How to put some weight on Bob

My cat, Bob, who is around 10 years old, is very thin after a bout of dehydration a few months ago. According to the vet, she is otherwise healthy, just a little underweight. We thought she would naturally pick the weight back up as she got stronger and back into her regular routine, but it hasn't happened yet.

She has chronic constipation problems that are being managed, so I don't want to feed her anything full of grains and carbs. She eats mostly canned food and grazes a bit on dry. I feel like all the meat is similar to a kitty Atkins diet- it's keeping her very thin.

I'm hoping to find some sort of high calorie snack to give her between meals. Any ideas about something to help her put on a pound or two that won't block her up? Thank you

A friend's vet suggest raw goat's milk to help put weight on.

Cat are obligate carnivores, so they are geared towards an Atkins diet naturally. To help her put some weight back on, I would suggest wet foods with a higher calorie food with a higher fat percentage, like Hound & Gatos and EVO. Good snacks would include freeze-dried meats and organs. Some brands include Whole Life, Pure Bites and Etta Says. They are sometimes easier to find in the dog food section (same thing, just bigger size). These are usually well received by cats and can be crumbled up and put on top of wet food to encourage eating more. You could also feed her a raw egg yolk every week (if you live someplace where salmonella in eggs is not a problem - if so, then cooked is better). Egg yolks are nutritious and high in calories.

I agree to go with higher calorie canned foods. When I was trying to get my Caesar to gain weight, I would look for ones 200+ calories per 5.5-6 oz. can. He is fussy, but I finally got him to eat the EVO 95% Turkey & Chicken. Wellness also has some flavors over 200 calories per can, and there are others.

Tomlyn Nutri-Cal and NaturVet Cat-Cal are two nutritional supplements with extra calories, but they have some not-so-great secondary ingredients and a consistency that not all cats like.

Thank you all very much We are going to Petsmart later today and I am going to get these foods and see how she likes them. I am afraid to try goat milk because I worry about lactose intolerance, plus I don't have a source for any.
I've been wanting to try out the Hounds and Gatos for one of my other cats as well. I hear they have 100% rabbit variety, and I think Sammy will really enjoy that. When he was a stray, I cleaned several rabbit carcasses off my patio :-/

Just FYI that I've never seen Hound & Gatos at Petsmart. I've only seen it smaller independent pet stores. Here's the store locator link. http://houndgatos.com/wheretobuynew.aspx

Oh, I forgot-we tried giving her egg yolk and she wouldn't eat it (Sammy was more than happy to clean her bowl for her). I am going to see if the health food store can order me some egg yolk lethecin (sp?) for hairballs. Does it have the same calorie content as raw egg yolks?

vball91 said:

Just FYI that I've never seen Hound & Gatos at Petsmart. I've only seen it smaller independent pet stores. Here's the store locator link. http://houndgatos.com/wheretobuynew.aspx

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Thank you, that is very helpful Looks like there is a little boutique pet store 5 miles from here that carries it.

happybird said:

Oh, I forgot-we tried giving her egg yolk and she wouldn't eat it (Sammy was more than happy to clean her bowl for her). I am going to see if the health food store can order me some egg yolk lethecin (sp?) for hairballs. Does it have the same calorie content as raw egg yolks?

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No, the EYL is such a small amount. Try mixing the egg yolk with a little water to make it less sticky and adding a topper on it. Whatever she likes: crushed kibble, bonito flakes, crushed freeze-dried meats or organs, tuna water, parmesan cheese, etc.

Oh, bummer. I was trying to kill 2 birds with one stone. I will definitely try jazzing up the yolk for her and see how that goes.

BBarb said:

I'm having the same problem with my old lady - she seems hungry enough but only eat a little at a time.  She looks like a starving stray.  I'm in the UK and have never heard of the foods you mention, also our only local pet shop closed recently possibly due to competition from big stores like Tesco and Asda.  I thought all dog food contained grains which cats can't digest?

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Have you tried searching on line for the brands or for something that's similar? I don't have any pet shops near me so in order to avoid grocery store foods I started ordering on line and just having it delivered.

Most dog treats do contain grains but there are some that are pure meat treats. The meat has either been freeze dried or dehydrated. I had some Merrick's Lamb Lung treats for my old dog before he passed away and my neighbor's cats LOVED them LOL. I just had to make sure to break the treats up in little bitty pieces and not feed them to many.

vball91 said:

 

happybird said:

Oh, I forgot-we tried giving her egg yolk and she wouldn't eat it (Sammy was more than happy to clean her bowl for her). I am going to see if the health food store can order me some egg yolk lethecin (sp?) for hairballs. Does it have the same calorie content as raw egg yolks?

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No, the EYL is such a small amount. Try mixing the egg yolk with a little water to make it less sticky and adding a topper on it. Whatever she likes: crushed kibble, bonito flakes, crushed freeze-dried meats or organs, tuna water, parmesan cheese, etc.

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Or if that doesn't work, you can try actually mixing the egg yolk into any canned food that she really likes,  THEN use toppers .  Or mix 1/2 a yolk per meal.  Just experiment.

BBarb said:

 
.  I thought all dog food contained grains which cats can't digest?

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Are you saying this because of the name HOUNDS and Gatos?  This is just their brand name.  They make both dog food and cat food.  The cat food doesn't have any grains in it.  Interestingly enough, neither does their dog food, which is actually pretty odd!

mrsgreenjeens said:

Are you saying this because of the name HOUNDS and Gatos?  This is just their brand name.  They make both dog food and cat food.  The cat food doesn't have any grains in it.  Interestingly enough, neither does their dog food, which is actually pretty odd!

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There's lots of grain free options out there for dogs, BUT they'll usually use something else as a carb/filler in the food like potatoes or peas. What I can't figure out is why the heck they insist on putting so many carbs and veges in cat food. What part of obligate carnivore do they not understand?

I know! Everytime I get high end canned cat foods with the whole peas or carrot chunks, my cats just eat around them. I can't imagine a wild cat picking peas or digging himself up some carrots, lol!

I am pleased to report that Bob has finally put some weight back on Yay!

She wouldn't eat the egg yolks, no matter how I fancied them up for her. We got her a variety of high end canned foods and I watched her like a hawk each time I fed her. We now suspect the problem may have been her piggy little brother, Sammy, eating her food when we were not paying close attention.

The funny thing is that no matter how much we spend on a can of food, she prefers Friskies pates. For now, she is staying on a can and a half each day, portioned out and closely supervised. When she gets just a hair bigger, I plan to cut out the extra half can slowly, in increments.

Great to hear!