Wieght gain

[Millys Mum]

I agree with Gill, small regular meals of normal food is better than lots of rich offerings. White fish is lean and low in fat so isnt going to put much weight on her anyway, hence its fed for icky tums.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Do you think she might be a little stressed?  I know you said she was settling in OK but nonetheless it's still quite an upheaval for her.  Hope she starts to regain her appetite soon and stops worrying you 

[Kate]

I've mashed up some mackrel but no interest :-( Fingers crossed she picks up overnight.

[Mark]

Maybe you could tempt her with some treat type food until she regains her appetite?

Strangely, sardines in tomato sauce goes down well with a lot of cats. I have also found hand feeding sometimes helps.

[Kate]

She's now not eaten since last night, (sometime after midnight)  called RSPCA man had her before thinks it could be the heat. Am so worried and feel like I can't cope. I am probably over-reacting but is also quite leatherigc, when she arrived she had a good explore and now she just sleeps. I can't watch another cat go down hill it will killl me.

[Kate]

Hmm I am fretting. She did not eat her breakfast and I popped back to give her lunch - she did not look too impressed. But tehn i have given her loads of food since she arrived. How much shoudl I epxetc a small cat (she's little Burmese) to get through a day? 3 pouches? I suppose her stomach have shrunk. Sorry for all teh questions!

[Desley (booktigger)]

KAte, just make sure you aren't giving her too much fish in comparision to her cat food, as you could mess about with the balance of nutrients she needs, and fish contains very little taurine. i am surprised they didn't do a blood test to make sure there was no underlying health reason for her thinness.

[Kate]

Thanks 6-8 portions will be hard as we both work but I giving her breakfast, popping home for lunch and then she has early dinner and extra before-bed dinner. She did not want her lunch yesterday but to fair she had had an enormous breakfast. Trout and Mackerel and Tuna arrived in teh supermarket shop to tempt her today!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I dont know how often you are feeding her but what ever is her stable diet , should I think, be fed little and often with biscuits left for her to graze on all the time.

I think I would be tempted to give her 6 to 8 small portions a day of her normal food, if she doesnt eat them all fine but spreading her food out may help her to digest it better and avoid tummy probs.

Water always out too of course 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

You could try kitten food too (at least in the short term) provided she doesn't have any health problems.  It usually contains more calories than adult food.

[Kate]

Thanks everyone I will order some hills AD, I have some cat milk but I can get the recommened one as well. they not have done bloods, she is has been straying so it is almost 99% that she has been starving as she was clearly a house-cat before, not a hunter!
I was worried earlier as she had not eaten since a MASSIVE breakfast but then i hand fed her some prawns and she has just had a protion of whiskers.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I would give her a/d once a week, dry food helps to put weight on more easily than wet, and you could try cat milk and extra portions. IT is much better for them to gain weight slowly though, and you need to make sure that when she reaches an ideal weight, you can taper off the extra things to avoid her becoming overweight. Have they done any blood tests, to make sure it isn't something like her kidneys or thyroid that are causing the issues?

[Maddiesmum]

Glad ET has come home hope she soon gets some weight on her

[Mark]

Oh and this vitamin and weight gain supplement
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5_222&products_id=1021

I must admit I stopped giving cat milk as only 2 of mine like it but it gives them the runs 

I wonder if Cimicat might be better for weight gain?
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1579

[Tiggy's Mum]

I was going to recommend Hills A/D too, it's quite mushy and is very palatable.  Also  cat milk could be good to try and help her gain weight.

[Mark]

I am sure I read somewhere that 25 - 50 grams a week is good.  I don't think it's something you need to rush. Also feeding a lot early on could make the cat greedy long term. Slow & sure 

Hill's a/d is good for convalescing cats but only good for short term. maybe you could feed it once a day?

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=62_66_94&products_id=345

[Kate]

Hello,

My newly adopted oldie (estimated 10-15yrs) ET is very thin as she was taken in RSPCA when found straying. I really want her to put on wieght asap as she is so vulnerable in this state (infection etc) and quite weak. does anyone have experience of "fattening up" a stray? Any tips? Over-feeding her supermarket pouches will upset her tummy, so I am combining with fish (prawns today).

Also, what should my expectations be, i.e. maybe 0.2 kilo a week? She has put on wieght in her two weeks at RSPCA and is eating well, but still skin and bone it is so sad 

On teh upside she is a lovely girl, I just coaxed out from her hiding place and she let me pet her for ages and has not gone for a nap on a cushion.

Kate