So many of you have either left comments or sent me emails recommending using baby food to get Vashti to eat/take her medicine.
You guys are freaking GENIUSES!!! I have never seen my cats go nuts for anything like all of them–including the recently food-shy Ms. Vashowitz–have gone nuts for the baby food. Not even over the prime rib!
Who has smarter, cooler, generally awesomer readers than I do???
Nobody–that’s who!!!
Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!!
That is all. 
When I think of how Newt went for the split pea soup (and tinned soup has a consistency a lot like baby food), it makes perfect sense! So glad it worked for the lovely Vashti. >^.^<
Glad to hear you are finding tricks that work! How’s it going giving the fluids? I sent you some info that might help. Also, Vitamin B added to the fluids can often help stimulate appetite. Go Vashti!
Glad to hear the baby food works. Just make sure that the brand you use doesn’t contain onion powder – it’s toxic to cats and can cause a form of hemolytic anemia. If I recall correctly, the Gerber brand does not use onion powder, but check your label to be sure.
Chase LOVED his baby food! Isn’t it great?! I hope you’re doing good, but remember to take care of yourself too. Glad Vashti is hanging in there. You are doing everything you can for her, especially learning about all the tips and tricks to caring for a CRF cat. There is a learning curve, but you become an “old hand” at it quicker than you think. What seemed impossible last week is “no problem” this week. And her purrs make up for it all. Hugs, purrs & headbutts to all from Becky & the Meezers >^..^<
Baby food is great. My guys also love (and I mean LOVE) baked sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin, and, if they’re really not well enough to eat anything, perk right up and dig in to anything that has bottled clam juice poured over it.
I just am about to finish your book. your three cats remind me sooo much of my three cats. my precious is just like your scarlett, hides under the bed, not interested in meeting new people. My blossom is a lot like Vashti, he does not mind meeting new peolpe is real laid back about everything. but my Cello OMG he is sooo much like Homer, in fact when I first got him I told everyone he was the kitten from HELL! He is only 10 months old and although he is not blind has already defended our little apt from scorpions to racoons. And like homer he too had a rough start his mommy died when he was just 2 weeks old and he had to be bottle fed for the next 6 wks.
Thanks for the great book Mrs Cooper
Hooray for baby food!!
It improved, and probably extended, my kitty’s life. I felt like I was in foreign territory when I was in that baby aisle of the grocery store, I was over 40 and never had human children!! Well worth the discomfort!
Beth P.
It’s great to hear how Vashti is eating again like that! And it’s a good thing she is taking her vitamins with baby food. The extra nutrients might speed up the recovery process for her. I once babysat a child that wouldn’t eat lamb baby food so her mother suggested I feed it to the cat that I had at the time. And the cat just ate it all up!
Gwen – you are taking such good care of Vashti and I commend you for it! That cat, as well as Scarlett and Homer, has a wonderful mother – and father in Laurence, too! Keep up the good work!
Now I’m wondering if I should go out and get some baby food for the cats that us in the Clark family have and serve them as treats.
And thanks to the one that posted about onion powder being dangerous to cats. That’s some good information!
Hi Gwen,
Glad to hear Vashti holding her own.
I’ve had my share of experience with renal failure cats and found my cats like the Purnina NF dry and canned foods much better, even though I feed dry adult Science Diet to my crew.
http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/FelineProductDetail.aspx?prod=235
You might want to try it instead to see if she will eat that, although most cats seem to loath kidney diets of any kind. Of course my healthy cats loved the Purnina NF food and would eat all of it given the chance so I guess it can’t be all that bad.
I currently have 2 hyperthyroid cats, one who is about 13 and survived acute kidney failure a few years ago. She may have chronic pancreatitis too, the other is 18 years old and his kidneys are starting to fail. I can sympathize with every thing you are going through with Vasthi. I am giving sub-q fluids to both cats weekly and medicating both of them twice a day. My pantry looks like the cat food isle at the store with the huge selection of canned cat food I have on hand.
Good luck with Vashti, she’s a lucky cat to have you to care for her.
