My cat Smokie has gotten a bit thin in the past year. When you stroke his back you can clearly feel his spine and hips. I took him to the vet where he had a full blood workup and his liver, kidney, blood glucose and thyroid are all fine (They did both thyroid tests). He is getting on in years – he’ll be 11 or 12 this year – and the vet just thinks he isn’t digesting as well as he used to. I switched him to Senior food (Purina ONE) in June o the vet’s suggestion and over the past 3 months he hasn’t lost any more weight, but he hasn’t gained any more either.
I’d like to see him put on 1-2 more pounds. What can I feed him?
I’ve tried the following:
Vegetable oil - he licked some off my finger but refused it when added to his (dry) food.
Butter - not interested
I’ve considered the following but haven’t tried them yet:
-Full fat plain yogurt
-tuna packed in oil (could be an expensive habit)
-kitten food mixed in with his Senior food
We have several thin, elderly kitties. One fattening supplemental food that they all seem to enjoy is braunschweiger. It isn’t suitable as a sole source of nutrition, of course, but it is quite aromatic, and is likely to be enjoyed, and, in my experience, it is well tolerated, even though it’s rich and fatty.
Tuna or jack mackerel mixed with kitten food is a nasty-smelling concoction I have had good results with. Baby food as a mixer is good - make sure it had no onion powder - just meat and broth. Take a magnifying glass to read the label.
I had an older cat that was having trouble digesting protein, and the vet suggested I feed her chicken fat. What I did was to cook a piece of chicken in a dish in the microwave and then drain off the fat for the cat. Make sure it’s completely cooled off. Cover the leftover chicken with barbeque sauce, and you have a nice low fat dinner for yourself as well.
My mother, who sells animal products, highly recommends this product. Her cat became very sick and refused to eat. She kept the cat alive on this supplement alone for a little while. That’s what it’s designed for, but it can also be used to “fatten up” your pets.
Every cat and dog I’ve ever seen goes nuts for the taste of this stuff. My dog will only take pills if they’re coated in it. For her, I usually just sqeeze out some onto her dry food, or put a dab on a plate for her to lick. Mom said she put it on the tip of her finger for the cat.
I also have a skinny cat that’s getting on in years. She’s probably lost about a pound in the last year, and she’s never been big, only 9 pounds at height of adulthood. She turned 13 this year and is falling apart. Her fur is matted and she’s having a hard time with her litterbox. Should I be supplementing her? She eats whatever I dump in her bowl, which is usually an “indoor” or “senior” formula of cat food. She’s still as affectionate as ever though, in fact, more so these days. Always wants to be rubbing up against anybody who ventures into her domain, the garage.
A hijack here…we recently installed new garage doors that I know she hates, but it seems like in response to the hated doors, she’s now peeing on them. Could she really just be mad at the doors or could it be a medical issue? She hasn’t been to the vet for about 2 years. Any advice?
Now. All pets should see the vet at least once a year, and checkups are recommended every 6 months for elderly pets. 13 isn’t ancient, but she is getting up there in cat years.
Thanks everyone for the tips. I think I’m going to try the braunschweiger first – fairly economical and if he doesn’t want it, I can have it for lunch! I appreciate having lots of fallback suggestions! So far his appetite is fine – he free feeds and nibbles throughout the day – but this is great help for getting a few extra calories in.
RSSchen – I would suggest a trip to the vet for bloodwork – after all, its no use guessing. The blood tests are suprisingly inexpensive for what you get (I think I spent less than $150 on the visit + 5 blood tests + a follow up chat with the vet). Then you’ll know what you’re dealing with.
However, I wouldn’t feed “indoor” formula to a skinny cat – it is specifically low calorie for indolent overweight housecats.
You can also get weight-gain food from your vet. We had a cat that had cancer, and maintaining weight was always a problem. The vet sold us “Hill’s Prescription Diet” in cans. It costs about a buck a can, and our sick cat ate about 1/2 a can a day. A healthy cat would probably eat twice that.
There are several varieties, the “weight gain” one is called “a/d” - I don’t know what the letters stand for. I’m sure there are other brands, as well. Since the sick cat died, we’ve fed the leftover cans to our remaining cats occasionally as a treat – they love the stuff more than tuna (or for that matter, anything else).
Our vet has also recommended (dry) kitten food for weight gain; it’s higher in protein and calories, supposedly, but our sick cat wouldn’t eat it.
I was under the impression that senior cat food was LOWER in calories (to compensate for the reduced activity of middle-aged felines), which makes it a strange choice for weight gain.
I would not think that Senior food is the best choice to use for the purpose of gaining weight, but your vet might know something I don’t. If the vet says it’s okay, I would try giving your cat kitten food - perhaps mixed with the Senior - and I’d also give him a supplement of Nutri-cal. Nutri-cal is a high-calorie supplement in a tube - looks like Marmite - and is often recommended for cats that are underweight or who have poor appetites. I forget how much you give each day - perhaps an inch or two 3x per day? The directions are on the tube. You can get it at the vet or at Petsmart/Petco.
Your cat sounds like she really needs to see a vet. Soon.
Did your vet. test your cat for FLV? If not, that might be worth checking out.
Senior foods are supposed to be easier to digest (a plus) but are less calorically dense (big minus) when trying to get an animal to gain or keep on weight. Adding fat to the diet should help.
Hill’s Prescription Diet also seemed to be working well for one of my elderly cats when he began losing weight.
My other old guy had a gum infection in the back of his mouth a few years ago - he had a tooth removed and a good cleaning and began gaining weight almost immediately. If your vet didn’t look over that in a routine checkup, it might be worth going back for.
I would second the advice to ask your veterinarian about Hill’s Science Diet a/d. I have always assumed the “a” is for alimentary. It is a nutrient/calorie dense food that is very palatable.
You might also try increasing the palatability of other foods using the liquid that your tuna is packed in. Also, kitten food is usually higher in calories, although protein levels as well as many nutrients might not be perfect for an older cat.
When my kitty Bean was sick with thyroid issues and pancreatic cancer I gave him anything he wanted to eat. He got Nutri-Cal which he loved and I would cook hamburger for him (I would put it in a strainer afterwards and spray off some of the fat though) I cooked chicken, pork, liver and gave him cheese sometimes. My cat was a rare one that handled milk just fine but I still kept it to a minimum. The yogurt was a favorite of his.
He was also on the A/D prescription weight gain diet but he didn’t care for it so I would by kitten food for him. My vet told me tuna is good but not to feed it to any cat daily. He said just a few times a week because the protein is so high it could cause crystals in the urine (which could be deadly)
In my cat’s case, he wasn’t really gaining weight but it helped prevent him from losing more and kept him alive. He was so sick that I gave him anything and everything he wanted anytime he wanted it. In your case, since the cat is healthy and just getting on in years, you may want to be a little more judicious abou what you give him. You wouldn’t want to load him up on fat and damage his cardiovascular system.
I appreciate having lots of fallback suggestions! So far his appetite is fine – he free feeds and nibbles throughout the day – but this is great help for getting a few extra calories in.