In certain very specific cases, a liquid nutrition diet is a viable option for your pet. Generally speaking, most healthy cats should eat a regular diet of either dry or canned food. This is important in order to maintain their proper digestive tract, to help remove plaque from their teeth and for a variety of other reasons. However, if your pet suffers from certain types of medical conditions or is recuperating from surgery, you may find that he has difficulty eating regular food. In this case, it's preferable to give him a liquid diet for a temporary period of time so that he can continue to ingest the vital nutrients that he needs in order to remain healthy and to regain his strength.
Liquid Diet Overview
A liquid diet should provide the same balance of nutrients that other standard foods will give to your cat. Just because your pet is ingesting liquid instead of solid foods does not mean that his body requires any other type of nutrients. There are specially formulated liquid diets that have been designed with cats in mind that you should plan to give to your pet in these situations.
It's also possible to develop your own liquid diet for your cat. This is dangerous to do if you're not sure exactly what types of nutrients your pet needs. Many vets can help to come up with a solid choice of ingredients to go into a liquid diet for your pet. If you plan to give your pet a long term liquid diet treatment for one reason or another, making your own healthy, well balanced liquid food for your cat can save a lot of money off of the cost of expensive specialty diets.
Administering the Nutrients
There are two primary ways that liquid nutrition diets are given to cats. First, and more typically for short term feeding on a liquid diet, is the syringe method. In this case, you'll provide the liquid food to your cat via a plastic syringe with a funnel tip. This can work well for cats that are recuperating from surgery or who may be too weak to otherwise eat their own food.
A second method is a bit more involved and is typically used for longer term treatment. This involves hooking up a feeding tube to your pet. This can be done in a couple of ways; some vets will insert feeding tubes into a cat's mouth, while others will arrange for the tube to be attached directly to your cat's stomach. It can then be removed as you wish. This is easier for cats that will not respond well to syringe feeding.
For more information about selecting liquid nutrition for your cat and for a specific idea of when this may be an appropriate course of action, ask a vet.