Hand Feeding Vet wants me to stop
My eight year old female overweight cat recently developed FHS. She was on Hills Metabolic Diet food mixed with her Purina Live Clear & she had lost some weight. She was always an affection eater & you had to walk her into the kitchen but she ate from her bowl. Since the episodes of FHS she has rejected the Hills & only wants to be handfed her Purina, I switched to their weight management Live Clear, & plan to order their prescription diet food. At her recent vet visit she had gained 2 lbs & is up to 22 lbs. Her blood work was normal. The vet wants me to stop the handfeeding but she has had a lot of trauma in her past & now the FHS. She was meant to be a barn cat but fell through some planks at 2 weeks old & the mother cat disappeared. The person who raised her for 2 years abruptly gave her away to an individual who kept her for 1 year & threw her out when he got a dog. She was luckily retrieved by the original pet parent & I got her at 3 years old. Any advice as to how to transition away from handfeeding? She lays by her bowl and I find it very difficult to just ignore her. This behavior happens at least 8xs a day. I worry that if I don't handfeed her this will trigger more FHS episodes.