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Morgan Needs To Bulk Up

post #1 of 13
7/3/10 at 1:16pm
Thread Starter 
This is a tough one, so I am looking for any suggestions.

Morgan, our "tuxedo girl" has slowly gone from 10 and a bit pounds to 9.

She has remained at 9 pounds for the past year and a half. She happened to be at the vet's this morning for vacination. The vet is not concerned with her condition at this time.

Her description;

- Born in 1999
- Has always been a "lean" cat
- Always been a light and picky eater
- Had issues with not eating two years ago, resulting in a 5 day vet stay
- fur and eyes looks good
- she is alert and will grab a string if you "fish" for her and will play very hard.
- She is our most active cat, this morning, she was playing with a toy by herself on her side, made a funny noise, ran 20 ft and climbed a 5 ft cat tree in three bounds; she's not exactly ailing but I think needs to put on some weight.

There are problems with feeding her special foods;

- Kasey and Taz are "shop vac's", they will eat until they hit the bottom of the bowl, (sometimes I tell, Kasey to come up for air) so free feeding "high test" is out.

- Morgan will eat well but a little bit, off and on through the day. She will stop eating if she is startled by any noise.

- Morgan would, if I let her, eat a whole pack of Temptations treats so she will eat in quantity if you find something she likes.


I have gone through a lot of sampling, trying to find that healthy food that she will eat as vigorously as the Temptations, without success.
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post #2 of 13
7/3/10 at 1:31pm
Have you tried any of the Nutro cat foods??? My Chester eats right now the Nutro Natural Choice Indoor Weight Management. He has the opposite problem your Morgan has, he needs to lose weight. Anyway, the palatability is good with it. Most that I recommend it to find success. He also sometimes eats the Max Cat Weight Management (or I mix the two), which has a smaller kibble, in case she likes a smaller kibble. Do you supplement with wet food as well?? There is a large variety of canned in the Nutro line too. Chester only will eat the chunks with sauce varieties, he is picky about his canned.

I hope you find what can work for Morgan. I know it is hard when you have a picky one. Whatever you do decide to feed just make sure you mix from old to new for about a week to keep from having stomach upset.

Good luck!
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post #3 of 13
7/3/10 at 1:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NutroLori View Post
Have you tried any of the Nutro cat foods???
No, but I see on their website that a couple shops nearby, including the one I deal with, are lised as dealers.

Is there something in the line that is higher fast and protine that you would suggest?
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post #4 of 13
7/3/10 at 1:46pm
Nutrolori works for Nutro, so FYI she will recommend that brand.

Now back to your issue... She is now 11 years old? Not the only cause of weight loss in aging cats, but one of them - since you already had her checked with the vet for others, this can be a factor:
I hear that with age cats slowly stop producing the enzymes necessary to digest food, resulting in weight loss. It is common, and it might also help to add a good enzyme supplement to her diet.

Prozyme is one that seems to get a lot of positive reviews. I used one called N'zymes Bac-Pak Plus, which is a mixture of probiotics and enzymes in one.

Anyways, just a thought, something to consider.
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post #5 of 13
7/3/10 at 9:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Claydust View Post
Is there something in the line that is higher fast and protine that you would suggest?
One of my mom's cats is extra-picky, and the only dry food she really likes is Nutro Max Cat salmon flavor. It's fairly high in fat and calories (though protein is only 32%), and it smells very strongly of fish, so maybe Morgan would like that. I'm not overly impressed with the ingredients (Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Flour, Ground Rice, Poultry Fat, Ground Whole Wheat, Natural Flavors, Salmon Meal, Salmon Protein Concentrate, Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Menhaden Fish Oil, etc.....) but you could do worse, and if you have a picky cat, sometimes you just have to go with what works.
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post #6 of 13
7/4/10 at 4:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy View Post
if you have a picky cat, sometimes you just have to go with what works.
Yes, I said something along those lines to someone at a pet shop just yesterday;

"I would like to feed her the best thing I can get for her but unfortunately, its no good if she just can't be persuaded to eat it. The next choice is to go for something thats OK that she will eat".
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post #7 of 13
7/4/10 at 9:05am
did the vet run blood work? if not ask or get a second vet opnion... some vets think old age causes wt loss but this is not true
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post #8 of 13
7/6/10 at 4:51pm
Have you tried wet food? Or, better yet, supplementing with raw food every now and then?

Older cats, especially those that have been kibble-fed their whole lives, sometimes have trouble recognizing raw food as food, but it's certainly worth giving it a try. Three of my six cats, Rachel, Heather and Ralph, were alarmingly thin before being transitioned to raw, but have filled out nicely since then.
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post #9 of 13
7/6/10 at 5:03pm
Thread Starter 
I think a contributing factor is that I feed Royal Cain Mature 27 because I want lower cal food because of the two "shop vac's" (Taz and Kasey). Morgan likes it but I think she needs more calories.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy View Post
Have you tried wet food?
Yes, I recently found one she LOVES;

http://www.royalcanin.ca/diets/f_wet...iet=61&lang=en

The good thing is, the other two actually won't eat it.

It is the only food she will eat to the bottom of the bowl (that I have found, so far).

She is getting a can a day of it, now.

I am still searching for a higher cal kibble that she will eat.

I will weigh her in a week or so at the scale in the vet's waiting room, then decide on blood work etc.

She is very bright, animated, happy and active but I do keep a close eye on her.
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post #10 of 13
7/24/10 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 
UPDATE;

Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
did the vet run blood work? if not ask or get a second vet opnion... some vets think old age causes wt loss but this is not true
We just came back from the vet;

- X Rays are textbook perfect

- Bloodwork that can be done by the vet is fine

- Waiting on results from the thyroid check


She is still happy and active, we're waiting on the thyroid results and still looking for high-cal foods that she will actually eat (a challenge to be sure).
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post #11 of 13
7/26/10 at 6:33am
Good to hear everything is looking ok in the bloodwork and x-rays so far.
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post #12 of 13
7/26/10 at 7:27am
If you have the room, you could try separating the shop-vac cats from your underweight cat during the day while you are gone. That way you can leave high calorie food out for the cat that needs it without the other two gaining weight.


You could also try feeding the picky eater in the bathroom with the door shut and feeding the other two cats somewhere else or visa versa so that you can feed different foods to the skinny cat and the enthusiastic eaters.
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post #13 of 13
7/26/10 at 6:01pm
Thread Starter 
Her thyroid blood test came basck fine.

We have a healthy cat that just isn't a big eater, it would seem.

The big challenge is to get a food she will chow down on, I have been through countless samples (thanks, local pet shop), which she largely ignors. So locking her up with food would only work if she'd tuck into it, if she did, I would happily do that.

She would likely eat a whole pack of Temptations cat treats but I don't think thats a good idea.

The vet suggested considering an appitite stimulant but I am wary of medications and there side effects.
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