. A teaspoon is usually available, you don’t even have to buy it. Another plus is that it does not satisfy the need for sucking at all, so it will not interfere much with breastfeeding. Minus: you need to have a certain skill, because When feeding with a spoon, milk spills more easily than when feeding with a syringe (for example).

At first, you will end up spilling most of the liquid. However, this does not mean that you cannot feed your baby with a spoon! The baby opens his mouth wide, demanding food. With a quick movement of your hand, you insert the spoon onto the tongue and remove the spoon. To prevent the baby from spitting out the supplementary food, you need to place the spoon in the middle of the tongue, even a little further, and slowly tilt it so that the formula/milk flows straight into the throat - then he won’t spit it out.

Sometimes it helps to pour it not into the throat, but into the cheek. If you feed quickly and confidently, most likely the child will agree to drink supplementary food in this way. In some maternity hospitals that have the status of a Baby-Friendly Hospital, spoon feeding is chosen. If you watch an experienced nurse spoon-feeding babies, you will realize that it is actually a simple and very effective method that you and your baby just need to learn.

Children eat quickly, don't cry while eating, and don't spill a drop. This is what experience means. According to mothers, after two or three days feeding is already excellent. For example, there was a forced separation of the child for a week due to the mother’s treatment; during the day they fed him with a spoon. We got used to it for about a day, then it was normal! A week later, the baby took the breast with great pleasure.

soft spoon

This is what she looks like. Feeding with a soft spoon is more convenient than feeding with a hard teaspoon, because... You don’t need to scoop milk from an additional container each time; just press on the base of the spoon and a new portion of liquid will pour out. It is also possible that a soft spoon is more pleasant for a baby to feed than a hard one.

Supplementation from a cup. The illustration is taken from the WHO manual. You can feed from any cup. It is better if it is a small cup with thin walls, for example, a coffee cup. According to WHO, even premature babies can feed from a cup, not to mention older ones. So this seems to be a quite convenient way of feeding. True, it may take time for a child (especially an older one) to learn to feed effectively from a cup.

(compiled using the developments of Jack Newman, and the WHO guide “Breastfeeding: How to ensure success?”)

