Hi. First time posting here so hopefully I do this right. I have several questions so I hope it’s ok that I write them all here.
My male foster cat, Finn, is 10, neutered, standard norwegian house cat breed (unsure what that’s called) and weighs about 6,5kg. He came to me as a foster from a local Animal Shelter 2,5 months ago. Since he’s been under their jurisdiction he’s had to have two vaccines lately in the process of getting him ready to be adopted (despite me being very vaccine sceptical). He was abandoned by previous owners, but besides that most of his life history is unknown. Pretty soon after arrival he showed symptoms of twitching and shaking and bc of that he’s now gotten the diagnosis FHS by their vets. He’s not a super serious case, no terrible episodes and no self harming, but he seems uncomfortable. He pees a lot, licks himself a bit much and has lots of shaking in his butt, hind legs and tail, especially trying to find balance on my lap. He is overweight by about 1,5kg and has been put on diet kibble from their vet this week. Before that I had him transitioned from all kibble (animal shelter way) to a grain free diet consisting of some Orijen kibble, some wet food and some raw food with small pieces of steamed or raw fruits and vegetables like apple, banana, sweet potatoes, carrots and broccoli. My plan was to get to all wet and raw, mostly raw. I use a local brand for raw food (consisting of mostly chicken) and supplement it with a tiny bit of locally raised grass fed meat and organ meats from cows. I can’t do that a lot as it’s very expensive. He’s luckily very happy with any food he gets and eats anything I make. After last vaccination his condition seems to have gotten a bit worse. BEAM is otherwise pretty good, good appetite (wants food all the time), he seems happy, energetic and content and loves outdoor time. He purrs and wants cuddles, although not all the time. Medication is being considered, but for now he’s not on any. I follow Medical Medium personally (which is where I found you) and based on that I also give him a few drops of Vimergy b12, zinc, vit C, barley grass juice powder and 1/4ts SeaMeal. I try to keep a calm, loving home as best I can, he currently sleeps in my bed with me at night. I have CFS myself so I don’t have much energy to play with him, but he does get quite a bit of his need for stimulation covered by being outdoors every day.
1. I hate the terrible diet food he has been put on and I want to find another way for him to lose weight with wet and raw food. The raw food brand I use is a Norwegian brand called VOM and they suggest a daily food amount of 4% of optimal weight, which for Finn would be 200 grams, but I suppose that’s general guidance based on a bit younger and possibly more energetic/active cats (although he is an outdoor cat now, since a few weeks ago, and is fairly active) and not for weight loss. How much of that raw food should I aim to give him to help him lose weight in a healthy way without the diet kibble that’s full of natural flavors and grain and sugars etc?
2. Or are there other, better options?
3. How fast should he lose the weight and how do I best monitor progress and make adjustments?
4. Is there anything else I can do regarding diet or supplements to help him out with his FHS?
5. Based on what I have written, is there anything you see I’m doing wrong or less than optimal for his health? I have limited funds for other therapies like homeopathy and acupuncture, but if there are any of those modalities you think would help him a lot, please do let me know.
Thank you!
Siri
My male foster cat, Finn, is 10, neutered, standard norwegian house cat breed (unsure what that’s called) and weighs about 6,5kg. He came to me as a foster from a local Animal Shelter 2,5 months ago. Since he’s been under their jurisdiction he’s had to have two vaccines lately in the process of getting him ready to be adopted (despite me being very vaccine sceptical). He was abandoned by previous owners, but besides that most of his life history is unknown. Pretty soon after arrival he showed symptoms of twitching and shaking and bc of that he’s now gotten the diagnosis FHS by their vets. He’s not a super serious case, no terrible episodes and no self harming, but he seems uncomfortable. He pees a lot, licks himself a bit much and has lots of shaking in his butt, hind legs and tail, especially trying to find balance on my lap. He is overweight by about 1,5kg and has been put on diet kibble from their vet this week. Before that I had him transitioned from all kibble (animal shelter way) to a grain free diet consisting of some Orijen kibble, some wet food and some raw food with small pieces of steamed or raw fruits and vegetables like apple, banana, sweet potatoes, carrots and broccoli. My plan was to get to all wet and raw, mostly raw. I use a local brand for raw food (consisting of mostly chicken) and supplement it with a tiny bit of locally raised grass fed meat and organ meats from cows. I can’t do that a lot as it’s very expensive. He’s luckily very happy with any food he gets and eats anything I make. After last vaccination his condition seems to have gotten a bit worse. BEAM is otherwise pretty good, good appetite (wants food all the time), he seems happy, energetic and content and loves outdoor time. He purrs and wants cuddles, although not all the time. Medication is being considered, but for now he’s not on any. I follow Medical Medium personally (which is where I found you) and based on that I also give him a few drops of Vimergy b12, zinc, vit C, barley grass juice powder and 1/4ts SeaMeal. I try to keep a calm, loving home as best I can, he currently sleeps in my bed with me at night. I have CFS myself so I don’t have much energy to play with him, but he does get quite a bit of his need for stimulation covered by being outdoors every day.
1. I hate the terrible diet food he has been put on and I want to find another way for him to lose weight with wet and raw food. The raw food brand I use is a Norwegian brand called VOM and they suggest a daily food amount of 4% of optimal weight, which for Finn would be 200 grams, but I suppose that’s general guidance based on a bit younger and possibly more energetic/active cats (although he is an outdoor cat now, since a few weeks ago, and is fairly active) and not for weight loss. How much of that raw food should I aim to give him to help him lose weight in a healthy way without the diet kibble that’s full of natural flavors and grain and sugars etc?
2. Or are there other, better options?
3. How fast should he lose the weight and how do I best monitor progress and make adjustments?
4. Is there anything else I can do regarding diet or supplements to help him out with his FHS?
5. Based on what I have written, is there anything you see I’m doing wrong or less than optimal for his health? I have limited funds for other therapies like homeopathy and acupuncture, but if there are any of those modalities you think would help him a lot, please do let me know.
Thank you!
Siri
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