Rescued Senior Care

[catintime]

I recently rescued a cat from a family member. Her name is Remy, and she's about 15 years old. Currently, she's skin and bones. (You can see the outline of her spinal cord under her grey fur). It broke my heart to see her like this, so now she lives with my boyfriend and I. What should I feed her so that she starts gaining more healthy weight? Additionally, any other senior cat tips would be appreciated!

 

[Furballsmom]

Bless your hearts!
See about canned food, kibble, kitten glop (recipe below), and this article may help.
How To Get A Cat To Gain Weight – TheCatSite Articles

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/what_to_feed.html

How are her claws? Will she let you clip them?

Does she seem stiff, would a low sided litterbox help? Steps can help if shes not able to jump up to the couch.

And, of course, see about a vet visit when you can

 

[catintime]

Bless your hearts!
See about canned food, kibble, kitten glop (recipe below), and this article may help.
How To Get A Cat To Gain Weight – TheCatSite Articles

What To Feed - Kitten Rescue

How are her claws? Will she let you clip them?

Does she seem stiff, would a low sided litterbox help? Steps can help if shes not able to jump up to the couch.

And, of course, see about a vet visit when you can

Her claws were really bad when we took a look at them They were curled all the way to the paw pads but luckily she hadn't been impaled. Thankfully we were able to clip them as much as we could (which she didn't enjoy but it was necessary). Thank you for the food suggestions as well! I'll make sure to look at them! Also, she does seem a bit stiff so I'll invest in a lower litter box for her

 

[Christena]

I recently rescued a cat from a family member. Her name is Remy, and she's about 15 years old. Currently, she's skin and bones. (You can see the outline of her spinal cord under her grey fur). It broke my heart to see her like this, so now she lives with my boyfriend and I. What should I feed her so that she starts gaining more healthy weight? Additionally, any other senior cat tips would be appreciated!

My senior cat 14 years likes the little soups from Friskies she has a hard time chewing so needs food she can just swallow mousse from tiki cat also nice and smooth.

 

[catapault]

Consider giving this elderly cat some glucosamine cosequin. It is not an instant fix but will gradually ease her joint pain. My rainbow bridge cat, Mist, was so arthritic that her head would bob with each step. The cosequin was wonderfully helpful. And it is over counter, no need for a vet prescription.

 

[susanm9006]

Thank you for taking her. if she hasn’t had a thorough vet check she needs one with a blood work panel as soon as you can get her in. Her weight might be due to poor feeding but treatable health conditions such as diabetes or hypo thyroid can also cause weight loss.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I agree with all of the above!!! Remy is lucky to have you!

My cat, Feeby, who is 16+ yo, takes Glyco Flex Plus for her arthritis. It is an OTC chew (about $10 per month in cost) that can be either cut into smaller pieces for easier eating, or smashed up and put into foods. It contains glucosamine, chondroitin, and green lipped mussels - all products used by humans to help with arthritic conditions. Feeby's limp pretty much went away after taking this supplement for about 3 or so weeks; she has been on it for a little over 2 years now. She is not as crazy about the taste/smell as she once was, but when I first got it, she actually looked forward every day to getting one! Initially, you would certainly think they smell strong (mussels), but now I don't even notice it.

 

[susanm9006]

Correcting my post. I meant to say an overactive thyroid which is common in older cats rather than a hypo thyroid, which is an under active thyroid.

 

[di and bob]

Bless you! You might give her kitten food for a while, it is higher in calories and nutrition. I have luck with Hartz Delectables lickables in the stew. it is gel-like and easy to eat. Target, Walmart, and Amazon all have it.

 

[stephanietx]

I have a 15 yr old who's lost a lot of muscle mass. You can see her bony spine and hips, but she's maintaining her weight and eating well. I have considered adding wet kitten food to her diet. She had labs in April and all was well, except her kidney values and her potassium. I would highly recommend getting her to the vet for a senior panel blood draw and to check for arthritis. We give our gimpy girl Cosequin in the morning and Dasequin Advanced in the evening and this has helped her mobility.

 

[Meme chan]

I recently rescued a cat from a family member. Her name is Remy, and she's about 15 years old. Currently, she's skin and bones. (You can see the outline of her spinal cord under her grey fur). It broke my heart to see her like this, so now she lives with my boyfriend and I. What should I feed her so that she starts gaining more healthy weight? Additionally, any other senior cat tips would be appreciated!

God bless you for rescuing Remy I am happy that she is safe now
I can give you small advice as a cat owner not a specialist, my cat Meme was also in the same shape when I adopted her but I made a mistake and gave her a lot of cat food when she needed and didn't need and made extra chicken meat.
i had no experience at that time with cats so i thought she could gain weight faster and be healthy

all she needed was three good meal a day and vitamin supplements and allot of rest because her body was so weak she couldn't even play or run around, but its better before all of that to ask a vet to help you out.. it was very helpful to me.

your cat Remy will gain weight it takes time but one thing you should check the vet. first for any illnesses or infections.
because with meme she had many health problems that weren't apparent to us so no matter how good i fed her she didn't gain any weight in the first months she was so sleepy and skin on the bone with a huge appetite and her behavior was another story.

my advice is: make sure she's healthy and not infected and give her vitamin supplement (it made all the difference with my cat)
as for cat food, i started with wet food with high nutrition you can use kitten food as well (i used wet food for a start for the first months and then introduced her to dry food as snacks)