Watch Your Cat Closely
No pet owner wants an obese cat. Ensure that the cat doesnt eat and sleep all day. This should be done irrespective of the type of food they have.
Get the cat to indulge in some kind of play or exercise for at least 10 – 15 minutes. This can be done before each meal to ensure that the cat stays healthy.
Watch the weight and the activity level of the cat during the transition process. If the cat refuses to eat to loses weight during the transition, it is best to seek the advice of a veterinarian.
Have You Had Trouble Getting Your Cat To Eat
Does kitty keep on losing weight whatever you do?
We would love to hear your stories in the comments below.
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What Can I Feed My Cat To Gain Weight
Ultimately, your cat will have to eat more calories than she is using on a daily basis to gain weight. However, this doesnt mean that she should just get more treats! Only up to 10% of your cats daily caloric intake should come from treats, even when she is trying to gain weight.
Choose a diet with a high caloric density which is still nutritionally balanced. There should be a statement on the label which says that the diet is complete and balanced for adult cats or all feline life-stages. With a wide variety of textures and flavors available commercially, you should be able to find a diet that will match the specific preferences of almost any cat!
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Maintaining Your Cats Weight Loss
Provide A Nutritious Wholesome Diet
Cats need a blend of healthy meat protein, vitamins, minerals, and fats. Your skinny cat will need a proper, nutritious diet in order to gain weight. Dont expect a skinny cat to magically gain weight by feeding the same boring dry kibble over and over again.
Invest a little more money into a high-quality cat food your cat cant wait to devour. You might spend an extra few bucks a month, but by doing so you could save hundreds or thousands of dollars in future vet bills. The health and well-being of cats always include a delicious, nutritious diet.
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Is Kitty Really Losing Weight
Sometimes cats are simply slender. While they might look and feel too thin to their owners, they might be perfectly healthy.
If the cat has always been thin, keeps a stable weight and is showing no other symptoms, there may be no reason for concern. However, if you dont know the cats history, or youre just worried about it, talk to your vet. A professional can weigh the cat and provide a more accurate assessment of just how thin Kitty really is.
If your veterinarian cannot find a problem, you may simply have a cat with a petite build on your hands. This isnt a cause for concern. After all, every cats body is different!
Engage In Active Play
Is your cat sleeping all day and being lazy? Cats who are active burn more energy, which theyll need to replenish via their mealtimes. You might think that more playtime will contradict helping your skinny cat add some weight, but the result is quite the opposite.
Active play requires both you and your cat. Try to incorporate a minimum of 15 minutes of active play per day. It is also wise to feed your cat directly after playtime, to encourage your cat to eat the way they normally would in the wild .
Yoda is always hungrier after a session of active play versus when he has been sleeping all day.
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What To Do If Your Cat Is Gaining Weight
The first and most important thing to do when addressing your cats obesity is to take a visit to the vets office. There, the doctor will be able to determine the underlying cause of the obesity: whether it is simply over eating, or something else Once the cause has been determined it will then be up to you to take control of your cats habits.
As mentioned before, do not place you cat on a starvation diet. This will only lead to more serious health issues down the line, such as fatty liver. According to Dr. McDaniel from Cornell University of Veterinary Medicine, the best thing that you can do is to aim for perhaps one to two percent loss of body weight per week. This slow method will help to ensure the safety of your cat while you reduce its overall body weight. Purchasing a small scale would be the perfect tool for aiding in the monitoring of this process.
Initially, it is sensible to get an idea of your cat’s overall health and to ensure the obesity has not led to any secondary disorders such as diabetes or liver disease. Your pet may need to undergo blood tests in order for the veterinarian to perform a full evaluation. X-rays and a CT scan or MRI can allow the vet to diagnose a mobility condition like spondylosis or arthritis.
Find The Right Cat Food
Dr. Kelly Stark of Belle Haven Animal Medical Centre in Alexandria, Virginia, agrees. Its important to evaluate how much youre currently feeding and work with your vet to determine a safe amount to reduce that food intake.
Dr. Stark says you and your vet may also consider changing foods, to either a weight management or metabolic dietessentially one that is higher in protein and fiberwhile maintaining other necessary nutrients to help your kitty feel full longer.
Dr. Stark says this can be a healthy alternative to simply cutting calories because you need to ensure your cat is still getting all the nutrition needed while safely losing weight.
She also reminds cat parents that both exercise and nutrition are important for achieving that initial weight loss along with the long-term maintenance of a healthy cat weight. Every cat is different, and some are more predisposed to gaining weight, she explains.
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From Dry Food To Wet Food
Making the transition from dry to wet food can be quite tricky. The texture and taste of dry and wet food are different. A sudden change will confuse your pet cat.
How do you make a successful switch from dry to wet food without facing too many setbacks and hurdles? Here are a few tricks that will ensure that the change is successful.
Start by sprinkling the usual dry cat food on top of the new wet food. This will help the cat get used to the new smell of wet food. The next trick is to mix the dry food with wet food. Grind the dry food into a powder. Mix the powder well into the wet food before you serve it to the cat.
Warm the wet food as it will help improve the texture and taste. This will help cats successfully make the transition from dry to wet food.
Is Your Cat Overweight
Helping your cat stay healthy includes making sure they get plenty of exercise and don’t overeat. You can help an obese cat lose weight, but prevention is better. Cats that have been overweight are likely to regain weight in the future.
Overweight cats are usually defined as being more than 10% over their ideal weight.