Place the child vertically or semi-vertically on your lap, supporting the child's head with your hand (the same hand behind the child supports his shoulders and neck)
Use a small cup (such as a medicine cup, coffee cup) or shot glass when teaching your baby to cup feed
Gently place the edge of the cup on the baby's lower lip
Tilt the cup so that the liquid touches the baby's lower lip. Let the baby lap up the milk like a kitten. A full-term baby will probably sip milk. Do not pour milk into your child's mouth! The baby may make sucking movements and spill some milk.
It is very important to raise the cup as slowly and smoothly as possible so that the liquid level remains constant, at the same height, so that the baby can constantly swallow milk.
Begin cup feeding very slowly as... you both learn how to do it. Once you get the hang of it, it can be very quick and convenient.
Do not try to force the child to drink a certain amount; let the child decide for himself how much milk is enough for him. Until the baby learns to latch on to the breast, he can be fed from a cup. This method avoids the use of artificial nipples (i.e. bottle feeding).
Pipette
Some children agree to eat from a pipette. The obvious drawback is that the process takes a long time, because... The pipette volume is very small. Supplemental feeding from a pipette is usually given occasionally, for example, when the mother is absent, if the child flatly refuses all other methods of supplementary feeding. A pipette can also be used to supplement feeding for newborns - because... the amount of supplementary feeding is small, this is realistic.
Haberman's sippy cup
The sippy cup is mainly used to feed children who cannot create a vacuum when sucking - for children with cleft lip and palate; with Pierre-Robin syndrome; with neurological problems. A person feeding a baby can press the sippy cup like a pipette and the milk will flow out. The baby laps up the milk, making movements similar to sucking at the breast. After such a sippy cup, if the child has recovered from the problem, it is easier to move on to breastfeeding.
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Finger feeding
For traditional finger feeding you will need your clean finger, a probe and any container with breast milk or formula (in the picture below a syringe is used as a container; you can also use a cup, glass, bottle into which you insert the probe, etc.) What is it for the probe? A nasogastric tube is often used. It can be bought, for example, in Moscow at a medical equipment store on Profsoyuznaya metro station, in Kiev (according to Victoria Nesterova) - at the Air Force pharmacy (one of them is at 20 Pobedy Ave., opposite the Voentorg store. There are others). It is better to take the thinnest probe; if it is too wide, a knot is tied on it so that the flow does not flow so quickly. Instead of a probe and container, you can use a syringe with a tube at the end or just a regular syringe. With proper finger feeding, the baby opens his mouth wide, as when sucking at the breast. The child extends his lower jaw and works with his tongue, as when sucking at the breast. In addition, there is skin-to-skin contact (and not to plastic, latex or rubber). Therefore, this method is much better than bottle feeding. When thumb sucking, the baby should receive milk. If you use a syringe, regular (without a needle) or with a long tip, you yourself “squirt” the milk into the corner of the child’s mouth or along the finger. If you have a probe, one end of the probe is lowered into a container with supplementary feeding (or attached to a syringe), the other is given to the child’s mouth along with your finger. The baby creates a vacuum and thanks to this sucks the milk out of the container.
Finger feeding should be used primarily to prepare a baby who is not latching to latch on. Please note that finger feeding is carried out for such a time that the baby calms down and begins to suck well, not longer. This usually takes no more than 60 seconds. Finger feeding should not be used as a supplementary feeding method if the baby is breastfeeding. In this case, additional nutrition, if necessary, is given directly at the chest using a tube.
Dr. Jack Newman believes finger feeding is the best way to encourage a baby to breastfeed if he or she is refusing the breast. . He also believes that finger feeding is good for newborns if they are very sleepy, to wake them up before breastfeeding, and also if it is necessary to temporarily interrupt breastfeeding (for example, to treat the mother - although in most cases treatment and breastfeeding are compatible, see .Medicines and treatment). Not suitable for flat or inverted nipples! (since it is possible to abandon the breast in favor of the finger). It also happens that due to pain in the nipples and severe cracks (CRACKS IN THE NIPPLES), the mother cannot feed; in this case, some feedings may need to be replaced with finger feedings, and the rest should be carried out from the breast, correcting the attachment (see correct breast latch). Finger feeding can also help a baby who is suckling incorrectly learn to latch on correctly. In case of short-term absences of the mother, according to the doctor, it is better to use a cup. In cases where the child takes the breast one way or another, supplementary feeding at the breast. Please note that when breastfeeding, a baby may prefer finger feeding to breastfeeding. the refusal will remain so, so it is usually more advisable to give the finger only for a while, and then supplementary feeding at the breast. If this does not work, supplementary feeding from a cup is preferable, which does not satisfy the baby's sucking reflex to the same extent. But, of course, we must take into account that the child should not starve, so if compared with bottle supplementation, finger feeding is better in any case.
Supplementary feeding at the breast
Where does the breastfeeding system come from? A breastfeeding system can be purchased. For example, the Medela company offers a special bottle with graduations that can be hung around the mother's neck; two probes come from it, one for each breast. The kit includes several pairs of probes of different sizes, as well as a patch for attaching the system to the chest. You can also build the system yourself using a container of milk, a probe and a patch. The patch is optional; A cup, bottle or syringe is used as a container; a syringe is less convenient than a cup in case of large volumes of supplementary feeding. If a syringe is taken, it is usually a 5 or 10 ml syringe and a 5 cm long tube attached to it. A tube is any sterile thin tube from a pharmacy, for example, a nasogastric tube, a venous catheter. Usually these straws are cheap, but they cannot be boiled, so it is recommended that they be washed and dried thoroughly, used for 24 hours and then a new one. A probe can be bought, for example, in Moscow in a medical equipment store on the Profsoyuznaya metro station, in Kiev (according to Victoria Nesterova) - in an Air Force pharmacy (one of them is at 20 Pobedy Ave., opposite the Voentorg store. There are others). It is better to take the thinnest probe; if it is too wide, a knot is tied on it so that the flow does not flow so quickly. The system can also be used for finger feeding.

Force feeding rules

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The owner of a sick animal is faced with an impossible task - how to feed the cat if it does not eat anything. The only way out of the situation is force feeding. How to do it correctly:

You should take a small piece of food and place it at the base of the animal’s tongue. After this, close the cat’s mouth and gently stroke the cat’s throat with careful movements. This will help make swallowing easier;
What to feed a cat if he doesn’t eat anything is liquid food. It is sent into the mouth using a syringe. However, this method can cause stress in the animal, and therefore subsequently it will not be handled at all. Feeding will then have to be done through a tube that delivers food directly into the stomach.

Important! It is recommended that you consult your veterinarian about which method is best to choose.

Artificial feeding of a cat through a tube

Lost appetite due to illness

If the cat is overtaken by illness, then lack of appetite is a natural reaction of the body. Meanwhile, the animal needs strength to fight the disease, so prolonged fasting should not be allowed. Every other day, maximum two, you need to try to force the cat to eat.

