Under The Weather, Orange

Because of our rural location people frequently dump cats near us where often the pregnant momma kitties make their way to our farm to have their kittens. Because of our unique setup with an auto feeder loaded with premium kitty food, the momma cats usually move their kittens to our enclosed catio when it's time to teach their babies to eat solid food thereby making it easier to catch and tame their Littles. Often there's one or more runts or sick kittens in most litters so we keep a fresh unopened tube of this Under the Weather on hand especially during Kitten Season. We've found almost every kitten has found this tasty treat absolutely delightful - after a small dab on the lips, they then willingly lick or nibble off a small squeeze until their tummies are full. By the 2nd or 3rd time they've had Under the Weather they regard us as safe creatures and no longer run allowing us to readily pick them up, they actually seem to look forward to getting this nutrient booster as a well deserved treat. If there's a really sick kitten we put a small amount of this Under the Weather and extra vitamin B1 thiamine in a bit of red cap whole milk, syringe feeding if they're too weak to drink themselves. If they have a bit of gunky eye we also add a dab of l-lysine powder. When they're 4 weeks of age we also treat with Baycox ie toltrazuril 10% then we repeat the toltrazuril 10 days later, especially if they've had diarrhea at all. Using this as our farm kitty rescue "protocol" we now save nearly 100% of the kittens who we can get our hands on. We re-home as many as possible, the rest are fixed and remain in our farm cat colony. We've been using Under The Weather for several years now - EVERY tube has been top quality and has definitely been vital in our effort to save lives; even kittens our vet was convinced no way would survive let alone thrive are now healthy active stout 12-15 pound farm cats. We have one cat who initially was a sick baby no one thought he'd survive, he was doing great until a farm accident, now as a tripod he's once again a strong agile kitty who readily scales trees and hay bales with only 3 legs. Everyone is amazed at his mobility and his vibrant health - again, Under the Weather definitively made the difference in his life, both as a kitten and as an adult recovering from a nasty infection developed within his deep lacerations prior to him literally dragging himself home for amputation surgery.ALL rescues, rehabs and farms should keep Under the Weather on hand to use for the sick or weak furballs. I'd give far more than 5 stars if possible, cannot recommend enough!

One of my cats was recently diagnosed with IBD last year.A recent flare up was further diagnosed as pancreatitis and almost killed my smallest cat who was not very big to start with at 5.5 pounds. She quickly lost weight to 4 pounds. Along with other measures (soft bland diet, assisted to eat 2-3x daily, electrolyte water for dehydration and medications from the vet) for her recovery, this was used. I had looked into several high calorie emergency supplements and this was my choice for Amazon reviews, disinterested 3rd party information and price & quantity of product. In the past month she has put 7/10 of a pound back on. I sincerely believe this played a large part in her recovery and maintaining her current weight. I will buy my third+ tube soon to get her back to 5.5 or better. She was not overly happy about having to eat but did not mind the flavor. It smells like wet cat food. Not my choice of flavor but she was okay with it and that's what mattered. She has a little ways more to go but is much improved and is more like her old self. It is easy to dispense, not unlike squeezing a tube of caulking.

Yeah, forget the directions to dab a little on a paw and let the cat lick it off. My cat was horrified at being smudged. She wouldn’t lick it off a plate either. I didn’t like taking a glob and shoving it into her mouth, and you should’ve seen her incredibly unhappy and disgusted face the one time I did.I got this to increase the calories my cat took in during a time she was too sick to eat well or enough. On that count, it’s fine and does offer calories and some nutrients. The issue is getting it into your cat.This stuff is thick- you can’t syringe it in, and it doesn’t mix into food easily. What I ended up doing was putting a teaspoon of this and a teaspoon and a half of baby food in a tiny container and microwaving it 8 seconds. Then I could stir it all together, let it cool and syringe feed it.All the high calorie gels have questionable ingredients that you probably wouldn’t want to give your cat long term but this stuff *did* help keep weight on my cat til she recovered sufficiently to eat more on her own. At the same time I used this, I also tried the Tomlyn brand. I prefer that one - it’s far easier to get out of the tube and (after heating with some baby food) it mixed better. It’s also less expensive and not in a big inconvenient container like Under the Weather.I also tried Richard’s Organics which was thicker than the Tomlyn or Under the Weather. It was the hardest to squeeze out of the tube and more difficult to mix in.I’m definitely not a veterinarian but as a consumer I’d suggest that any high calorie gel is probably not enough to keep your cat going, even if you follow the directions. It certainly won’t fill an empty belly (which must be uncomfortable) or keep them eliminating regularly. Not eating can become habitual so stop it fast.What we did for our 8 pound cat: Got some of the Gerber (meat only) “2nd foods” for “sitters” (on the label).They have:TurkeyChickenHamBeefRead labels. In most other brands, the calories are lower per jar.You can also easily heat, mix and syringe with Hill’s A/D diet as it’s liquidy and nutritious. You need a prescription for this food from your vet.Even mixing a teaspoon of the gel with 1 1/2 teaspoons of food, you end up with a bunch of syringes of food. You look at it all and wonder how you can possibly get it into your pet, so many little syringes.Hey, it’s your pet’s life. Get someone to help if you can. Wrap that baby up in a towel or blanket like a burrito. Put the burrito on a towel or sheet you don’t care about to catch any droppings. Gently lift the side of the lip and get the food in there 1 ml at a time. Chase with some water syringes at the end.It’s not fun but it may keep your pet alive. We’ve done this twice a day now for 10 weeks. Our girl is just now starting to get back to more regular eating and moving around again. Worth it? Definitely.This is NOT intended as veterinary advice. If you have a vet who’ll give you feeding guidelines, follow that advice. Our cat had 2 different vets (regular vet and internal medicine specialist) and neither one had any ideas. I’m just saying what we came up with and apparently worked. Best wishes to you with your pet.

I wish the company made a test or sample you could buy. I understand not being returnable but not even my younger cats will eat it. And that’s ok if the tube wasn’t so big then I could just scruff and shoot it down there throat but the tube is huge. I really needed this to work because my cats are 18 and they need the extra nourishment. I’m unable to get it into a smaller syringe and as everyone knows if a cat hates something, no matter what you mix it with, you can’t camouflage anything for a cat.Or I wish the company would sell multiple smaller and thinner syringes that you could just use it to shoot the food down their throat.This was a bust and wouldn’t advise anyone with a cat that is difficult to get to eat, this will not be your answer and a waste of money.Ps, my dog who eats anything including stealing poop out a litterbox wouldn’t touch this.

This product has been great when you are trying to get a new rescue or a rescue who is under the weather or waiting a day or two for a veterinarian appointment. Our older kitty had started to lose some weight and as a concerned cat parent, I was worried about everything from teeth to the change in weather. We have had a lot of rain, and though he is an inside kitty like a person he can feel when it rains. I use this anytime there is a significant change in our environment. I usually put a little in his wet food, but he will take it from the tube. Gives him a pick me up of energy!