I knew when I made the comment about 'feeding a sick kitty its favorite food' I was opening a can of worms. I'm sorry for that. But I felt it necessary to address Brenda's concern about Purina Kitten Chow. I did not want her to feel compelled to take away the poor, sick kitty's favorite food and try & force it to eat something foreign, especially since my own vets have recommended it for my own FeLV+ kitty. I included the comment that I also offer a canned food, also based on vet recommendations.
As to the question, "if I had a child sick with cancer, would I feed it McDonalds"? You betcha I would, along with anything else she wanted! I've had many friends with cancer, and they've been told to eat whatever they wanted, and could keep down. So much of our survival instincts are based on food, I would not deprive any creature of food it loved based on the assumption that trading possible quantity of life for quality is a good deal.
Having said that, I do understand what you are saying, and "in theory" I agree that natural foods are best. But I'll also say, in a perfect world we would all be making homemade recipes, based on optimum nutrition, for all our animals. I don't know of many caregivers that can do that. I know some people freak out at the word "byproducts", but in reality, a cat in the wild would certainly be eating the bird/mouse byproducts. In fact, they seem to particularly LIKE those byproducts. (I know..yuck...enough said.)
So, bottom line, we are all going to do what we think is best for our family, based on our own experience, research and vet recommendations. This board simply offers other's experience and suggestions, and we should all be taken "with a grain of salt".
Hugs to all fellow caregivers and their families.
Jo
In a message dated 03/02/2004 6:42:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
In a message dated 3/2/2004 2:09:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
I just won't force any treatment on a cat that is terrorized by it to selfishly try and keep them going for a few more days or weeks.
I agree *if* the cat is terminal. But had I not fed this cat here the way I have for the last few weeks he would not have made it, now he is springing back, it has given my daughter 3 more great weeks with her cat, Im not torturing him, Im simply feeding him what he needs to eat.
Cherri
