Have you looked into kitten nursing formula? Sorry if it’s been mentioned, I just did a quick skim of the thread.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/pet-ag-kmr-milk-replacer-food-supplement-for-kittens-and-small-animals-liquid-26697
They do sell kitty multi-vitamins (without garlic :-p) if that is what you are looking for:
I went ahead and got some kitten food-- kibble, not canned, and OMG, it’s kitty crack! Went with Purina Beyond, because it was the best brand that came in the very small boxes, and my vet on previous occasions confirmed that most of the intermediate brands, like Purina and Pedigree are just fine. Gonna have to give the babyfood to her sparingly, so she keeps eating her other food.
Got a box of the CatSip as well, and she also loves that. She has not reacted to it, but I am sticking to mixing it with her adult canned food of which I hypocritically buy the premium brands, because they are only a couple of cents more than the others if I go to Walmart, so why not? (in the dry foods, the premium brands are 5 or 6 dollars more). Same worry that she may just want the Cat*Sip and not eat regular food, if she gets it straight.
I got those small portion split packs, of wet food so I don’t have to refrigerate anything-- I don’t think she’ll eat a whole pack at once. I mix a teaspoon of Cat*Sip in, and she inhales the whole thing. Licks the plate clean. She will be getting that twice a day.
So, she has four dishes-- her water bowl, her bowl of regular dry food, her dish of canned food/Cat*Sip, and her dish of kitten food, with a couple of high-cal treats (there’s a warning on the bag not to feed to many or your cat may develop obesity). She’s getting a 1/2 tblsp of kitten food in the morning, and a 1/2 in the afternoon.
She is still shut up in my bathroom off my bedroom, with blankets on the floor to take out the chill, and the cleaning products and things in the cabinets under the sink rearranged and some towels laid down, with one door off, giving her a little cave to retreat into where the dog can’t reach her, Her food is on the floor, because she is not supposed to jump yet, because she was spayed on Tuesday, but she has bounced back amazingly from the surgery.
*I am aware that if I did the math, buying canned food in 7lb bags might result in the same difference as the dry; but I don’t buy canned food by the pound and that cats don’t eat it by the pound, so it really isn’t the same.
Cat seems quite willing to cooperate with the weight-gaining strategy!
(I’m not surprised. I’ve adopted a number of cats who were underweight at the time and they were all quite willing to gain weight; though some of them only up to the point of good condition.)
I’ve had a six-month cat happily wrestling with her brother the day after both of their surgeries. The meds the vet gave me to make her slow down only made her more hyper. But she (and he) healed up fine.
I can’t imagine. Cat, you just had your abdomen opened up and significant organs taken out! Don’t you want to lie down? – but she didn’t.
I know, right? I’ve had a c-section, and a twisted-gut repair (much bigger incision second time). After both, I woke up with a catheter, & one of those buttons to push for a dose of fentanyl, and thanked the all-mighty.
Kitty (name forthcoming) fought so hard against her first dose of meloxicam, that most of it did not go into her mouth, and I worried she’d tear something fighting me. Called the vet, got permission for forego other doses if she did not seem to be in pain. Considering that she is pooping normally, and doing the classic cat full-body stretch when she gets up from a nap, I’m assuming no pain.
And she isn’t a kitten-- age est. is 4! not old, but not a child.