Extremely Thin 12 Year Old Cat

[Frankie's mom]

My Frankie boy has been with me since he was 10 months old and has always had tummy issues, always vomiting his food. Well, now he's 12 years old and you can see all his vertebrae, hip bones just very thin. He always eats but he will only eat dry kibble, have tried in the past to give can food but he won't touch it. I have found out the he is allergic to chicken and I have him shaved every three months so he does eat all that hair (long haired) and it seems to help with the throwing up. I feed him Canidae grain free limited ingredient dry kibble (trout flavor). I don't know what to do for him to gain weight. I've taken him to the vet and it doesn't seem to help. Does anyone have any suggestions...thank you

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi Try probiotics to help his digestive system function as well as possible.
Also ;
here are some topper/enticements that might help, on their own or combined with food.

• Chicken or beef flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• Mackerel

• canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top

• Try Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy'

• kitten glop (recipes are on the internet, look for some with goat milk)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables

• There are also lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something helps a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• You could brew some chamomile tea (from the little bags - it's safe for cats) for him, a couple teaspoons a couple times a day or so

 

[jen]

When you took him to the vet did they run full blood work? I assume by "it doesn't seem to help" they did bloodwork and it all checked out fine? I hope they did a thyroid test too? If not he NEEDS to go back in especially at his age.

 

[chris gadbois]

You DEF need to get bloodwork panels done. This will tell you alot. For instance if your cat does have thyroid issues, seafood can be some of the worst things to give him.

 

[Jem]

When you say that bringing him to the vet doesn't seem to help, what has the vet done so far? What tests have been done? (urine, blood work etc...) Does your cat poop regularly? What is the consistency?

 

[maggiedemi]

I would try wet food again. My cats are picky too, but I have found some that they will eat.

 

[javannalynn]

If you buy wet food at Petco and your cat doesn't eat it you can return them. EVEN an empty can! I thought they were lying so i tried it and they took back the 2 empty cans of the ones he didn't like. It makes it much easier to try a few different ones and see what he likes. i had a cat that never ate wet food in his life. one day i was feeding the others beef fancy feast and i offered it to him. he chowed down. now he eats it all the time. he just needed to try one that smelled amazing to him.
I also recommend a thyroid test. Its common in older cats. I personally think it has a lot to do with fixing them at young ages. Removing part of the endocrine system makes the other parts work harder and causes the thyroid to overload. I still have all mine fixed but it is my theory.