Well, I've come to accept that I have a "developmentally challenged" furkid . . . . . I love her just the same but boy oh boy I'm wearing out! Does anyone have any suggestions for a furkid that will ONLY eat soup if it's warmed and put in front of her (instead of seeking it out and eating it cold) AND who will only drink clean water from the bathtub, after I've showered ? ? ? ? I'm chocking this up as either a true mental disability or a prior serious abuse situation - what other explanations are left? ? Would you please take a moment to read through my post and let me know what you would recommend - I'd really appreciate it! In all seriousness, I've always been very concerned with Phoebe, my 6.5 yr. "special" furkid with adrenal problems and insulinoma - primarily at her inability or unwillingness (don't know which) to eat any food on her own, despite that when she DOES eat she IS hungry. What I also cannot seem to understand is why she's not wanting to eat (even when she's on Prednisolone and Diazoxide, since the Pred is supposed to stimulate the appetite and has a melatonin implant, which I've also been told sometimes acts as an appetite stimulant as well) ? ? ? ? As I've mentioned before, I began her on soup shortly after I adopted her last October because she came with Purina Kitten Chow and wouldn't eat anything else AT ALL (including 'healthy' kibble). She was very scrawny and needed meat on her bones - hence the reason I even began the soup in the first place but it was only supposed to be for a temporary time, until she got some weight on and maintained it. So is she just TERRIBLY spoiled and it's my own fault? We're at the point where I'm having to go home on my lunch hours EVERY day for the past 4 months to feed her 1-2 Tablespoons of soup for lunch because she makes no attempt to seek out the food and eat it on her own throughout the day, even when I leave it in absolutely PLAIN SIGHT and where she has to trip on it to get out of the cage (she has free roam of my master bedroom). Nor does she eat any soup throughout the night, when I'm sleeping for 7-8 hrs. Now my life totally revolves around Phoebe's feeding schedule, which means I can't be gone anywhere for longer than 8 hrs. or I'm worried that her blood sugar level will drop to low and she'll have a seizure. Yes, I've tried on several occasions for days at a time to only feed her 1-2 Tablespoons of her food in the a.m. (when she gets her meds) and then NOT go home at lunch but leave soup out for her in her cage and when I get home after 9-10 hrs. of being gone, the soup has NEVER been touched!!! But as soon as I pick her up and put her in front of the shallow dish, she begins grunting that she's hungry and then starts lapping up the soup. Just a few days ago, I watched her literally pace back and forth in front of the soup dish for almost 10 min (but I refused to help her find the food), then she even stuck her nose in it but did not eat any, and ONLY when I rubbed the outside of the dish with the soup did she then begin eating - as if she couldn't figure out what was in the dish ? ? ? ? I know it's not good on her for me to try to starve her in an attempt to get her to seek out the food on her own because of her insulinoma but it's obvious she just won't eat on her own, even after 10+ hrs. But what else can I do to break the habit of her expecting me to bring the food to her instead of her going to it? Now it IS possible that the melatonin implant and her age could be slowing down her metabolism to the point where she only needs the 2 Tablespoons of soup each in the a.m. and p.m. (when I get home) because she sleeps so much . . . . If this be the case, am I unnecessarily worrying about her not eating mid-day and should I just let her eat when she chooses to and whatever amount she wants of the soup? What about the danger of her blood sugar level dropping too low because she's got no food in her? ? ? And here's another "quirk" - I have NEVER seen her drink water out of the water bottle in her cage or the shallow dish right below it. Instead she only drinks water by going to the bathtub, climbing over the edge (with the help of the bath mat that I lay over the side), and then drinks the clean shower water residue. So now what ? ? ? ? She doesn't use the litter box either - just goes wherever she chooses, even right next to her sleeping blanket in her cage, which is only 6 inches away from the litter box! (What happened to "ferrets usually don't poop near their bedding")? Too late to bother breaking that bad habit! HELP! :-I Jennifer and the 3 Amigos :-) [Posted in FML issue 4933]