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Posted by iZ's mom on April 16, 2001 at 16:35:01:

In Reply to: WEANING OFF THE CAT FOOD!HELP! posted by kIT on April 16, 2001 at 15:44:17:

cat food!?!?!?!? WHY do people think poor little iglets eat CAT FOOD!!?!?!??!? *heavy sigh*

well, i for one, agree with the idea of weaning him off the cat food and onto a healthier diet ... he's never seen healthy food + so it's understandably confusing him ...

i don't think there is a more strong-willed (stubborn!) animal than an ig! and while i doubt that it would let itself starve to *death*, totally switching it's diet overnite would definitely be quite stressful to it and *that* isn't good either ... so it comes down to which is the lesser of 2 evils ~ cat food or extreme stress??? hmmmmmmmmmm ...

this ig is already stressed just because he's in a new environment with new people, i'd really hesitate to add even *more* stress by having a battle of wills with him ...

wean him off it instead ... his appetite may still go down anyway, but wean him off slow + don't backslide + give him more than you did the day before, just more nummy greens ... i'm betting that once he gets used to seeing + tasting greens + vegies, he's gonna like them alot!

make sure that his 'salad' is in small pieces ~ tear the greens so they're no bigger than his head ... maybe try offering a bit of grated vegies like carrots? the color might get his interest ...

make sure to sprinkle his salads with water to get some extra moisture in him ... the high protein content of the cat food is hard on ig's renal systems and plenty of moisture will help that a bit ... make sure his enclosure is plenty humid as well, for the same reason ...

depending on how long this ig was on his lettuce + cat food diet, he could very well be prone to or have kidney problems ~ a blood panel is something to consider ...

and good luck!!!
Bon. + iZ

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: <i><small>cat food!?!?!?!? WHY do people think poor little iglets eat CAT FOOD!!?!?!??!? *heavy sigh*</i></small> : well, i for one, agree with the idea of weaning him off the cat food and onto a healthier diet ... he's never seen healthy food + so it's understandably confusing him ... : i don't think there is a more strong-willed (stubborn!) animal than an ig! and while i doubt that it would let itself starve to *death*, totally switching it's diet overnite would definitely be quite stressful to it and *that* isn't good either ... so it comes down to which is the lesser of 2 evils ~ cat food or extreme stress??? hmmmmmmmmmm ... : this ig is already stressed just because he's in a new environment with new people, i'd really hesitate to add even *more* stress by having a battle of wills with him ... : wean him off it instead ... his appetite may still go down anyway, but wean him off slow + don't backslide + give him more than you did the day before, just more nummy greens ... i'm betting that once he gets used to seeing + tasting greens + vegies, he's gonna like them alot! : make sure that his 'salad' is in small pieces ~ tear the greens so they're no bigger than his head ... maybe try offering a bit of grated vegies like carrots? the color might get his interest ... : make sure to sprinkle his salads with water to get some extra moisture in him ... the high protein content of the cat food is hard on ig's renal systems and plenty of moisture will help that a bit ... make sure his enclosure is plenty humid as well, for the same reason ... : depending on how long this ig was on his lettuce + cat food diet, he could very well be prone to or have kidney problems ~ a blood panel is something to consider ... : and good luck!!! : Bon. + iZ

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