Tips on getting a young cat to gain weight?

I need some tips on getting Prue to gain weight. i have tried everything from the best foods to treats to cat milk, and she is jsut so thin!!! i free feed dry 24/7, and wet 2x a day. what else can i do?

If she has a clean bill of health then that might be just her type and she is still young she probably will fill in as she grows older..

Scratch is a very tiny cat, although she eats like a pig! Maybe Prue will always stay small, like Scratch.

Is she actually underweight or just a slender cat? If she's underweight a trip to the vet is in order to make sure there's not a physical cause. Have you tried feeding her kitten food?

she has been on kitten food since i got her, i wasent going to change her over till she was 1 ( in sept). she is very slender, but just her butt feels boney to me. she has been seen by a vet, and she just said she is gonna be a scrawny cat, but i beg to differ she just seems underweight to me.

Well I thinkn the vet would know best on how her body weight will be. If she is just a small petite girl you don't want to be fattening her up on treats and unhealthy things like that. If the vet said her health is fine and you are feeding her and exercising her, then I would leave it at that and let her be that way she is. Why does it really matter anyway if she is healthy?

Not every cat is supposed to weigh 10+ lbs

If your cat is built more refined like a oriental type, then she may only weigh 6-7 lbs. You have to judge more on the muscle tone, the body type, and general health.

Ling is oriental built (mixed breed) and she is 1 yr old and only 6.8 lbs - but getting nice muscles. At 10 lbs, she would be "fat", so I go by her body type and not a number.

thats understandable. i just think she feels boney, if that makes sense. i dont know what breed her parents are, so thats no help. she is about 6 lbs. she exercises like mad, and eats really picky,lol. hates wet food and 99% of treats. she does love Nutro Complete kitten so i will keep her on that till she is at least one.

Originally Posted by Liza24

her butt feels boney to me.

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Jaffa has a boney butt! No amount of feeding him up makes a difference to that - if he gains weight he just gains it around his stomach. If your vet says your cat's weight is ok I think you just have to accept that's the way she is. If you still have doubts take her back to the vet and discuss it in more detail.

oh i know the vet knows more then me,lol. i just wasent sure if it was because she is so picky, or just her body type, but without knowing the parents, ya never know,lol.

You don't need to know her parents to tell what her general body size is. If she's built slendar, then that's her body type. I've had slendar cats (raise rexes) and their hips will feel boney even tho they have muscles.

Originally Posted by Liza24

I need some tips on getting Prue to gain weight. i have tried everything from the best foods to treats to cat milk, and she is jsut so thin!!! i free feed dry 24/7, and wet 2x a day. what else can i do?

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Here's my story about a skinny young cat: I had a very tiny kitten that was rescued from the street by someone else. She ate constantly and never seemed to gain weight. She grew, but was always skinny...until she was spayed. Now she's on the round side (not fat) and I have to really control her eating. Maybe when your cat gets spayed or neutered, it will gain weight (but be careful it doesn't gain too much!!).

I have a very thin, neutered male two year old.
He eats like a horse and has a clean bill of health from the vet.

He's very long bodied/limbed like a Siamese, but he only weighs 8 pounds.
That's just the way he's built.
His littermate is a cobby 11 pounder, that's just the way he's built.