There are several ways:

Smear the gums with something tasty, tempting your pet and awakening its appetite.
Pour liquid food from a pipette or syringe, directing it into the corner between the molars. For the first time, thirty grams of milk or broth will be enough. Then you need to wait a couple of hours, and if there is no vomiting, repeat the procedure. Now you can give more food. Often cats refuse to eat precisely because of problems with the gastrointestinal tract, which may be accompanied by vomiting.
Another way to force someone to eat is to put your favorite on your left hand, like a child; Take a small piece of meat, liver or fish, open the cat's mouth and push the food into the corner between the molars. Then clamp your jaws tightly and wait a few seconds. The animal instinctively swallows the food. And repeat this several times.
It happens that a cat does not eat anything because of a runny nose. He has no sense of smell, so he doesn’t understand that his favorite treat is in front of him. We need to try to cure the poor thing as quickly as possible, and warm up the food before pouring it into a plate. When warm, it emits more pungent odors. This way, you will be able to force your pet to approach the food and try it. And then things will go further.

It may be necessary to force-feed a cat during illness for a long time until complete recovery. You will have to be patient and not lose heart. Even more important than food is giving your pet water. This is a must, otherwise your body will quickly give in. If the animal also refuses to drink, you can force it using the same pipette or syringe. It certainly won't get any worse.

This is interesting: How to train a cat to eat dry food?

What to feed

Nowadays there is a large amount of animal food on the market, but even with this, owners are faced with the question of how and what to feed a cat if it does not eat anything. It is recommended to give preference to ready-made foods that are specifically designed for use in the treatment of a specific disease.

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Most often, this is liquid food that can be fed to the animal from a syringe, or the cat itself can lap it up like water. This food is tastier than usual to attract the sick. In this case, the cat is more likely to prefer something liquid than solid food. In addition, this food is high in calories, so as not to force your pet to eat more often than necessary.

Note! Such food should not be considered a panacea and should not be grabbed from the shelves if the animal refuses food. You need to consult a veterinarian who can tell you what to feed your cat if he doesn’t eat anything.

Method of transferring a cat from dry food to homemade food

When switching a cat to homemade food, owners should be patient. The whole process can be divided into several stages:

The preparatory stage of the transfer is as follows: so that the cat understands the taste of wet food, mix dry food and canned food (from bags) in equal parts. Gradually reducing the proportion of dry food, add some vegetables, meat or grains to the industrial canned food.
The main stage is a complete refusal of dry food. Gradually add only gravy from the canned food for taste, and after 3-4 days, completely remove it from the cat’s diet. At this stage, it would be a good idea to add probiotics to your food to maintain microflora. If your pet refuses to eat regular food without adding canned food, do not follow his lead. When he gets hungry, he will eat what is offered to him.
Consolidating stage. After the cat is accustomed to home-cooked food, you should not feed it dry food even 1-2 times a week. You should completely avoid canned food so as not to provoke the animal.

When transitioning your cat to homemade food, you should also remember that some pets may simply ignore certain foods. You should not force a cat to eat, for example, cottage cheese if the animal has a complete aversion to this product. But he will most likely eat oatmeal or boiled carrots with great pleasure instead of cottage cheese. Even when preparing a diet, try to listen to the taste preferences of the animal itself (but in moderation!).

During such a critical period, you should not give your pet vaccinations or anthelmintics. Give your cat more time for play and affection. Seeing your friendly attitude and care, the pet will first resign itself, and then completely get used to the new healthy food.

Cat diet Cat Cat in the house Kitten Pets Pet

How to make food more attractive

If the cat is picky, then you need to make its food more attractive to the animal. It is worth paying attention to the bowl from which your pet eats. Perhaps it retains an unpleasant aroma that is not washed off with ordinary water. It is not recommended to use regular detergent for cleaning. It is better to wash with dry mustard, which will disinfect, will not leave an unpleasant odor behind, and will also thoroughly wash away the remnants of old food.

A cat pays more attention to smells than to taste. It is worth giving preference to higher quality food, even if people don’t like its smell. Selection is carried out through trial and error.

Reasons why a kitten does not eat food

Let's figure out why the kitten doesn't eat anything? What made the baby starve?

Stress

No matter how proud cats are, they are very sensitive. It would seem, what’s wrong with moving or a change of scenery? But such little things can affect the psychological state of the animal. The animal needs a couple of days to adapt to the changed conditions. If possible, eliminate all possible sources of stress and provide your baby with peace. Let fresh water and some food be within his sight, but away from people. Perhaps the kitten needs a calm environment and privacy.

