Answer: Animals may have to be coaxed to eat after a serve illness or if, for medical reason, they have to be fed special diet which is not very palatable. In particular, cats suffering from respiratory disorders need to be tempted with foods having strong, distinctive flavors and odors because otherwise they are unable to smell or tests to their food. In general, the flowing should be tried.
1 Feed food with a strong taste and odor such as sardines, kippers, herrings, pilchards, liver, salmon, shellfish, tuna fish, chicken fat, chicken livers, cooked rabbit and fried fish. Any discharge around the nose should be wiped away to enable the animal to smell the foodstuff. If necessary, an inhalant can be used to help clear the nasal passages.
2 Add to an existing diet such flavoring agents as the oil from a can of sardines, meat gravies and meat soups. If the cat will not consume these voluntarily, smearing a little on the nose usually cause the cat to lick it off, thereby providing a first tests which stimulates him to take more. The addition of the pinch of salt to many dishes, including canned foods, will often enhance the flavor and stimulate the appetite.
3 Feed foodstuffs at blood heat rather then cold. All foods have more flavor when heated (which is why foods intended to be served cold, such as ice cream, require a disproportionately large amount of sweetening and flavoring).
In addition, there are available from your vet convalescent diets and food drinks specially prepared for cats, which are rich in nutrients and highly palatable.
Make sure that the feeding dishes are rinsed clean with absolutely no residue of stale food, disinfectant or detergent which could give an unpleasant taste or odor, and feed only a little food at a time.
Such foods as milk puddings, proprietary invalid diets, baby food and chicken, although nutritionally excellent and therefore ideal for the feeding of sick or convalescent animals have a relatively bland or insipid taste and it may prove difficult to persuade cats to eat them. Competition with another animal may sometimes provide the incentive to eat, though care should be taken to see that a weaker animal is not prevented from eating by a more dominant one.
