Any Advice Greatly Desired

[Kopanova]

So I brought this gorgeous Highlander Lynx Girl from a breeder who is retiring. She's about 9 months old so she is an older kitten, but the owner prior to me didn't take the time to let her come out of her shell so she is terrified of dogs and humans alike.

No worries, she's slowly coming around to her new home. She's separated, has her own room with shelves and plenty of hiding places, multiple litter boxes, food bowls and access to both a normal bowl of water and her own water fountain. She is eating and drinking and using the bathroom. Overall very healthy, JUST VERY skittish.

So the thing I am wondering, is since she is a Highlander Lynx, (and quite for the breed as well that definitely took me by surprise since I had a male some year ago that was pretty massive) would you guys recommend I continue keeping her on just normal cat food or would it potentially be a good idea to incorporate a little raw diet into her meals? I did totally raw for my boy, but he had a MUCH higher Desert Lynx percentage than this girl so it was what worked best for HIM. For this girl I've kept her on the same domestic cat food but I am wondering if maybe a little raw in her diet may help with her growing.

EDIT: When I say she is SMALL for her breed I mean she's MAYBE 3 or 4 lbs soaking wet. 4 months older than the 2 male (possible domestics) that i have and both are at least twice her size. (They get 1 or 2 days a week of having raw diet) DO you guys think it would be beneficial to her?

 

[di and bob]

i really don't think it would hurt, I hope somebody comes on that knows more about raw diets. I, myself, have used kitten food, both wet and dry,(you can get grain free too) to boost a cat's weight and growth. she still has time to grow at 9 months. She may be just a tiny cat. My female is 7 pounds and she is tiny! Just be sure you are following strict guidlines for prepping a raw diet, I do know that it has to be balanced, and have added vitamins and taurine. Bless you for adding her to your home, I pray you have many love filled years with her!

 

[Alldara]

I don't personally agree with raw diet, especially for a young cat where immune system isn't fully built, so I will skip over that to remove my bias.

I've also used kitten food to help build cat weight. I keep my cats on kitten food for minimum 1 year to 18 months. Magnus was on it for two years (inbetween food allergy nonsense). I gave my senior cat the Royal Canin Mother and Babycat food when we were dealing with hyperthyroidism weight loss.
The mother and babycat helps with immune development and is very easily digestible and high calorie so that is why I like this. But, you could get some Recovery food from the vet and give a small portion of that daily or every other day until she starts growing more consistently.

Some kitten formula could help too! You can give in a dish. Another thing I gave to my senior cat. Magnus never liked it, but we did try it for him too.

Lastly, due to a friend's recent experience I would recommend getting the poo checked for parasites. Turned out that their smaller cat had worms so wasn't getting enough nutrition.

 

[Kopanova]

I don't personally agree with raw diet, especially for a young cat where immune system isn't fully built, so I will skip over that to remove my bias.

I've also used kitten food to help build cat weight. I keep my cats on kitten food for minimum 1 year to 18 months. Magnus was on it for two years (inbetween food allergy nonsense). I gave my senior cat the Royal Canin Mother and Babycat food when we were dealing with hyperthyroidism weight loss.
The mother and babycat helps with immune development and is very easily digestible and high calorie so that is why I like this. But, you could get some Recovery food from the vet and give a small portion of that daily or every other day until she starts growing more consistently.

Some kitten formula could help too! You can give in a dish. Another thing I gave to my senior cat. Magnus never liked it, but we did try it for him too.

Lastly, due to a friend's recent experience I would recommend getting the poo checked for parasites. Turned out that their smaller cat had worms so wasn't getting enough nutrition.

Interesting! I'll definitely look into that! As for parasites, according to her vet records when I got her she had already been dewormed. And her last vet check 2 weeks ago was clean of parasites so I don't think it's that but she has a vet appt next Tuesday and they are gonna do a full work up on her just in case. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

[Alldara]

Interesting! I'll definitely look into that! As for parasites, according to her vet records when I got her she had already been dewormed. And her last vet check 2 weeks ago was clean of parasites so I don't think it's that but she has a vet appt next Tuesday and they are gonna do a full work up on her just in case. Better to be safe than sorry!

That's good news for sure! If she had two rounds recently, she is probably fine.

 

[Caspers Human]

In my opinion, if your kitten is still adjusting to her new home, it's best to keep feeding her what she was eating before you adopted her.

Cats can be quite picky about the food they eat and changing her food before she's had a chance to get used to things would be another stressor to deal with. I think she needs to have at least one form of continuity with her old home until she feels confident that her new home is her forever home.

I also agree that your cat still has some growing up to do before you start feeding her raw food. The time it takes for your cat to acclimate will also give her the time to mature before you start changing her food.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Personally, I am all for a raw diet, but not necessarily to get a cat to gain weight. I actually converted my cats to a raw diet in order to get my overweight ct to lose weight!

That being said, I do think the above posts do have some validity and think once she is feeling quite comfortable in her new home, THEN might be the time to make changes rather than now. But until then, try feeding her more calories. You can either buy a higher calorie food (or foods), or even try adding an egg yolk to her food a few times a week. Many cats enjoy egg yolks. You can just mix it right into wet food, or try it all by itself, just don't mix it with the whites unless it's cooked.

 

[Kopanova]

UPDATE!!!::

VITANNI has gained an entire 1.5 lbs since being in her new home! I found out she LOVES chicken flavored treats! I've been feeding her a few every time we have a play session (so roughly about 3 to 4 Twice a day). Since it is only her first week she's not TOTALLY comfortable being touched yet and it still doing quite a bit of hiding and only really being active at night.

BUT I see it as a good sign that she at least allows me to now scratch her chin whenever she takes a treat!!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm glad she is coming around, the fact that she is gaining weight is great! Thanks for the update

 

[iPappy]

I'm going to vote that, if you are thinking of adding raw foods to her diet at some point, introduce it now. Cats imprint on foods and textures so stubbornly (for good reason, it's a survival thing). I feed my kittens dry, wet, raw, and cooked. My cats are not picky eaters, and do not have sensitive stomachs either but YMMV