Too young

Some people buy kittens that are too small. Unscrupulous breeders are trying to “fuse” kittens as quickly as possible so that the cat goes into heat faster and gets offspring from her again. As a result, kittens do not yet know how to eat on their own. Hence the hunger strike.

The baby would be happy to eat a hearty meal, but he can’t, he doesn’t know how. To prevent the baby from starving to death, you will have to purchase a special cat's milk substitute (it costs a lot, but is ideal for kittens) and a bottle. Cow's or goat's milk are not suitable because the kitten's intestines cannot digest such fatty milk.

Environment

Cats are very clean (with rare exceptions), so they are uncomfortable with the fact that their feeding area looks untidy or dirty. The animal will endure to the last, but will not touch even its favorite food if the bowl is poorly washed or there is a lot of garbage around the feeding area.

Strong odor from food or bowl

Some bowls made of polymers, especially in the first days of their use, have a strong, unpleasant odor. Cats have a keen sense of smell. And such a “bright” chemical smell will repel the pet from food. In addition, food can smell like plastic and have an unpleasant aftertaste. But even if the bowl (in your opinion) no longer smells, the detergents you use to clean your cat's bowl may have a strong odor. do not forget that they also have a fairly diverse chemical composition. Still, it is better not to use chemicals when washing dishes for feeding an animal. If you want to kill the infection, then simply pour boiling water over the bowl (if the manufacturer and material of the dishes allow this).

Helminths

Some types of parasites, on the contrary, awaken a brutal appetite in the baby. But still, in most cases, the tiny organism is not able to fight helminths. All the forces of the immune system are spent exclusively on the fight. Therefore, there is absolutely no money left for food consumption. Modern veterinary drugs can be given to tiny kittens. Some anthelmintics can be given just once, but it is usually recommended to repeat the procedure after 10-14 days.

This is due to the fact that during this time those parasites that were not affected by the first dose reach a different stage of development. And now on it they become sensitive to the active ingredient of the anthelmintic. Be sure to carry out 2 procedures for expelling parasites, even if you do not find any worms in the kitten’s feces or vomit. Perhaps his body contains just the larval stage, which is covered with a dense shell that does not allow the drug to kill the helminth.

Infectious diseases

The little kitten does not eat because an infection has raged in its body. At least remember yourself during the flu. Do you eat a lot? And a baby, especially if he is too early or has just been torn away from his mother, can have a huge number of life-threatening diseases. Any infection clings to his fragile body. The immune system is not yet very developed

That is why it is so important to carry out preventive vaccinations according to age on time. This can save the purr from a lot of problems.

Features of syringe feeding

Before starting feeding, you should consult your doctor about the size of the syringe. You can ask him to give the desired option so as not to make a mistake. Most often its size is 2 ml.

You need to cut off the tip of the syringe, pull the plunger out of it, and fill it with food. After this, you need to bring the tool to the cat’s nose so that the pet can smell the food. When the pet opens its mouth, lightly press the plunger, squeezing a small amount of food onto the tongue. If the animal does not open its mouth, then you need to do it yourself, since you need to force the cat to eat.

How to feed a sick cat with a syringe

Why does my pet refuse to eat?

When a kitten or adult is sick, the protective mechanisms of the immune system are reduced and the pet often refuses to feed. This reaction is normal for a weakened cat’s body, and owners should not worry too much or force-feed a sick cat. Usually the problem occurs in the first few days after an infection enters the animal’s body and another disease develops. After 2-3 days, the cat may ask for food on its own, or you should try to force-feed it with a small amount of food.

Veterinarians do not recommend allowing prolonged fasting during and after a cat’s illness, since the pet’s strength rapidly decreases and it is more difficult for the sick body to recover.

In most cases, the problem is associated with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The treatment process, during which the cat is given various drugs that reduce appetite, can affect impaired feeding. The reason may also be due to other factors:

A stressful state affects the animal's appetite.

getting a foreign object into the throat or esophagus, which the pet cannot get rid of on its own;
body bruise of varying severity;
poisoning of the body;
impact of stress.

Force feeding a newborn kitten

Kittens are fed with syringes. But you should choose a size larger than 10 ml. The needle needs to be removed. Even a small kitten will try to escape, so before feeding you need to carefully wrap it in a towel so that the pet cannot move. In this case, you should not press down the paws too much or squeeze the body, as this will negatively affect the internal organs.

