Elderly Cat- Skin And Bones- Weight Gain

[petfanatic2000]

I have an elderly cat who is 14 years old. He is comfortable and super happy but EXTREMELY underweight (currently 7 lbs). He is total skin and bones and no matter what I do he keeps losing weight. You can feel his spine, hip bones, ribs, everything. I have tried wet food with higher fat content and he has access to dry food 24/7 but he continues to lose weight. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get him to gain weight? Has anyone had any success with high calorie gel? (One that I am currently looking at is the GNC High Calorie Booster Gel)

I would be so grateful for any info and help you can provide.

 

[jen]

Has he been to the vet for bloodwork? Nothing we can tell you will be better then seeing the vet if he is losing that much weight and you tried various foods. It could be his organs, his thyroid, or his teeth even. At that age he isn't just being finicky, something is wrong. I don't mean to scare you. But please take him to the vet.

 

[furmonster mom]

Whenever someone says "my cat eats like a pig but is losing weight" the first thing I think is thyroid issues.
However, as jen said, there are many other possibilities (diabetes also comes to mind). You really need an exam and thorough blood work, and I'd even toss in a urinalysis, to find out what's going on.

 

[jen]

The other thing to remember is that cats will hide their discomfort and seem perfectly fine as long as possible even when they are very sick, until the problem is so advanced it may be too late to help them. It is important to do regular bloodwork as they age to keep an eye out for these things early on. My lymphoma cat seems perfectly fine but can't keep her weight on either. If I just wrote it off as an eating issue she probably wouldn't be with me now. Cats don't typically just refuse to eat without an underlying issue.

 

[FakeGourmet]

Yep, there is definitely something off there. Cats don't really lose significant muscle mass until they are about 17. Your cat is much too young for that to be happening without a cause.

 

[vyger]

When my mom lost way to much weight we gave her Ensure drinks every day and that helped a lot. So I looked to see if there was such a thing for cats. Turns out there is sort of.
Clinicare Feline Liquid Diet. This is often used for cats that have had surgeries or mouth and teeth problems. A Google search provided some confusing results. It used to be for sale at Walmart but maybe not anymore. It also appears to be a temp diet and not so much of a supplement but that could wrong.
There is an article on feeding older cats on webMD
Food and Supplements for Your Senior Cat
Here is a better product page for the Clinicare stuff.
Clinicare Canine/Feline Liquid Diet
What caught my attention is in the product description where it says:

• Nutritionally balanced with essential vitamins and minerals.

• Highest quality ingredients from the makers of Ensure®.

• Versatile for tube oral syringe or bowl feeding.

• An ideal choice for critically ill or recovering patients.

• Specially formulated to increase caloric intake for optimal recovery.

• Caloric density: 1 kcal/mL

So it's made by Ensure and is calorie dense. Dry food is also calorie dense. What I would try is to poor some over dry food, let it soak in a bit, and essentially use it as a gravy. If he is willing to eat it it might help solve the problem.
I am sure some of the others her who are into nutrition will have better ideas.

 

[maggie101]

My cat will be 17 in June. She was diagnosed with ibd/pancreatitis and liver inflammation over a year ago. 11 to 5 pds and won't gain it back. Defiantly take her to the vet for blood work.

 

[jen]

I would seriously advise against trying any alternative diets until the cat sees a vet. This isn't about nutrition, this is about the cats health. If you try something like this, know it is temporary and not going to "solve the problem".

 

[FakeGourmet]

I assume that the cat is an only cat and that you can SEE how much the cat is actually eating? It's always a challenge in multi-pet households.

 

[duckpond]

I would highly suggest a vet visit, there is likely a medical reason for the weight loss.

I also am not sure i would try a high fat food, unless its in rotation with a high protein food? Unless the vet puts him on a specific diet i would try to get him as much high protein food as he can eat, wet and dry.
many older cats loose muscle mass because they do not get enough protein in the diet.

this is a good chart to check the protein in wet foods. As she recommends i try to keep the protein above 50% if possible. its hard to do, but keep it as high as possible.
http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

you can also check protein content on the data base, they also have dry foods shown. Not the one i currently feed, which is Dr. Elseys clean protein, chicken. you can look it up on their site, or chewy.
CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat