Fattening up a senior cat with IBD?

Hey there!

 I have a senior kitty who doesn't seem to be consistently gaining weight. I've had her for approx 6 months and she has put on some (spine is not as prominent) but doesn't seem to be gaining anymore. Vet thinks she has IBD. I feel her 4health dry and Friskies wet (she seems to tolerate friskies well and likes it a lot...better than nothing!). She eats when she wants as I just set it out in the morning and refill when I see the bowls empty. Negative for hyperthyroid. She weighed 4.0lbs when I found her (stray) and now weighs 6lbs. Any ideas on how to pack in some calories to *hopefully* put some pounds on her without causing a flare-up?

Adding 2 lbs. in six months is pretty good!  I have two IBD kitties, and it's a struggle to keep them eating enough sometimes.  I try to give them less dry and more wet and get them off of grains altogether.  

Mine don't like to eat food that's been sitting out too long so I give them smaller amounts but feed more often--usually in the morning, then around 4 when I get home from work and then again before bed.  I've got two older, skinny cats who I give Gerber 2 baby food (turkey or chicken with gravy variety--make sure it's the kind with just meat, no onion, garlic or anything like that added to it) as a treat in addition to their regular food, just to give them some more calories.

How old is your kitty?  How much should she weigh, do you know?  Does she have vomiting or diarrhea episodes with the IBD? 

I forgot to mention, there's a great website:  www.ibdkitties.net with lots of good information and suggestions on caring for an IBD cat.

A good quality fish oil supplement is a good source of omega-3s and will also add fat to her diet.

Is your cat on prednislone? It is a steroid commonly given to IBD cats and has a side effect of being an appetite stimulant. There's also marzipane(sp?)