Fattening up a skinny cat

Kash · 25-05-2020 5:12pm #1

What's the best way of fattening up a skinny cat?

He's been wormed, and checked for health issues - he's fine in that regard. But he's consistently bony. You can feel the hip bones jutting out.

He's also the fussiest cat I have ever owner - prefers to bat treats around rather than eat them. No interest in cheese or cream, chicken skin or ham. He did recently steal and eat a Wotsit crisp, so there was something in that that met his exacting standards, but 90% of the treats we give him are sniffed, batted with a paw and then ignored (and promptly scoffed by our other pets)

He has all day access to his bowl, which is filled with kitten food (vet advice) but never seems to eat much. I have tried adding fish oils to the the kitten food to tempt him to eat more, but he just licks it off and then doesn't eat the actual food.

Any ideas?

Nody · 25-05-2020 6:19pm

Try schmuzy but make sure you mush it all up with a fork and possibly consider nuking it for a few seconds as cats are driven by smell and not taste of food. You can also try raw chicken mince (but it's not complete in and of itself) and chicken hearts (cut them up in two or three pieces) as potential foods but they would be compliment rather than a substitute. For kibble by far the one we've had best luck with long term is Crave. Bloody expensive but one fuzzy eater we've had ended up only accepting Crave and never went off it compared to our normal rotation of other non grain kibbles.

aonb · 25-05-2020 7:39pm

I feel your pain OP - have 2 cats that would eat ANYTHING put in front of them, then there is Miss Fussy. She will eat 2 types of select cat food. Or not. There is nothing on the planet that will tempt her to eat consistantly. Its hit/miss every day - I stock up on the 2 brands of expensive food, and just keep my fingers crossed that she will eat one/other. The other cats will inhale her rejects, so at least its not going to waste

I think its a policy of finding something that he will eat, and just stick with those options. My fussy cat will also eat, tuna and probiotic greek yoghurt (1 brand only), Dreamies :rolleyes: and the Cat Sticks from Aldi/Lidl (as treats) - if she wont eat her regular food, I will give her one of these things, just so that she has something to eat.

She probably sniggers at me as she walks away, but at least shes not so skinny anymore...

Not much help to you I know, but probably better skinny than obese - healthier at least? I think we are conditioned to feel that a skinny pet is a reflection of our care?!? If hes been checked over by your vet, and you find a few things that he will eat, you will just have to resign yourself that he is the skinny pet

Kash · 26-05-2020 7:06am

What the hell do they put in those Aldi sticks? I forgot about those! He will eat those most days

Other than the obvious boniness, he is the picture of health. The same cat can do an 8 foot high back flip from a standing start to catch a bird entering its nest on our eaves

Thank you. I do feel somewhat reassured that he's not alone in just being fussy af.

aonb · 27-05-2020 2:20pm

Kash wrote: »

What the hell do they put in those Aldi sticks? I forgot about those! He will eat those most days

Other than the obvious boniness, he is the picture of health. The same cat can do an 8 foot high back flip from a standing start to catch a bird entering its nest on our eaves

Thank you. I do feel somewhat reassured that he's not alone in just being fussy af.

Just checked the ingredients in the cat sticks - animal derivatives and fish derivatives. - so while derivatives are considered to be grim, at least there isnt anything else in there

Faith · 29-05-2020 9:29am

We have a really fussy kitten too. He'd apparently been eating Whiskas at the breeders, so that's what we got for him but he refused to eat it. He also refused Felix. Turns out most of the supermarket cat foods have very little actual meat content in them. Our guy would happily eat tuna, white fish, chicken, ham but refused commercial cat foods. We eventually, through trial-and-error, tried him on a variety of high-end kitten foods, and found he'll happily eat Applaws and HiLife but won't touch Nature's Menu. For the sake our of sanity, we haven't tried him on any others yet and have just stuck with the HiLife.

Also, I bought a big bag of bonito flakes on Amazon, which is basically dried, pungent tuna (used to make dashi in Japanese cooking). I mix that in with his food to increase the smell and the appeal, and he goes mad for it.

Just to note, most cats are lactose intolerant so best not to try giving him cream or cheese, lest it upsets his tummy and turns him off food more. However, I bought this prebiotic cat milk out of desperation when he wasn't eating at the beginning, and he loves it. It kept his calories up while we were figuring out his preferences, and now we just give it to him as a treat (or when it's warm and we're encouraging him to get more hydration).

PacMan · 29-05-2020 5:47pm

Faith wrote: »

Our guy would happily eat tuna, white fish, chicken, ham but refused commercial cat foods.

Many years ago, we had a cat that only ate tuna, smoked Haddock (lidl) Ham and chicken. One cat that liked his food

My dog also loves Tuna and smoked Haddock.
As do I

New Home · 03-06-2020 7:57pm

There's a brilliant (and very appetising) veterinary cat food by Royal Canin, it's both suitable for cats and dogs (and hedgehogs) and it's called "Recovery".

You can find it at zooplus.ie, if you can't get your vet to order it for you.

https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/veterinary_food/dog_vet_food/royal_canin_veterinary_food/recovery/700888

While they love processed fish, be careful with the sodium contents.

New Home · 03-06-2020 8:14pm

Oh, one more: when my cat struggles to drink (he only likes rainwater, but with his kidneys it's understandable), but he loooves these (the chicken ones, I found them in Tesco), so I dissolve half a sachet in about half a glass of water (a normal glass, not a pint) and he drinks it down no problem. I don't do more than half a sachet because if he doesn't finish it immediately he won't go near it after a couple of hours, I think it might go slighly off (or change the way it smells, anyway) very quickly.

The other thing you might want to look into is to get some Oralade, which my cat also likes.

LenWoods · 20-06-2020 2:23pm

Kash wrote: »

What's the best way of fattening up a skinny cat?

He's been wormed, and checked for health issues - he's fine in that regard. But he's consistently bony. You can feel the hip bones jutting out.

He's also the fussiest cat I have ever owner - prefers to bat treats around rather than eat them. No interest in cheese or cream, chicken skin or ham. He did recently steal and eat a Wotsit crisp, so there was something in that that met his exacting standards, but 90% of the treats we give him are sniffed, batted with a paw and then ignored (and promptly scoffed by our other pets)

He has all day access to his bowl, which is filled with kitten food (vet advice) but never seems to eat much. I have tried adding fish oils to the the kitten food to tempt him to eat more, but he just licks it off and then doesn't eat the actual food.

Any ideas?

Is he on the hash ?
I have a friend eats like a horse but he's as skinny as a whippet,

mymo · 22-06-2020 12:41pm

I've my cats on bozita wet food, they do great on it, comes in loads of flavours too, I mix them up, buy online from zooplus, and I free feed taste of the wild dry as they love that.
Zooplus do mixed taster packs of lots of foods, so worth a look.
They've never turned their nose up at the bozita except the fish ones, they're not keen on fish flavours.
Its a good meaty rich food, even the dogs go mad for it.

Kash · 22-06-2020 3:12pm

He's on good quality food, which he enjoys, and eats easily - he just never stays eating it for very long. Both my other cats will finish the majority of their bowl, he might eat a third. He's also by far the most active of the three so he has plenty energy, he just uses it all up

We have discovered that he likes Dreamies (or cat crack as my husband calls them), so he has been getting a few of those. But even with them, after 4/5, he's done. He'll stay with me and purr, but won't eat any more. My other two would eat them until they burst

New Home · 22-06-2020 3:37pm

Kash wrote: »

He's on good quality food, which he enjoys, and eats easily - he just never stays eating it for very long. Both my other cats will finish the majority of their bowl, he might eat a third. He's also by far the most active of the three so he has plenty energy, he just uses it all up

We have discovered that he likes Dreamies (or cat crack as my husband calls them), so he has been getting a few of those. But even with them, after 4/5, he's done. He'll stay with me and purr, but won't eat any more. My other two would eat them until they burst

I'd get him to the vet, tbh - he may have an issue with his oesophagus or his stomach or even his mouth that's preventing him from feeding properly (could be anything, from a large furball to sore teeth or gums, for instance). Have you tried feeding him away from the others?

Kash · 26-06-2020 11:43am

We had him checked at the vet to begin with, she had no concerns and advised a higher calorie food (hence the kitten food)

But... he's actually put on 400g since then!! I had noticed that his bones weren't jutting out as much, so chanced him on the scale, and he's a very healthy 5kg now, and wearing it well

Still super active, affectionate and playful. I'm delighted.

Now, I've to turn the tables and slim down our chonky girl. She's far too adept at getting treats!

New Home · 26-06-2020 11:45am

5kg is a pretty decent weight, don't overdo it!

Will you please post a pic?

Kash · 26-06-2020 1:05pm

Of course! He's a real poser

ACtC-3ceM8CrbsvmJ6GKrFLPdQvT4iQdiHhuEWwz800i-lj1CFk5kt8X2A7v77Ie8TGZFeNbpo2bDJgqg3xNirnYkBT_MpZwruw2gpsQAp_rWLOW6twSNNKHXWKAJ4lfT-fQ7q3upVjcClS8Ml0fhdM8blkR=w549-h888-no?authuser=0

New Home · 26-06-2020 1:58pm

He's NOT skinny!!! And he's a darling, I can tell.

Alun · 26-06-2020 2:10pm

I agree, definitely not skinny, just right I'd say. He's a lovely looking cat too

New Home · 26-06-2020 2:25pm

There was a chart in my vet's that said that you're supposed to be able to feel a cat's ribs, if you don't the cat is overweight. The hipbones, however, should not be sticking out.

Kash · 26-06-2020 2:46pm

Thanks all! I think he's perfect now too. And you're right, he's a dote. His favourite thing to do is to jump into my arms when I'm not paying attention, then flop over my shoulder and hang there like an old-timey stole. I end up with a faceful of cat butt, but he purrs like it's going out of fashion

scilover · 07-07-2020 10:13am

Kash wrote: »

We had him checked at the vet to begin with, she had no concerns and advised a higher calorie food (hence the kitten food)

But... he's actually put on 400g since then!! I had noticed that his bones weren't jutting out as much, so chanced him on the scale, and he's a very healthy 5kg now, and wearing it well Still super active, affectionate and playful. I'm delighted.

Now, I've to turn the tables and slim down our chonky girl. She's far too adept at getting treats!

Hahaha im glad she's all good now. After i went to deworm my cat, she got so skinny as well and looked so weak. But now she back to her normal self again!

Heroditas · 08-07-2020 1:20pm

Our male cat has been getting very skinny recently. We took him to the vet and they did some blood tests and noticed an increased level in a liver enzyme so told us to bring him back after a few weeks. He then lost another 200g within 6 weeks and was down to 3.8kg.
We brought him back and the poor guy went through a whole day of shaving and tests, including an ultrasound. Came back negative for everything including thyroid issues and FIV. I collected him and he was thoroughly miserable from being under an anaesthetic all day.
Anyway, vet reckons it could be something to do with his bile duct so he's being treated for that

In the meantime we've been feeding him raw beef mince and cooked chicken and turkey. Little fecker is gorging himself on food for the last week now.
We keep wondering did we put him through all that to discover he's just a very picky eater!!!

New Home · 08-07-2020 1:33pm

This wasn't the exact chart I'd seen, but it's a decent one, too.

Edit:

This is even better.

Heroditas · 08-07-2020 3:14pm

Our male is definitely 3 or 2ish.
His sister has always been slim and is a 4 or 5.
I'm so embarrassed but our third cat (his girlfriend) is a 9, maybe even a 10 if it existed. We've had to ration her food.

Edit: the good news is we weighed him earlier and he's out on about 100g in the last week since we changed the diet.

Fattening up a skinny cat

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