Note! The kitten will show the desire to eat only after it tastes the food. The owner's only task is to force the pet to take the first sip.

When feeding kittens, do not squeeze them too hard by the body.

Almost every owner of a four-legged creature will sooner or later have to learn how and what to feed a cat if it doesn’t eat anything. This is required not only in case of illness, but also due to any other reasons due to which the pet refuses to consume food.

What to choose?

If you have a lot of money and the cost of the Medela system is pennies for you, it is better to buy it. In this case, during supplementary feeding, the baby will always suckle at the breast. If you have an adopted child and you want to breastfeed him, if you have a large shortage of milk, or you are relactation, it is also better to purchase a system. If your breasts are full of milk, and the system is needed only as a temporary solution (there is no need for large amounts of supplementary feeding), you may be able to get by with a tube, spoon, syringe, pipette. You will squirt milk into the corner of your baby's mouth, expecting him to continue to nurse. The disadvantage of the Medela system is that it is less convenient to add new milk into it than into the same cup. To do this, you need to turn the bottle over, unscrew the cap, and add it into the narrow neck. If you pour a lot at once, the child may not eat everything, and if you follow precautions, then after feeding the rest will have to be poured out (since the child’s saliva has gotten in). Therefore, your own milk is usually more stingy than formula, and supplementing with formula milk is somewhat more difficult. Some types of mixture (for example, anti-reflux) clog tubes and cannot be given through the system.

Features of using a purchased system

You pour milk into the bottle and screw on the cap, inserting the probes. When a baby sucks milk, air should enter the bottle instead of the volume of milk sucked. Air enters through the lid, so do not close it too tightly. Before turning the bottle over, you need to clamp the probes into the slots in the cap so that the milk does not start pouring out. The bottle can then be turned over and hung around your neck. The probes are attached to the chest with adhesive tape. Many people advise attaching probes only when the baby has eaten milk from the breast and from the other breast. When you decide that it’s time for the milk to pour out, release the probe from the slot in the lid. When the baby sucks, it creates a vacuum and the milk is poured into the mouth. You may have to press down on the bottle a little. The higher the bottle hangs, the faster the milk flows; The thicker the probe, the faster the milk flows.

Features of using homemade breastfeeding

If your baby refuses to breastfeed as your milk flow subsides, you can try supplemental feeding at the breast to encourage your baby to continue suckling. In this case, you will need to add milk at the right moment. You can spray it directly into the corner of your mouth with a syringe or pipette. You can insert a tube into the corner of the baby's mouth and inject milk with a syringe (see extended syringe), or - if a cup or bottle is connected to the tube - the milk itself will go into the baby's mouth due to the fact that a vacuum is created when sucking (much like you drink a cocktail through a straw ). The higher the cup, the faster the flow of milk. The lower the cup, the slower. Using a syringe, you control the flow yourself, but you fill it yourself every time and you squeeze out the milk. Therefore, the syringe is more convenient for small amounts of supplementary feeding. For large amounts of supplementary feeding, a tube and container are used. The tube is attached to the nipple so that it sticks out a centimeter when the nipple is at rest. It's best to use the thinnest tube you can find. If the tube is still too thick, you can reduce the flow in various ways. For example. You can tie the tube into a knot, press it with your fingers, or use a paper clip. The advantages of supplementary feeding at the breast are obvious - the baby suckles at the breast, and nothing else spoils the latch or creates the wrong habit. There should be no alternative to the breast if we want the baby to suckle effectively and produce milk. The baby learns to suckle when he suckles. The dangers - as with any other method of supplementary feeding - are getting used to this particular method of supplementation. In particular, in this case - to a constant flow of milk. It is necessary to choose the smallest probe that the child will agree to. It may make sense to gradually regulate the flow and squeeze the probe from time to time so that the baby sucks at the breast in vain. Technique. When using supplementary feeding at the breast, it is better to first feed with one breast and the other, then apply breast compression. Then feed again with the first and second breasts and so on. And only when the flow of milk has completely dried up and the baby does not agree to suck, use supplementary feeding at the breast. It is advisable to adjust the flow so that feeding takes 30 minutes - approximately 15 minutes on each side. It is advisable to reduce or even stop the flow of milk from time to time so that the baby does not get used to a constant flow. For example, holding the probe. It is advisable to allow the baby to suckle at the breast at any time, and not only when there is a supplementary feeding device on it. It is necessary to thoroughly wash all equipment after each feeding (if necessary, sterilize it).

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