Obese cats are more than 20% over their ideal weight.
You should be able to feel your cat’s ribs easily when you stroke their body lightly and you should clearly see a waistline when you look at them from above.
Cats under two years of age are less likely to gain weight. Between two and 10 years of age, cats use less energy so are more at risk of becoming overweight.
Senior and geriatric cats – aged 12+ – tend to be underweight.
Stress can be a factor in overweight cats. If your cat is overweight, consider their diet, lifestyle, environment and the placement of their food, water and litter tray.
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How To Put Weight On A Cat
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It can be hard to know whether or not your cat is too skinny. In the U.S., roughly 60 percent of cats are overweight, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. Similarly, 39 to 52 percent of U.K. cats are overweight, according to International Cat Care. Because so many of the cats we see are overweight, a normal weight may seem abnormally thin to their pet parents. It can also be hard to tell whether your cat is skinny if they have long hair or a sagging belly .
While a skinny cat isn’t necessarily a cause for an emergency trip to the veterinarian, if you find yourself searching “How to put weight on a cat,” then it’s probably time for further investigation.
Is There An Appetite Stimulant For Cats
Mirtazapine is a drug that was initially developed to control nausea but has been shown to be an effective appetite stimulant in cats. It has been used for quite some time by veterinarians trying to improve their patients’ appetites, but the issue of giving it to cats that won’t eat has been problematic.
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Best Senior Cat Food For Weight Gain
Extra energy and nutrients come in a silky cat food thats highly digestible for senior kitties who need to preserve muscle mass and support their immune system. In addition to senior cats who need to be enticed to eat, this food is especially ideal for cats recovering from surgery, illness or injury.
Highlights
- Formulated by veterinarians, with taste and palatability in mind
- Its soft texture makes it adaptable to bowls, spoons, or syringes, depending on feeding method needed
- Suitable for both cats and dogs
Things to Consider
- This is a relatively pricey, prescription-only food
How To Help A Cat Gain Weight: Tips And Advice
Regardless of your choice of cat food, you and your veterinarian will need to determine underlying causes of your cats weight loss prior to adjusting his diet. Common and more serious causes of weight loss in cats can be overactive thyroid disorder, feline diabetes, intestinal parasites, dental problems, or FIV, which all require medication.
However, other common causes of weight loss in cats can be changes to their digestive system caused by age, the stress of a move, anxiety about feeding habits like bowl placement or crowdingeven insufficient food due to another pet who might be stealing from their bowl. These causes for malnutrition can also be challenging but are resolvable once you identify the trigger. Consider creating a calmer environment for your cat to eat in, serving smaller meals throughout the day, or luring him by adding rotisserie chicken or canned tuna to his food.
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Overfeeding Overeating And Poor Quality Food
Do you leave a big bowl of food out for your cat to graze on throughout the day? Are his begging eyes so powerful that you end up giving him a handful of treats even when he hasnt earned them?
If so, he could be gaining weight simply because hes eating too much.
A healthy 10-pound cat needs around 280 calories a day to maintain his body weight . Any more than that and hell start to pack on the pounds and when youre a cat, even a few ounces of extra weight can make a big difference.
Take a look at the label on your cats food to find out how many calories are in it. The figure will usually be given in kcal/kg if the label says 1,000 kcal/kg, that means that there are 1,000 calories in one kilogram of food.
Then figure out how much food your cat eats per day. Measure out his daily food and weigh it on a kitchen scale, then use the information on the label to find out the caloric content.
If the number seems high, chances are your cat is eating more food than he needs to. But if it seems in line with the guidelines, your next step is to check the rest of the nutritional facts on the food label.
Cats need high-protein, low-carb food. Their bodies arent able to make proper use of carbohydrates, so high-carb food tends to make them gain weight without providing much nutritional value.
Solution: Reduce Feedings or Switch Foods
If your cat is eating too much, youll need to reduce the amount you feed him and/or change the way he gets his meals.
Getting Your Cat To Exercise
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Tips For Helping A Cat Gain Weight
Addressing the underlying health issues, selecting the right food and figuring out how much to feed are vital for success.
But thats just the starting point. Once you have that sorted, you will need to establish a feeding routine.
Here are a few tips for getting your cat to eat reliably and gain weight safely.
Best Cat Food For Weight Gain: Bulking Up Your Skinny Kitty
While many adult cats become overweight, there are also those that are visibly too skinny. Its true some cat breeds are naturally slim like the Oriental Shorthair, Russian Blue, and Devon Rex cat breeds.
But some cats just dont eat enough or are fussy, which prevents them from reaching a cat’s ideal healthy body weight. In this case, the right cat’s diet is one that your slender cat should want to eat more often.
If your usually healthy cat loses weight, an underlying health issue could be the root cause. If this is the case, the best pet parent immediately plans a visit to the vet for a medical check-up.
There are several possible causes of a cat’s appetite loss. Its a condition called anorexia that can be life-threatening if the liver is forced to process stored fat in the body due to the lack of food intake.
This review aims to guide pet owners about weight loss in cats: its possible causes, practical remedies, and the best cat food for weight gain.
Here at FelineLiving.Net we have a dedicated mission to provide cat owners like you with well-researched information so they can provide the best care and nutrition to their cat.
Our readers rely upon the cat food reviews, articles and recall alerts that we research and publish. We also routinely update and review our own reviews ensuring that any changes by manufacturers are brought to your attention.
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