Cat Needs To Gain Weight

[kelseyelisabeth]

I moved into a new house, and I think my cat has some slight anxiety issues. He has lost probably around 2-3 pounds. I know he plays a lot with his brothers & sisters so I don't know if him being super active has anything to do with it either. I have been feeding Iams Proactive Health Indoor Dry Food. He does also really like wet food. Just wondering if there is another food that is best for him to try to gain some weight. I bought Iams High Protein, but I read High Protein Food might not be good so now I am freaking out. I am taking him to the vet this week to get him checked out just to be sure nothing is wrong. Just wanted to know what you would recommend?

Thanks,
Kelsey

 

[DeweytheLion]

You can feed him kitten wet and dry food as it has more calories.
Good thing for the vet visit, I hope all is well!

 

[verna davies]

Ask you vet for his opinion on food choice. They often sell food that is high in protein that he may think is a good idea. Let us know what the outcome is.

 

[maggiedemi]

My cats lost weight on Indoor dry cat food too. I think it has a lot less fat or calories in it.

 

[orange&white]

High protein food, when the protein is from an animal source is great for a cat. High protein from a plant source (corn, pea powder, etc) is not so great. Cats really only process meat protein and meat fat efficiently.

I'd go with the High Protein food you have over the Indoor formula.

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Iam's High Protein: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Salmon, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Flavor, Fish Meal (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Choline Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dicalcium Phosphate, Fructooligosaccharides, Taurine, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Egg Product, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), Dried Carrots, Dried Apple Pomace, Dried Peas, L-Carnitine, Dried Spinach, Dried Tomatoes, Blueberry Powder, Rosemary Extract

Crude Protein, minimum 38.00%
Crude Fat, minimum 17.00%

371 kcals/cup

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Iam's Indoor: Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Grits, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Dried Beet Pulp, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Fructooligosaccharides, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), L-Carnitine, Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract

Crude Protein, minimum 28.00%
Crude Fat, minimum 11.00%

287 kcals/cup

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You'll see that not only the High-Protein has significantly more protein, but more of the protein sources are from meat. The indoor formula is much lower in calories and it appears that a lot of the protein content is from corn.

The only time a lower protein diet should be considered is to lower the phosphorus levels in a cat who is in the later stages of CKD. Even then, vets are starting to question the wisdom of low-protein for a cat for any reason.

Also, adding a higher fat/higher calories wet food to the diet would probably help with weight gain.

 

[kelseyelisabeth]

Took him to the vet today, he said his body condition looked really good. However, he was running a fever, has a small area of miliary dermatitis on his chin, which is infected. The vet did a stool sample, and he doesn't have any parasites. He did take a blood sample to check for diabetes and kidney disease. I should have those results tomorrow, but now I'm freaking out. My mom thinks its just the infection on his chin and him running a fever that could be making him feel so bad. I hope thats all it is.

 

[lisahe]

I hope your mom's right, too! Infections can really take a lot of energy, even if they're low-grade. It's definitely very good news that the vet said your cat's body condition looks so good.

We have a slightly anxious cat who's pretty active, too. She's generally fairly svelte so I always get concerned when she looks thinner. Her weight fluctuates some, which the vet says is normal. Anecdotally, it seems that a lot of people mention that their cats seem to eat less and lose a little weight in the summer.

As for the food question, I agree with orange&white about the high-protein food being a better choice. The more meat the merrier! Since you said your cat (what's his name, by the way?) likes canned food, it might be worth looking into some additional high-calorie ones to tempt him into eating more. You can compare calories, protein, and carbs (low-carb is good!) on this chart: link is here. A few higher-calorie foods that our cats especially like are Wellness kitten food (even though they're allegedly adults), Nutro Natural Choice minced chicken and chunky chicken (they love Nutro!), and (a new addition) Evo's duck recipe.

Fingers crossed that the bloodwork comes out well! It's great that you're having that done. I hope the infection clears up soon.

 

[kelseyelisabeth]

My sweet Shep is fine! He said his bloodwork looks fantastic and to keep doing what I am doing because he is really healthy and looks really good. Just thinks its the infection. Hopefully the antibiotics will knock it out really quick! Thanks guys!!

I would like some info on what I should feed every day. Do y'all free feed? I have a feeder full of food down for all 5 of my babies.

 

[orange&white]

I feed three meals a day, homemade raw diet.

You'll find a huge range of what diets people feed their cats as well as opinions on free-feeding vs scheduled meals. It seems that the average "American cat diet" is some mixture of dry and wet processed foods.

So happy to hear that the bloodwork came up really great!!! That's has to be a big relief!

 

[lisahe]

So glad to hear Shep is fine, K kelseyelisabeth ! That's very good news and I hope the antibiotics work fast.

Like orange&white I also feed only wet foods: commercial raw food, homemade cooked food, and a little canned food. We took our cats off free-fed dry food pretty shortly after we adopted them. We now feed them about five small meals a day. They have all sorts of eating oddities, some because they're rescue cats who were horribly underfed as kittens, others because they have troubled Siamese cat digestive systems. We feed them high-protein, low-carb foods with as little vegetable matter as possible. That and the small meals seem to keep them from throwing up very often.

Whether you feed wet food, dry food, or a combination, it's important to get protein from meat rather than plants, keep carbs as low as you can, and to watch that your cats don't gain too much weight. (I know the opposite has been the problem for Shep...) Many people (including me) find that low-carb wet foods help keep cats at normal weights. You said you have five cats, which is a lot of mouths to feed, but there are lots of threads about affordable canned foods, if you're interested in feeding at least some wet food.

Here's to a quick recovery for Shep!

 

[kelseyelisabeth]

Shep says thanks for keeping me in your thoughts!

My vet told me that the food I bought was too high in protein. It is 44%. I don’t know what a happy medium is. My problem is I work 8:30-5:30 M-F so I can’t do the little meals. Could I do a can in the morning and night for each kitty? Or do they need more food than that? I have always done free feeding, so trying to figure out what’s best is taking some time, but I’m glad there is a site like this where you can get advice. Thanks again guys!

 

[orange&white]

He's very handsome!!

Unless veterinarians endeavor to do independent study on feline nutrition after they get their medical degree, they do not receive nutrition training in veterinary school (except what is taught by employees of Hill's Science Diet and Royal Canin). Sort of biased and a conflict of interest, but it is what it is. Vet's are usually that last people on earth I want nutrition advise from.

Cat's are obligate carnivores. The idea of "too much protein" for an animal designed to eat nothing but meat, organs, and bones does not make any sense to me.

I fit 3 scheduled meals around full-time work days. One meal when I get up, one after work and one before bed. The cats do well on that schedule. Cats over a year old should be "ok" with two meals a day, but I think they prefer more smaller meals. You can leave canned food out for him. He should eat it before it gets nasty. If he doesn't, you may need smaller portions per meal with more meals.