Eating Away at His Problem

Parker continues to eat very little. His health does not seem to be deteriorating in other ways, though his behaviour is changing. He is less active and more apathetic - his strength may be suffering - though still very friendly, perhaps even more so than previously. Right now, he will eat only human-food tuna, and small portions of Fancy Feast chicken-and-liver. The amounts he is consuming are keeping him alive but not doing much else.

I have been offering him different kinds of cat-food, but nothing progresses past the smelling stage. He will eat: some human food and Temptation Treats are still appetising to him, so it is not food in general that turns him off. I have tried other fish but he seems keen only on its flavour-rich oil. Opening numerous tins of sardines just for the juice is prohibitive in terms of cost, even if the other beasts - or the outsider-cats - benefit from the leftovers. However, I realised that I had a source of fish oil alone.

I take these capsules myself, and I have found that by puncturing the gel coating, I can dribble the contents into Parker’s food. He eats quite a bit more with this condiment, even food that he would not touch otherwise. It's true that some authorities say that fish is not good for cats, but those cats will eat something else. Even with this additive, though, the orange-boy eats sparingly compared to his previous days, and sometimes the oil doesn’t help at all. But when life is being measured in teaspoons, every morsel counts.

Puck will go back to the doctor - his new doctor - in a few weeks for more tests, to see how his condition has developed. Until then, he and I will wage our battle against whatever is attacking him. I wish he would put a bit more effort into it, but I know that his apathy toward food is not of his making. With luck and improvisation, we will move into his future still fighting.