DU cat experts: I need to get one of my cats to gain back some weight.

[Shakespeare]

Here's the back story: Theo, my tabby-siamese, does not do well when I leave him with a pet sitter (he's a very sensitive boy, and doesn't deal well with being separated from me). I tried kenneling him about ten years ago, and that was a disaster--he refused to eat the entire ten days I was gone (did the kennel call and tell me? no...). So, I had a friend of mine who's at the house frequently (and therefore somebody familiar to him) cat-sit while we were gone on an 8-day vacation over Christmas. Same thing happened, though not quite as bad this time--he ate some, but he's lost a noticeable amount of weight.

I have both my cats on a diet of high-quality dry food, and both of them have been extremely healthy all of their long lives. I occasionally feed them canned food as a treat, but I HATE the stuff (stinky, messy, nasty, and gives Theo horrendously bad gas). If I feed them too much of it too often, Theo decides he's going to eat canned food and nothing else, and I don't want THAT battle on my hands (again).

The final complication is that my other cat Brutus, is a hulking beast who will shove Theo out of the way to get at any food (or anything he thinks MIGHT be food). So I'm going to have to sequester one of them when Theo gets the extra food--easy to solve.

So here's my question (after much rambling): does anybody know of, or can anyone recommend, a canned cat food that's high in fat/nutrients that'll help a cat GAIN weight? I've seen many kinds for weight control, but never any for weight gain. His health is just fine overall (so I don't need a vet visit), but I would like to see him put a little weight back on.

Help? Gracias.

[TZ]

1. Not wet food BUT

I've heard that the high calorie malt flavored hairball remedy is really good for putting weight on cats..I've had my vet recommend it for a kitty I had that was older and had trouble maintaining weight......

On edit: anything also that is labelled as "kitten" food will also likely put weight on your cat..

[Shakespeare]

2. Theo is of the opinion that the malt-flavored stuff should be banned under the Geneva Convention.

First cat I've EVER seen that not only won't eat the stuff, but thinks you're trying to poison him with it.

Good idea on the kitten food--that hadn't occured to me. :thumbsup:

[Chellee]

19. Do you try to feed the hairball stuff to him?

Or, do you smear it on his leg? Sometimes a cat won't take it from you but will clean it off themselves. They also have it in tuna flavor. At least that's what it says on the label, it doesn't actually smell much like tuna.

Good luck.

[Haole Girl]

3. I give mine some extra treats when we get back from a trip & they are thinner

Seems to help. Hope Theo gets back to normal soon!

[Shakespeare]

4. He won't eat cat treats, either.

I know, I know...he's Mr. Finicky.

He LOVES cheese, and has some psychic gift where he knows when you reach for it in the fridge, because he instantly appears and begins to beg. But I don't think that'd be a good thing to feed him too much of.

[Haole Girl]

9. Oh no

You are right, too much cheese wouldn't be good. Too much of any "human food" could cause him more harm than being thin.

Poor little guy. Wish I had some more advice for you.

[yellowcanine]

5. I would NOT change the food if he has otherwise been doing well on it.

Changing food on pets can be extremely stressful and cause indigestion, constipation, or the other thing which I can't spell. This sounds like strictly a stress/behavorial problem. If the source of the stress has been removed (your absence, I presume), your cat will eventually gain back the lost weight. Remember also that some cats will continue to sulk even after you are back after a long absence. Unlike dogs, cats seem to want to punish their owners for leaving them. Dogs are just overjoyed to have you back. This is one of the reasons I am more of a dog person than a cat person, though I have both.

[Shakespeare]

6. I'm not going to change--I just want to supplement.

He needs a little help gaining back the weight (he's older, and not gaining back as quickly this time).

[yellowcanine]

7. How old and how long has it been since a vet has seen him? Sometimes stress can set off an

underlying chronic physical problem. I would bite the bullet and have some tests done - then get some recommendations from the vet about diet depending on the results.

[Shakespeare]

10. He's almost 14, and shows zero signs of any kind of ailment.

He has a pattern of behavioral issues when he's away from me for more than a day or two, so I know what the problem is here.

He's the most empathic animal I've ever known (and I'll likely never be fortunate enough to have another one like him). Example: when my marriage was falling apart, and my ex was in full-on drug/alcohol addiction and being verbally/emotionally abusve to me, Theo--picking up on the stress I was under--not only lost weight, but began compulsively scratching himself and lost about half his fur. As soon as I left my ex, the behavioral issues ceased, the scratching stopped, and he gained back all the lost weight in just over a month.

Obviously, I'll go to the vet if he continues to be underweight or show signs of any other problems, but for now I just want to try supplementing his food to aid with weight gain.

[yellowcanine]

12. Weight loss is a sign, though, particularly for a cat that old. I would not wait long to see a vet.

The correlation of weight loss with your trip could be coincidental.

[DeepBlueC]

13. I second that

Things like kidney disease and thyroid disease tend to show up at about that age. Theo may need a prescription diet. If he has kidney disease kitten food will do more harm than good. I learned that the hard way. :(

[Shakespeare]

14. It could be, but it likely isn't.

Believe me, I won't hesitate to take him to a vet if I think for one second that's what he needs.

