How to put weight on a cat

Penny has FIV, so I don't know if that will affect her ever gaining weight?
Anyways, she weighs around 7 pounds and is very petite and scrawny. I'm thinking around 9 pounds would be how much she needs to weigh. How do you get a cat to gain weight? I'm currently feeding her 1/4 cup of dry food (currently feeding Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck flavor) in the morning and evening and a portion of canned food (brand and flavor varies) at lunch time. She almost never finishes anything. She'll occasionally get treats (such as little tidbits of meat).
I've tried offering her little pieces of raw meat and she never really seems to like it. My goal is to eventually get her (and the other two) on a model prey raw diet. I'm hoping that will maybe help her gain weight.

1) Unsalted Butter on your finger.
2) Dropper feed Colostrum.
3) More Unsalted Butter
4) Kibble with high fat content.
5) Fancy Feast with "delicate sauce" (pure fat, IMO).
6) Even more unsalted butter.

Originally Posted by Cat_crazy

Penny has FIV, so I don't know if that will affect her ever gaining weight?
Anyways, she weighs around 7 pounds and is very petite and scrawny. I'm thinking around 9 pounds would be how much she needs to weigh. How do you get a cat to gain weight? I'm currently feeding her 1/4 cup of dry food (currently feeding Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck flavor) in the morning and evening and a portion of canned food (brand and flavor varies) at lunch time. She almost never finishes anything. She'll occasionally get treats (such as little tidbits of meat).
I've tried offering her little pieces of raw meat and she never really seems to like it. My goal is to eventually get her (and the other two) on a model prey raw diet. I'm hoping that will maybe help her gain weight.

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1. No online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forum while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.
What did the vet suggest when you asked them these Questions?

Fiv cats being immune compromised should NOT be given a raw diet ... This is the general consensus of even vets who normally recommend a raw diet

Originally Posted by sharky

1. No online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forum while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.
What did the vet suggest when you asked them these Questions?

Fiv cats being immune compromised should NOT be given a raw diet ... This is the general consensus of even vets who normally recommend a raw diet

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When my Hope got home malnourished, I put her on a good quality dry kitten food - that gave her the most amount of nutrients and calories.
Once she achieved her optimum weight she went on a all wet diet.

Okay...she is not sick. She has FIV. She has ALWAYS been scrawny. ALWAYS. An illness is not causing this. Every vet I have talked to is always advising to feed her crap (like Science Diet). I have been asking advice from a couple of people well versed in raw diets, and it IS perfectly acceptable to feed it. Please don't tell me it isn't, because it is. I have done my research on this. I know several people who feed raw to FIV cats and they are extremely healthy. Raw will provide the most available nutrients to her, and that is what she needs right now.

With Bobber's cancer progressing I'm giving her more wet food plus treats of vanilla ice cream and cheese spread (not all at the same time) to keep her weight up as long as possible.

I honestly don't know one way or another if raw would help her gain weight, I tend to think of it as a food to help maintain an acceptable weight. For a weight gain, I tend to think of kitten food first.

One of my cats, Lola, cannot seem to ever sit still long enough to eat an entire meal. She's always picking at food, so I make food available to her at all times. I'm not sure if that's what you're doing, or if that would work in your household.

This is from a well respected vet who helped out here for a time and can be found in the expert part of the forum...

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=livingwithfiv

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body..._fiv__cat.html another vet

It seems really to be the consensus out there to not feed FIV cats a raw diet. You might be talking to raw feeders, but you have to understand the risks. It is pretty easy to see if you do a search for Raw diet for FIV cats. Few examples from vets below -

Hester recommends feeding FIV+ cats a well-balanced diet and avoiding raw foods. Uncooked meat can contain parasites and potentially harmful microorganisms that a cat with a suppressed immune system may not be able to fight.http://www.pointvicentevet.com/site/...sitiveCats.pml

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Feed a high quality diet and nutritional supplements as recommended by your vet. However, avoid raw diets as they may contain bacteria and parasites that could negatively affect an FIV infected cat.http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/dise...t/a/CW-FIV.htm

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Fact: While there is no cure for FIV, the disease can be managed by keeping FIV positive cats indoors, providing a healthy, balanced diet (due to the compromised immune system in these cats, raw feeding is not recommended), and regular, at least bi-annual veterinary check ups. Vigilance and close monitoring of health and behavior is even more important in these cats than it is in other, healthy cats.http://consciouscat.net/2010/07/12/f...yth-from-fact/

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Feed your cat a nutritionally balanced food—no raw food diets, please, as bacteria and parasites in uncooked meat and eggs can be dangerous to immunocompromised pets. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-ca...ncy-virus.html

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It is important to support the immune system with good nutrition (there are several articles on nutrition in our Free Article Library and Bookstore), antioxidant supplements, and other immune-boosting treatments such as homeopathy and acupuncture. However, because the immune defenses of the FIV+ cat may be weak or inadequate, we don't recommend a raw meat diet as the first step toward improving nutrition. Homemade is great, but because of contamination problems in the meat-packing industry, it's best to start out using cooked meat. http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=livingwithfiv

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Retrovirus positive cats should be spayed or neutered, housed indoors, and should avoid raw food diets. http://www.catvets.com/professionals...ations/?Id=323

