Anyone know how to make a cat gain a few pounds in a hurry?

[BreweryYardRat]

One of the family cats (female, silver tabby/Maine Coon mix, about 10-11 years old) was recently diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid. The vet put her on medicine, but she'd lost a lot of weight before my mother actually bothered to get off her ass and take the cat to the vet. (I'll refrain from typing a long rant about mommy dearest, since it wouldn't serve any purpose.) As of my visit to the folks this weekend, the cat is now underweight enough that I can feel her spine when I pet her. She's stopped losing weight, but that's not exactly healthy.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get the cat back up to a healthy weight relatively quickly? She was overweight before her thyroid went haywire, so I don't want her getting that fat again, but she does need a few extra pounds.

[Lil Missy]

1. Can you call the vet to ask?

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Don't do it in a hurry-give her time to recover

regular dry food, good brand (don't know the good cat food brands--sorry), and let her eat whenever she wants to nibble.

She'll gain some weight back over the next few months, and will probably look really sleek by summer. :hug:

[LeftyMom]

3. Kitten food.

It works great to put/keep weight on adult cats.

[Betty88]

19. I second that or..

maybe a little kitten milk along with her normal food.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Try a good-quality kitten food.

Kitten food has more calories than regular cat food.

[gmoney]

5. Try cooked chicken breast

A friend had the same situation with her cat, and that was one thing the cat would just gobble up, and helped put a little weight on him.

[noamnety]

10. NO!

We made the mistake of giving our cat some chicken, and now she's a freaking addict. After 15 years of never once bothering us at dinner, now I can't eat a meal without her standing with her front paws on my thigh staring soulfully into my eyes while I eat. We come downstairs in the morning and she's crying because she has her regular dry food that's been fine all her life, and water ... but she wants more chicken. Acquiring more chicken seems to be the sole purpose of her life now.

[gmoney]

15. sounds like it would work then...

Just reporting what worked for my friends. Sonds to me the OP's cat is pretty old and frail... seems like a small price to be a little annoyed if you keep the cat healthy and happy in its twilight years.

I think if the cat got a healthy portion in its food bowl, it wouldn't need to beg. You gave yours a taste then cut it off... a classic "pusher" technique. :)

Also, what was the sole purpose of her life before? Has she abandoned her search for Nichole and Ron's real killers? ;)

[noamnety]

20. She had a purpose before.

She was honing her skills as a burglar detection system by stealthily rubbing against anyone wearing black and shedding profusely.

Now if we had a break-in, I think the first thing she'd do is lead him straight to the fridge in an attempt to tell him where the valuables are.

[Lost in CT]

18. Yep made that mistake as well. nt

[DS1]

6. bathtub

sorry, no real answer other than providing uber-tasty food options

[Maraya1969]

7. Also some kitty vitamins that you squeeze out of a tube and put on their

paw. They lick it off.

[Generic Brad]

8. Try putting duct tape on her rear end

Although 9 out of 10 vets would advise against doing this, the one who recommended it actually thought I said "try putting a duck on her rear end" so his opinion might technically not count.

[Lex]

9. It's far healthier for her to gain it back gradually.

Especially for her heart.

[jobycom]

11. If she's not losing it anymore, let her be. She'll be obese again soon enough.

In fact, it might even be a good time to change her eating habits, rationing her food, since it's easier to gain weight than to lose it.

My cat lost a lot of weight very quickly a couple of times, for different health reasons. The sudden weight loss itself can lead to liver problems. At one point I had to force-feed her three times daily with a high-calorie special food just to jolt her liver back to functioning properly. Near the end of her life, I again had to force feed her because she was unable to eat on her own.

If your cat isn't losing weight, and the vet hasn't said she should gain it back quickly, then you would probably harm her by trying to plump her up. Let her gain it slowly, let her body enjoy the benefits of non-obesity. If she isn't gaining weight or continues to lose weight, take her to the vet again.

When my cat went off her diet, I tried everything--special treats, new foods, wet food, people food--and nothing worked at all. She just wouldn't eat it, because she was too sick. If your cat is eating, let her be. If she's not eating, giving her something else probably won't get her to eat. The real problem is whatever is making her not eat, and that you can't cure by throwing new foods at her.

And if she's eating but still not gaining weight, that could also be a problem that a vet needs to check out. It could also mean she's eating the right amount of food to maintain her where she wants to be, in which case it isn't a problem. Keep in mind that Americans view obese cats as normal, and healthy cats as skinny. You should be able to feel and count her ribs and her vertabrae, but the flesh shouldn't be sunken between them.

[flvegan]

12. No ideas because that can be dangerous.

Just feed her normally and the weight will come back. Start cramming food in her and it can screw her up.

If you don't believe me, ask her vet.

[BreweryYardRat]

28. Not trying to cram food in her.

Just want her to hit a healthy weight again. When I say "a hurry" I don't mean I want her to gain 3-4 pounds in a week. Just...a pound every three weeks or so.

[Withywindle]

13. I agree with the posters who say let her gain the weight back gradually.

Rapidly see-sawing weight isn't good for people either, but cats' systems are more delicate. Feel free to give her treats you know she likes, but don't overstuff her. See what the vet says. Also, I know you said it's her thyroid, but rapid weight loss in middle-aged or older cats can be a symptom of diabetes too. You might want to ask about that. (As in people, it's a manageable condition with good care.)

[crimsonblue]

14. why does your cat need a few extra pounds?

If it was overweight before, and lost weight, wouldn't it be closer to a healthy weight. I never get why everybody wants to have fat ass cats.. I keep my cat on a diet to keep it from getting above average weight for its size.

[Love Bug]

16. Did they check her kidneys?

I just went through the same thing with one of my cats and, unfortunately, the damage to her kidneys was enough so that she died a few months later from kidney disease. I'm not trying to scare you or make predictions, but you might want to talk to your vet about supporting her kidney functions.

As your cat improves on the thyroid meds, she'll gain some of the weight back.

[blueknight]

17. let her hang around with me

i dont seem to have a problem with that

[Deep13]

21. butter

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. Same exact thing happened to our Pretzel last year. We switched him from

all dry food to a quarter can of wet and then a bowl of dry for nibbling on throughout the rest of the day. Honestly, the meds beefed him up more than anything because they slowed down his metabolism and reversed the weight loss.

Just feed kitteh what she is willing to eat and go from there. :)

[applegrove]

23. Dry kitten food. Wet food is mostly water.

[MilesColtrane]

24. Liversicles

i.e., frozen chicken livers

[grasswire]

25. there's a high calorie paste in a tube...

...meant exactly for this purpose. You can get it at places like petco and petsmart. If the cat will not willingly eat it, you put a dab on your finger and place it inside the upper lip of the cat and it gets down the hatch as they lick it off.

Damned if I can remember the name of the products. Someone here should know.

I used it when my elder cat had lost a lot.

[Ikonoklast]

27. Nutri-Cal.

My son's cat Hobbes takes it as a supplement because of a food absorption problem. He needs the extra calories it provides.

The OP might also consider using the dry powder mix KMR used for milk replacement for abandoned nursing kittens, it is high in calories, provides balanced nutrition, and is easily digested.

I would suggest using the Stage Two formula (it is lower in fat and higher in proteins than the first stage) and just sprinkle it on the cat's regular food as a supplement.

But, as always, check with a vet just to be sure.

[Strong Atheist]

26. There is a actually a paste that vets sell that is VERY high in

calories. I had to use this when my last cat got lost and lost half of his body weight. It works VERY well, and my cat loved it...