Milly had an episode of diarrhoea on Thursday morning and then was sick when I got home from work. She hadn't eaten anything that day and by Friday was still not touching her food. Friday evening we boiled up a chicken breast, which seemed to get her interested as it was cooking but she only ate a little of it when we put it down (seemed happy to lick up the broth we poured on it though). This was a little worrying as she has scoffed chicken down in the past so we had a trip to the vet's this morning, resulting in a shot of antibiotics, a anti-nausea shot and a couple of packets of Science Plan, which we were told to feed little and often. We've been putting the food down but she'll just lick the gravy off and leave the chunks. We've tried her with a bit of her normal food, but she's not interested. Other than the not eating she seems fine (no more D&V but a little more clingy maybe) and we have a follow-up appointment with the vet tomorrow (who didn't seem that worried about her). Any suggestions to try to get her eating again as even the trusty boiled chicken isn't doing it for her ?

As long as you can keep getting some fluids down her she will be ok for a couple of days.
You could try some tinned sardines in tomato sauce warmed up a little.
When warmed up the smell is stronger and so might help her to eat.

Mine like sardines or pilchards or if Milly's not keen you could try some pink salmon.
I wouldn't give too much until her upset Tum is better.

When we are feeling a bit poorly we sometimes go off eating so I wouldn't worry too much. I think once Milly starts to feel better her appetite will soon come back.

Hope Milly will feel better tomorrow x

__________________

Noticed this earlier when I was browsing some sites...
MH Foods: Bon Appetit Chicken Flavour Food Enhancer Spray 100ml from Swallow Healthy Diet

Think you can get it in other flavours too.

__________________
Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

Re: the Science Plan, is this food for sensitive tums? Sorry I'm not familiar with this brand, but have used another brand of sensitive food for one of my cats. When he has this food, I mash the chunks up for him and add a drop of warm water.

I have also found that crushing a couple of chicken 'Thrive' treats (easily available at supermarkets/pet shops) in with wet food works really well to encourage a kitten/cat to eat; also a sprinkle of Brewers Yeast, available from Holland & Barratt, can work well for some cats too. My favourite secret weapon though is poached white fish. If your kitten/cat has an upset tummy and isn't interested in boiled chicken, you could try fish instead, plain white fish, not tinned fish in brine/oil etc. I find fish to be smellier than boiled chicken and cats respond well to smell

Good luck at the vet tomorrow. I hope Milly is back to her usual self soon

My old cat had renal failure and when we started her on Royal Canin renal food she would just lick the gravy off (sound familiar?).
After a week of panicking we thought sod it and feed her what she likes so we shredded a lil cooked chicken into the food,mixed it up and microwaved it for 10-15 secs just to warm thru and make juices flow.
2.5 years later we were still feeding it the same way and she was still scoffing it hope u get ur lil one eating.

Tried this ----in ALL the flavours ----and it did nothing at all for any of mine.

__________________

Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and well wishes. We gave up on the Hills food (sorry, got wrong name in original post) and tried her with some P@H tinned Purely ocean fish - that was a little more successful. We kept her hydrated by giving her some watered down lactose-free milk, which is usually just a treat but in this scenario meant at least we knew she was getting some fluids. Since this morning she has been back pretty much to her usual self and eating the small, frequent meals we've been putting down for her. Still didn't stop the vet giving her another antibiotic injection, plus antibiotic tabs for the next week! My first proper vet's trip (apart from the spay and jabs) has set me back £135 Still, at least we know that there is nothing serious wrong with her.

Will try out some of the suggestions as sometimes she can be a fussy moo even when well and suddenly change her mind about food that she has previously eaten. Have previously bought a box of the brewer's yeast but that went down like a lead balloon as sprinkling that on her food puts her off even more By the sounds of some of the other suggestions (which made me feel hungry!) our ill kitties are eating better than many humans