What to feed an old, sick cat

April 15, 12:51 PMSacramento Nutrition ExaminerAnne Hart

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Do you have a very old cat with a sensitive digestive system? Does your cat have the runs? Is  your cat sick at both ends? When your cat stops eating and tries to hide, talk to your veterinarian, and also try this diet.

Buy a dozen small jars of baby food--chicken, veal, turkey, and lamb. Feed the baby food to your cat. Your cat may have become sick due to the preservatives or other ingredients in the meat or fish by-products in some commercial cat food cans. If your old cat's teeth are too loose or missing for moist kibble with liquid, feed the cat for a dozen days from the human baby food jars. Or liquefy chicken and turkey in  your blender and strain out the water.

If your cat has worms, ask your vet to give the cat worm medicine or make your own worm medicine by adding a quarter to a half teaspoon of food grade only diatomaceous earth for pets into the cat food. Watch your cat's eating habits and make sure clean water is next to the food and changed frequently.

Wolf Creek Ranch recommends feeding kittens 1/2 teaspoon, and cats 1 teaspoon, of food grade diatomaceous earth for internal parasite control. Read the information at their site and check with your veterinarian.

You'd be surprised to see how many grain-based food in cans for cats cause stomach upsets at either end. Also, don't feed canned fish for cats to your cat as the magnesium and preservatives in the fish build up the cat's kidneys and cause pain. Watch for bloating on the cat's sides. Ask your vet to check  your cat's liver and kidneys.

Feed raw food when the cat is able to tolerate raw food, such as raw chicken liver chopped in bits for cats with bad teeth. A diet of chicken from baby food jars, chicken alone, is helpful when your cat starts eating again and must lick at the food rather than chew it. Ask your vet if a pinch of barley green powder or wheat grass powder is permitted to add to the cat's food. Add some water to the food, but not too much. You can cook for your cat.

If you're cooking for a cat with the runs, cook rice with turkey and serve. The rice should help the cat's stools in the short term. Find out the cause, and stay away from canned fish if you have a cat. Some cats get pains in their abdomen, bladder, and kidneys from eating fish due to the magnesium.

Cook for your cat or serve baby food in jars to nurse a cat, especially an aging cat, back to health. And have the cat checked for serious problems such as diabetes or kidney failure. Some vitamin manufacturers make cat vitamins containing CO-Q 10, about 5 mgs, and a tiny bit of resveratrol for cats. Check out these firms and ask your vet whether your cat can have these nutrients.