Right now I'm asking only for supplemental food suggestions.

[LeftyMom]

8. I've had good luck with dry kitten food.

If there is a kitten version of the food he's on, I'd try that.

[Shakespeare]

11. I think I'm going to give that a try.

I hadn't thought about that option until sue suggested it upthread, but that just may do the trick.

[crimsonblue]

15. one word: bacon. n/t

[applegrove]

16. I understand that dry food is more fattening than wet. Wet has alot of water in it. Try kitten food

if you must. And yes sequester them.

[Phillycat]

17. Try human baby food.

Varieties with meat, obviously. Also if you can find wet or dry kitten food, it will promote weight gain.

[emilyg]

18. I supplement my 18 yr. old girl with chicken/broth baby food.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

20. How about

mixing his regular food with some tuna - the human kind (wait, I didn't mean human tunas - no, that didn't come out right - ah, the hel with you - you know what I mean)? Maybe throw in a tiny bit of cheese slivers?

Or mix it with chicken? Can you add some small pieces of potato?

Pour some kind of gravy on the dry stuff?

Scrambled eggs with butter?

I know zilch about cats, but I'm trying to imagine if I were a cat, what I would want to eat.

Ice cream. Just a teeny?

See, I don't know what's good for cats and what isn't. But, maybe if you figure out a way to enhance his regular diet, he'll beef up a little bit.

My dog loved McDonald's hamburgers, but I don't think that'll work for your boy.

Whatever you decide, good luck. It's no fun having a family member who's not exactly right.

How about beer? This guy loves his brew:

[jobycom]

21. Ask a specialty pet food store, if you have one nearby.

I had a cat with serious health issues recently, and weight loss was one of them. I had to force-feed her a slurry type food that was high fat specifically for cats who have lost too much weight. It was prescription food (for cats, meaning I had to get it from the vet), but there are off-the-shelf foods like it. My vet told me what to look for on the label, but I've forgotten. Other than that, there were two brands I was recommended by a pet store that my cat responded well to. One was Halo Spot Stew, the other EVO (both had dry and wet, and there were protein differences).

One thing about weight loss in a cat. If they are slightly or greatly overweight and stop eating, they can go into liver failure (Fatty Liver Syndrome). Sounds like you know your cat enough to tell if she's sick, and if she's eating okay now, don't worry about it, but basically a cat can starve herself until her liver begins digesting her own fat, and then the liver tells her she's full, and so she doesn't eat any more, and it starts a spiral that is nasty and expensive and possibly fatal (that was one of the reasons I was force-feeding her). Again, I read where you said she is behaving normal and not acting sick, so it's just a passing comment on my part. I had always heard that a cat wouldn't starve herself to death, but I've since experienced exactly the opposite, so it's something to consider. My cat's problems started during normal stressful behavior, too.

[Shakespeare]

22. My sister's cat was prone to hepatic lipidosis (the liver ailment from overly rapid weight loss).

My sister's cat would go on hunger strikes when anything upset her--it was bad enough that she had a feeding tube put in a couple of times. Theo, thank goodness, is nowhere near that bad. He's still on the low end of a normal weight range, but the loss is noticeable to me, so I'm trying to get him to put some of the weight back on. I'm probably overly cautious from witnessing what happened with my sister's cat.

I'm now feeding him a mix of tuna with oil and dry kitten food, which he's eating with great gusto. Hopefully, this'll do the trick.

[jobycom]

23. I like people who are that in tune to the needs of their pet charges.

:thumbsup: and good luck to both of yuse.

[meow2u3]

24. Try kitten food--with sardines or tuna

Kitten food has more fat and protein than adult cat food. To make it more palatable, either mix it with tuna (human grade, chunk white in oil) or sardines. Cats, especially underweight ones, cannot resist a good helping of tuna or sardines.

Don't forget to feed your beasts in separate rooms. This way, your Brutus won't eat all the food while Theo is left to starve.

[Shakespeare]

28. My cats are 12 and 14, and I've had them since they were kittens.

I know how to feed them (and as I said in my OP, I'm sequestering them while Theo gets the extra food).

[Jokerman]

25. CatSure meal replacer & kitten food

We have a senior cat who is in the end stages of intestinal cancer.

The only thing that seems to help him right now is CatSure and canned kitten food.

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Ag-CatSure-Meal-Replacement/dp/B0009YWHA8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1233075718&sr=8-2

[Critters2]

26. Kitten food is high in fat and protein, and should put weight on him,

but the higher protein may be hard on his kidneys. I'd really talk to your vet. When my crf cat needed to put weight on, the vet put him on Hill's A/D, which is also used to strengthen cats after surgery or serious illness. It's a prescription food, though.

Cats' systems seem really fragile in my experience, so I really would encourage you to talk to your vet.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

27. wellness food is great. my kitty has no teeth so she eats the wet food