Well, that about says it. There is an 8 year old barn cat out at the horse barn where my horses are, and lately she has been looking rather pinched-up and thin. I can feel a bunch of ribs on her sides.

They only feed her Purina dry cat chow, and altho I've been known to give her some canned cat food in the winter (last winter she wasn't thin like this under her hair), she doesn't seem to want it in the summer months, so I haven't been wasting it. (also don't want to attract skunks and raccoons in)

Turns out she hasn't been dewormed in who knows how long, or given any shots either. She doesn't LOOK sick, just thin. She walks around "Wow"-ing at me all the time I'm there, even when I've filled her bowl up. (no one else seems to bother, so it has become another of my jobs).

The barn (and cat's) owner says that the cat goes ballistic in a carrier and turns into a maniac in the vets office (hence the lack of shots). No, no fecal samples either, one would have to turn over the entire contents of two arenas looking for one.

Given that deworming is probably the easiest place to start with this case, what is there that I could mix into some food (she doesn't like tuna, doggone it) and hopefully get her to eat? Recommendations from those with similar problems? TIA

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2002

Answers

Chances are, Julie, it might not be worms. Since you said this cat hasn't had any shots, she could have one of the diseases that causes "wasting" away. Like FELV maybe. They don't always act or look sick when they have this. But worming is a good place to start, I would think. And if she does have FELV, worming her will help her live with it more easily. I'd find out what her favorite meat was. Maybe hambuger?? Put the medication in a small chunk and see if she'll eat it. Good luck!!

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2002

I accidentally spilled some Diamataious Earth in the cat bowl and my son fed later on, not realizing the DE was in the bowl. The bowl was licked clean and the cat got fatter.

I have used a product called Dr Daniel's cat wormer (for the rabbits too) that looks and smells like caramel. It could be put on the dry food but I would give less food to make sure the right amount was eaten all at once.

-- Anonymous, July 20, 2002

Will your vet dispense some small animal meds over the counter? Strongid liquid is very safe to use and not so fussy about exact amounts needed to be effective in cats. It is a pleasant tasting liquid ( don't ask how I know, but wrestling by syringe into the mouth of some into my barn cats has been interesting to say the least!!!) that you can simply mix with a small amount of great tasting food (in cats that don't like tuna, use canned white meat chicken like Swanson's canned meats) and hopefully said kitty will scarf it up. Repeat in two weeks.

There is also a liquid all purpose de-wormer that gets tapeworms too, but it is far more pricey. The liquid Strongid gets all worms but tapeworms. I keep a four ounce bottle in the barn to periodically dose the barn kitties regularly in their canned food (they scarf up any kind of "doctored" canned food!), and it might have cost me 4 dollars, and will last for over a year for 8 cats.

Sometimes in the summer when it is hotter than usual, kitties, especially barn kitties, just don't eat like they usually do and lose weight as a result. So if the worming doesn't help, don't automatically worry that something else has to be wrong with her. Cooler weather might perk her appetite up and put the weight back on her.

Could you give her the shots she needs yourself Jules??? It's not hard and I think giving cats their shots is far easier than doing dogs, dogs are such wimps about the needle sticks!!! Cats seem like they don't even feel it, especially if you use a very small guage needle like a 22 or even a 25 guage will work well in cats. I don't even bother to wrap the cat or anything, I just work very quickly and it is all over before the cat even knows what's happening. The vet supply houses, like KV Vet and Jeffer's have very cheap prices on vaccines if your vet doesn't want to sell you any over the counter.

I wish I was closer, I could easily do it for you :-)!!!

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2002

I'll vouch for the smaller gauge needles, Julie! I can "sneak" up on some of my semi-wild barn cats while they're involved in eating some freshly served canned food and they never see (or feel) me coming with my loaded rabies syringes!!

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2002

Hmmm. I "know" this cat, and despite her begging for food, I don't think she's so enamoured of the food that she wouldn't notice you sneaking up on her with a needle. I might be wrong though. They definitely don't feel the shots that you give over the "withers", but I've had cats protest the needle in the leg/butt muscles (not sure a cat actually HAS a butt, per se).

If Mike is willing to dispense wormer, Panacur in her food might be acceptable. And that gets tapeworms. But you have to give it 3 days running, then a single dose later, something like 3 weeks if I remember correctly. I was given Panacure as a powder which I just mixed into the food -- cats ate it, no problem.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2002