Baby Food almost forgot! Tyler (Siamese) loved eating baby food!
Since we’re having a food issue with Noah now – I’ll pick up a few jars of baby food to get him going! Thanks for reminding me!
Good to hear that Vashti loves baby food & hoping she’ll get stronger!
I’m so happy that you’ve found something Vashti likes! Nutrition can be very challenging with a CRF kitty. A few things I’ve learned over the years about feeding baby food as her main source of nutrition: I used only the brands that don’t list onion powder or broth as an ingredient in the food — most broths in processed foods contain onion, even baby foods; I added a bit of instant baby rice cereal to the strained meats as well as methylcobalamin and taurine supplements, which I got at the health food store. Adding a bit of canned pumpkin is also good if constipation becomes an issue. There are some good CRF recipes at some of the CRF support websites, too. Continued best wishes with Vashti.
‘Kaika’s mom
Isn’t it great??? What’d we tell you?!
Wonder LOVES his baby food! He took his medicine in his baby food like a champ! Anytime I would take out the little tin dishes I would put it in, he would go wild. I’ve never seen a cat sling back food so fast. He’d eat all of it, then look up at me for more. He’s on a venison food trial right now, which is REVOLTING, so I am definitely looking forward to the baby food again!
I’m glad that Miss Vashti likes it! Who knew that baby food was actually awesome in a jar?
I have never heard of, nor used baby food, but sounds like something I would like to try. Though I need a little more info —
If I had not read most of these comments I would not have picked up that onions are toxic to cats. That is critical for us to know, for well cats. I have a 22lb. spoiled rotten 13 year old cat. I want to get another one since we lost his brother but I am not sure he would be accepting and it would kill me to bring one, or 2 in and absolutely have to take them back.
Back to the baby food, are you using any thing, I see veggies listed, but meats — what is a basic one. Mine has always turned his nose up at anything not dry, crunchy or hard. If I have run out, on occasion and had to open a can or real tuna then I was minced meat if the claws could get to me. But he has never been one for food. I just would like to try the baby food to see how he will react. What was the other one, broth, why? Thank you.
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Gwen&”family”…I am reading yr book and didnt finish yet… the last part I saved for 2n8 before going to sleep but boy oh boy, how I will miss you all !!! But so happy that I found yr blog after googling on Homerus name!! Didnt realise before that it was his photo on the cover of the (dutch) book, called Wonderkat….
Gonna read yr blog asap while one of my (2)cats, Beauty is watching me from the bed beside my compu of my 7 weeks old grandson Niek
Thnx for the gr8 moments I received to spend time with you!!
From The Netherlands with love,
Marlene
Gulp — I feel guilty! I didn’t think to mention BABY FOOD! If you’ve ever been to a purebred cat show, you’ll frequently (esp. w/Persians) see the owners feeding their cat(s) baby food w/a baby spoon…….it’s to control the way the cat eats, so it doesn’t mess its coat which would have to be re-cleaned before going before the judge.
HOWEVER — if nobody has mentioned it, **baby food doesn’t meet the AAFCO standards for cats**! AAFCO is the American Association of Feed Control Organization (I believe) and they set the standards on what percentage of vitamins etc. must be in pet food. (Look on any dry or wet cat food — you should see where it says “Meets AAFCO standards…..”.) One VERY IMPORTANT ingredient for cats is TAURINE — without it they go blind…..
I now partially use WERUVA wet cat foods, can’t exclusively since it’s quite expensive, but it honestly looks the most like ACTUAL HUMAN FOOD and my cats are batty over it! I only know of one pet store in my vicinity that stocks it.
Keep up the good work! Meows and purrs from this end, to your end!
Gwen, In addition to the baby food, ER/ICU nurses suggested low sodium chicken noodle soup, with small amounts of liquid.
In “The Natural Cat” by Anitra Frazier, there is a section on a natural diet for CRF. I will go through and email you with her suggestions.
Just finished homer’s odyssey and was so happy to find your website so we can keep up with how you are all doing. As soon as I read the last page, I handed it to my husband so he could read it too….it’s a wonderful book, thank you so much!