Hi, at our no-kill cat shelter we received a cat from a soldier who brought her and her sister (not a dilute) in. They were both adopted (separately) immed. but Mia, the dilute, was brought back 4 days later as she would not eat. We began force-feeding, but she continued to lose weight and I brought her home for more intensive care. Decline continued til she looked like Holocaust victim and vet advised euthanasia as he said she had no quality of life. Desperate I went online with her symptoms and found
APA, a blue-green algae compound for pets. She was eating on her own in 2 days. She is now back to normal, her inner eyelids (which covered 1/2 of her eyes) have disappeared, and she is amazingly playful and loving.

Is there a heightened sensitivity on the part of dilutes? I'm afraid to adopt her out again fearing this will happen again.



***Edited By: lpn169 on 4/6/2009 3:27:16 PM***
Reason: Removed specific info that break forum rules

I don't know about whether they are especially sensitive to allergies or anything. But I would definitely hold off on adoption until she is at a healthy weight and has maintained it for a little while. I wonder if she may have just had a difficult time adjusting to her new surroundings? Some cats really freak after a move, and if she was happily living with her owner one day and at the rescue the next, she may have been pretty traumatized. If that is the case, she may do it again when she goes to a new home. Definitely something to mention to any future new families for her, so that they can look out for it and try to keep her eating, maybe with extra tempting foods like tuna fish.

When I have a cat or kitten that won't eat I offer them chicken or turkey baby food. If they still won't eat I use a syringe and gently force it in their mouth. After a time or two I don't need the syringe. It stimulates the appetite.

I find that cats are very sensitive to change in ownership. Any stress causes physical stress as well.

I recommend feeding a meat diet, skip the commercial food that is filled with things this cat doesn't need. If he's eating very little, make every bite count.

The following recipe may be helpful:

Canned salmon, with bones or fresh cooked salmon or chicken with cartiledge.
Dinovite Feline powdered supplement, very small amount added to salmon/chicken.
Fish Oil or Salmon Oil supplement-great EFA (essential fatty acid).

Usually this combination which is loaded with calories and protein is just what is needed to get a kitty on the other side toward a healthy body...so they can find a home and start working on a healthy spirit.

Cats are wonderful companions. Sometimes they need a little help.

I meant to put a link in the post above. Sorry.

http://www.dinovite.com/index.php/supplements/dinovite-feline-bundle.html