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I care for FeLV cats and I would never feed them a raw diet due to their immune-compromised systems. There are many good brands of cat food out there that make kitten food, Nutro comes to mind first, as well as some others that have high-caloric foods. I'm no expert on raw, but, like sharky, i always viewed raw as more of a weight-maintaining, not weight-gaining. I think that carbs would probably aid in weight gain, i know that works with me

I realize that there is a general consensus. I have read every single article phrase you posted, Carolina. However, I'm not going to take everything a vet says as the law and go by it. I'm going to do my own research and come up with my own consensus (weighing both sides of it very carefully).
When you feed a cat a raw diet, the stomach acid is about a 1-2 on the pH scale. That's strong enough to kill any bacteria or parasites that are on the meat.
As I said before, I know a few people who have FIV+ cats (plus a couple online resources that have done it, or recommend it) and feed them raw. Those cats do better on raw than on a commercial or homemade diet. And still have yet to be sick.

However, sharky, I had not read that from littlebigcat.com
I'm thinking I want to avoid raw, at least for the time being. She is stressed right now, because of our current situation (not being allowed outside and the other two gang up on her sometimes, though it's gotten better).


I can only find kitten food in chicken flavor, and Penny doesn't particularly like chicken. She loves duck, however. I was wondering if maybe I could try mixing kitten food with her current food. Would that still help?

white cat lover-It wouldn't be possible right now to let her free feed. We have one cat that would eat all day if we let him, and he needs to lose weight. I tried setting up a safe room that only Penny is allowed in, but she seems to be almost claustrophobic. Almost every time a door is shut and she's in that room she starts panicking and pawing at the door and meowing frantically. Open the door and she's as good as gold. She also freaks out in her carrier and is a pain in the butt to get in her carrier.
I'm thinking maybe a cat door that only she can get in and out of is in order.

So you need wet and dry in Non chicken in kitten? will you be okay with a all life stage( I try to only recommend the ones with % close to an ave kitten food )

I am off to read labels ...

Originally Posted by sharky

So you need wet and dry in Non chicken in kitten? will you be okay with a all life stage( I try to only recommend the ones with % close to an ave kitten food

)

I am off to read labels ...

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Yep. I'm now looking for dry kitten food that isn't chicken. So far, I'm not finding it. I don't need it in wet. I'll still feed her the reg. wet food.
I think it might be easier to find an all life stages food that is a different flavor.

Originally Posted by Cat_crazy

Yep. I'm now looking for dry kitten food that isn't chicken. So far, I'm not finding it. I don't need it in wet. I'll still feed her the reg. wet food.
I think it might be easier to find an all life stages food that is a different flavor.

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High quality foods dry in all stage no chicken, include:

Grain Frees:
Orijen 6-Fish (IMHO the best)
EVO Salmon and Herring (this is the highest protein, lowest carb and highest calorie content IMO very very good)
Acana Grasslands (GREAT food!!)
Natural Balance Salmon and Green Pea
Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea

With Grain:
Nature's Variety Prairie Lamb Meal and Oatmeal Medley
Nature's Variety Prairie Salmon Meal and Brown Rice Medley

I am sure others will pop up with more choices... Natural balance was not well liked here in my house, but the others have been very well received. I feed 1/2 Orijen 1/2 EVO.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=4191213
fish based
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/cat...SalmonCat.html

both this and duck claim to be all stage but at 30 % protein and 12 fat I deem them better for senior than a kitten

Has chicken but it is fourth ingrediant
http://www.naturesvariety.com/Instinct/cat/kibble/duck

chicken is 2nd
http://www.naturesvariety.com/Instin.../kibble/rabbit

I am not a huge fan of lamb but
http://www.naturesvariety.com/Prairie/cat/kibble/lamb

http://www.naturesvariety.com/Prairie/cat/kibble/salmon

both of the above have calories simliar to a kitten food

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...95#post2920195
http://www.championpetfoods.com/acan...ormulation=gfc
I look acana even more than its sister orijen

lol.. I see Carolina posted while I was cutting and pasting

I can't believe I've never hear of Acana before! That looks like a really good food. We normally go to Petco for food and they don't carry Acana or Orijen. But I did some looking around and found a mobile pet food store that carries only high quality food and delivers to several areas. They have all the grain free Acana foods. I'm planning on ordering from them next time I need to buy food.

I've tried Nature's Variety Instinct before and none of them ever had a liking for it.

To put weight on your kitty you might want to try feeding him organ meat which tends to be fattier. Either cooked or raw. I have that dilema with my cat Jacson as he has a hyperthyroid issue. I'm going to give that a shot. I've had him on a raw diet since june when he exhibited signs of weight loss, lethargy, vomiting. Switched him to a raw diet snd he's a completely new cat! Took a month or so but it definitely helped. Vet wants him on low protein diet as he's 17. She's from school of yhinking older cats should not be on high protein diets. Cats are carnivores. If not given meat their muscles deteriorate. Instead u feed them carb which they wouldn't normally eat in wild. What matters is the QUALITY of the protein. I'm feeding Jacson organic ground raw turkey. Check it out online. I've done extensive research & I don't sgree. Esp. Because he looks so much better now! Also he has no signs of CRF based on bloodword & uralysis. Go with ur gut. I'm looking for a holistic vet so we can try to do something for his anemia & thyroid & not have to take med. He vomits & won't eat. Just the opposite of what I need him to do! Good luck!