Underweight kittie new to raw

[allytt]

Both my dog and cat were weaned from the bottle to raw (prey model) and I've never had any trouble with weight etc so dealing with weight issues is very new to me. 10 days ago we adopted a 4 pound adult (vet estimates her to be around 2 years old) cat who is unfortunately just skin and bone.  She has myasthenia gravis and is being treated for the condition - when we found her she couldn't even lift her head but now she is able to take 2-3 steps and sit straight for short periods of time. She was started on raw while she was still at the vet clinic and we are now continuing this at home. She has an amazing appetite but hasn't put on a single ounce in 10 days. I'm keeping bone to a minimum (she is prone to constipation) and trying to keep a balance between muscle and organ meat however I'd appreciate any suggestions of ways to get her to gain some weight fast. She's so skinny I'm terrified I'm going to hurt her whenever I touch her to be honest..

 

[katkuddler]

Your Vet should be able to advise what to feed and any other treatment other than their own. If you aren't satisfied with that Vet, you might get a second opinion.


 

 

[mschauer]

I don't have any experience with your situation but if it were me I wouldn't worry about quick weight gain. As long as she starts to gain and continues to gain I would be happy with that how ever long it takes for her to get to a normal weight. 

But, you say she isn't gaining weight. How much is she eating and exactly what is it you are feeding her? Does she act hungry? If she isn't eating enough maybe smaller but more frequent meals would help.

 

[orientalslave]

Are you including enough fat?  And although she seems to be young, has she been tested for over-active thyroid?  Cats with that condition usually eat masses but still lose weight.

 

[Willowy]

I wonder if freeze-dried patties would help. More calorie-dense, I would guess, and kitties like them.

Of course, just increasing her intake should help, if she'll eat it all.

 

[ldg]

I agree with ensuring there's not a thyroid problem if that wasn't checked. At the same time, you can ask the vet about using digestive enzymes. They'll help her utilize the nutrition from the food she's eating. :nod: Many of us found that when using digestive enzymes, we had to reduce the amount of food we're feeding, so eating the same amount of food with digestive enzymes should help.

Many vibes for your baby!

 

[allytt]

Thanks for the suggestions, will definitely be asking to have her thyroid checked because of the weight issue. She seems insatiable (yesterday my other half left to answer the phone leaving 300 grams of cubed beef in front of her and within 3 minutes it was all gone and she was ready to eat the paper it was packed in too!) but lost 100 grams weight at the clinic despite being well fed. Unfortunately finding frozen patties or I think even digestive enzymes out here is going to be difficult - I live in a country where people and vets still think one is poisoning animals when feeding raw. I will ask about digestive enzymes however I doubt they are available out here - is there a particular type/brand that you would recommend?

 

[Willowy]

Prozyme is a good one. You might be able to order it online. Maybe the freeze-dried (not frozen) patties. They're very light so the shipping shouldn't be too much.

I think you're doing all right if the vet let you feed the cat raw food while she was still at the clinic! I'm not sure many vets in the U.S. would allow that.

 

[allytt]

Prozyme is a good one. You might be able to order it online. Maybe the freeze-dried (not frozen) patties. They're very light so the shipping shouldn't be too much.
I think you're doing all right if the vet let you feed the cat raw food while she was still at the clinic! I'm not sure many vets in the U.S. would allow that.

Actually he's our 9th vet! He fully supports our choice to feed raw and feeds all the furbabies at the clinic (his own at least) raw. But the clinic is insanely busy and as he is treating our Boncuk for free I hate to take too much of his time before I have researched what I have to ask. There are no frozen or freeze-dried patties available out here unfortunately but I will see what our vet says about trying prozyme and have it shipped over..

 

[ldg]

Where are you located? Can't tell if you're rural US or another country! Either way, I hope you'll be able to order what you need online if you can't find it locally. :cross: