Thinness for cats can be a source of disease. Simple nutrition will not fix the problem. The solution is special ready-made food.
In this article you will learn how to put weight on a cat and what food to give to your cat in order to gain weight.
Underweight can be caused by physiological reasons or by some pathology.
Causes of cat thinness may include:
- starving;
- stress;
- metabolic disorder;
- unhealthy diet;
- nursing a large number of kittens;
- dehydration due to gastrointestinal disorders (vomiting, diarrhea);
- worm infestation (helminths).
A vet can determine the exact cause of the disease after reading the test results and examining the animal. In addition, some animals lose weight rapidly and are unable to gain weight after surgery or long-term medication treatment.
For physiologically correct weight gain, which will benefit too thin cats, special high-calorie food is developed. Naturally, it is better to give preference to holistic or premium food. By the way, read our rating of the top cat foods to gain weight.
The best cat food to gain weight
When deciding what food to give a cat for weight gain, the first thing people usually look for is dry food. It’s easy to dose, has a long shelf life, is usually liked by animals and contains a full range of necessary substances. The best dry foods include:
- Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Moderate Calorie
- Hill’s Science Plan Perfect Weight
- Acana Orijen SIX FISH
Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Moderate Calorie
The food contains a daily dose of essential nutrients for the cat’s health and is quite often prescribed by veterinarians for weight gain. This product is a special diet for cats with digestive disorders.
The composition includes – L.I.P.-proteins, which are perfectly digested by cats. It also contains prebiotics, beet pulp, rice, and fish oil. There is a perception that this food is intended for animals prone to obesity, but in fact, it is not. The balanced composition will allow the cat or kitty to lose as well as gain weight, depending on what his body needs.
The pellets have an appealing taste to animals, which means your pet will eat them appetizingly.
Hill’s Science Plan Perfect Weight
This food is also positioned as a product for cats prone to weight gain, because obesity is much more common than excessive thinness. However, the ingredients are chosen to correct the weight, to help cats become healthy and happy for years to come.
The food is full-fat and contains prebiotics, which help normalize digestion and improve absorption of nutrients. The reduced fat content prevents overloading the liver, so owners see noticeable changes in the appearance and health of their pets after a very short period of time.
Acana Orijen SIX FISH
This is a complete cat food with 85% of its pellets consisting of fish (sardine, herring, perch, hake, flounder, mackerel). Total percentage of protein is 40%. Not only filets are used, but also guts and bones, which contain phosphorus, zinc, potassium, calcium, magnesium and other elements necessary for health and proper functioning of the cat body.
Reviews from owners and veterinarians note that the food smells nice, and most importantly, animals like it. Acana Orijen SIX FISH contains no additional flavorings. The attractive taste is achieved by adding freeze-dried liver.
The best cat wet food to gain weight
A wet food-based diet will allow pets to gain weight much faster than a dry food diet. Owners of underweight pets and veterinarians have experienced the effectiveness of the following wet foods:
- Royal Canin Recovery
- Royal Canin Convalescence Support Cat
- Applaws Chicken & Duck
Royal Canin Recovery
These canned foods, sold in 195-gram cans with a handy key to open, are designed for cats and dogs during recovery from illness and intensive care.
One of the main indications for the use of food is underweight, contraindications – acute pancreatitis, hepatic encephalopathy, hyperlipidemia.
The food provides the protein, fats and carbohydrates needed for life and is palatable even to weakened animals. If necessary, Royal Canin Recovery can be used for feeding through a tube, diluted with water.
Royal Canin Convalescence Support Cat
This wet food belongs to the category of diet food for cats and cats recovering from operations and diseases, pregnant and lactating cats, as well as overly lean animals.
Royal Canin Convalescence Support Cat is based on protein (pork, poultry, pork and chicken liver). Owners note that after the beginning of regular use of this food, cats gain weight quickly enough, their immunity strengthens, they become more active, playful, stool improves, hair and skin condition improves.
Applaws Chicken & Duck
These canned foods are three-quarters meat, which is cooked in its own broth. There are only a few ingredients inside the jar (chicken breast filet, chicken broth, duck filet and rice) – such simplicity and transparency of the composition attracts consumers. It is as close to the natural diet of animals as possible. Cats’ owners note that cats eat these canned foods with great pleasure, are full with a regular portion, and most importantly, gain weight.
If you don’t know how to feed your kitten in order for him to get better, then pay attention to wet food. Young animals with milk teeth are not always able to chew dry pellets.
Natural food for fatten up a cat
No matter how much the owners would like to quickly fatten up their cats. It’s not allowed to give them fatty foods (sour cream, butter, fatty cottage cheese, pork, etc.).
The liver of a depleted animal won’t handle the load.
When feeding natural food, you need to provide the right diet, which means emphasizing foods with a high energy value while taking into account the cat’s taste preferences.
Feeding a cat for weight gain should be frequent. Break down the usual amount of food for a standard two meals a day into 5-6 servings. It’s desirable to give food at the same time: this way you speed up the metabolism, activate metabolic processes and weight gain will go more actively. The animal should gain weight through muscle, not fat, so the basis of the diet must include products.
Among meats, you should give preference to veal and chicken. It should be supplemented with fiber – bran and oatmeal. It is advisable not to boil meat, but simply pour boiling water on it and cover it with a lid so that the meat steams for 10-15 minutes.
Twice a week a staple can be chicken or beef liver, which should be frozen and thawed in the refrigerator before serving, and then boiled or scalded with boiling water.
Once a week you can pamper an overly thin pet with a chicken egg yolk or one quail egg. Small amounts of boiled sea or ocean fish can be given (river fish is categorically impossible).
Cottage cheese and unsweetened yogurt can be diluted with low-fat milk, but if dairy products cause diarrhea or are not immediately eaten by the animal, it is better to give this up altogether. If you don’t have time to think about rations and cooking, but you are against factory-made cat food, try giving baby purees such as meat and vegetables.
Make sure there are no condiments, preservatives or flavor enhancers, minimal salt (or better yet, no salt at all), potatoes and legumes.
You should definitely buy supplements with vitamins and trace elements, as well as energy supplements (Gimpet MultiVitamin Extra, Gimpet Grass-Paste, Calo-pet paste, Sanal Topmix, Grau Golden Animal Care, Excel Kitty Vite Vitamin Paste, Beaphar Top10) at the pet store.
