Hey all... we now have 5 stray cats (2 adults & 3, 5 mo old kittens... we had 0 cats as of last April... HELP!) & I'm looking for some inexpensive ways to get some extra weight on them as we live in Michigan & winter is fast approaching (supposed to be 32 degrees Sat. night!)... I am feeding dry (costco) & wet (friskies) unfortunately, I am on a pretty tite budget (arn't we all?) so need to keep the costs down... any ideas would be great!
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Winter Weight Ideas
- Thread starter catmanmew
- Start Date
Whatever food you buy, buy the one for kittens - it has a higher protein content and will bulk them up.
If your wife can use boiled chicken in any recipes - or starts with a whole chicken for anything - mashed chicken livers or kidneys (boiled) - even boiled chicken shredded - or forget either of those, and just use the boiled chicken broth - mixed with dry food and a little brewer's yeast is another protein booster. You can also mix an egg yolk into the wet food you feed them. You can add a little brewer's yeast to that too. It's all about combining the proteins - the higher quality the protein, the better.
But even cheap supermarket kitten food as opposed to adult cat food will help. But they will LOVE you for boiled chicken broth (we always provided that to them warm on cooooooold winter nights - boiled lots of broth and stuck it in the freezer in plastic baggies, and unfroze it as needed). They will love you even more for boiled chicken livers. And they are NOT going to complain about an egg yolk added to their wet meals.
One thing that's almost more important in winter is water. It can be tough for them to stay hydrated - so that wet meal of food is important.
Found a picture a month or so ago we didn't know we had of Tuxedo. He now lives inside with us - but he was one mean little kitten. Hard to tell in this pic - but look how ROUND and fluffy he is for winter! This was taken in November - around Thanksgiving time - so he was somewhere between 7 and 8 months here:
Feed your kitties with the suggestions, and they'll look like that in no time.
If your wife can use boiled chicken in any recipes - or starts with a whole chicken for anything - mashed chicken livers or kidneys (boiled) - even boiled chicken shredded - or forget either of those, and just use the boiled chicken broth - mixed with dry food and a little brewer's yeast is another protein booster. You can also mix an egg yolk into the wet food you feed them. You can add a little brewer's yeast to that too. It's all about combining the proteins - the higher quality the protein, the better.
One thing that's almost more important in winter is water. It can be tough for them to stay hydrated - so that wet meal of food is important.
Found a picture a month or so ago we didn't know we had of Tuxedo. He now lives inside with us - but he was one mean little kitten. Hard to tell in this pic - but look how ROUND and fluffy he is for winter! This was taken in November - around Thanksgiving time - so he was somewhere between 7 and 8 months here:
Feed your kitties with the suggestions, and they'll look like that in no time.
Maybe try mixing some egg yolks in with the canned like suggested above.
I can tell its getting close to winter here - all of mine are starting to look like football players again. For some reason they get much bulkier looking when winter is coming
I can tell its getting close to winter here - all of mine are starting to look like football players again. For some reason they get much bulkier looking when winter is coming
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Hey all... great ideas... I had already planned the soup/broth thing as I like to make homemade soup in the colder months... the egg is good too & cheap... I will try the livers as well also the kitten dry chow... thanks again!
