I recently began feeding a group of feral cats living in town, and many of them are very, very thin -- and pregnant or nursing. I'm talking with a couple local groups that rent out traps and s/n ferals, but in the meantime I'd really like to fatten these girls up.
I'm only able to feed them once a day because it's downtown in a very busy public area with tons of cars and people. I've been going at 5:30-6:30am each morning for the last week and a half. I'm currently feeding them a mix of dry Orijen with water added and canned food (EVO, Chicken Soup, Evolve, PetGuard, Felidae, and miscellaneous others). I'm feeding them what I have for my cats.
So my question is is this: can I add small amounts of pure lard to the mix to increase the calories?
I called my vet, but the substitute is in today and she apparently was very alarmed, and said that it could cause pancreatitis (at least I think that's what she warned about). But I don't know her, and she could be one of those Science Diet-touting, brainwashed vets that's against any supplementation.
I'm wondering -- how could natural animal fat really be that bad? I mean, they're carnivores. They eat animal fat in every meal. Is a little more really going to be unsafe for them? And if not, what is the appropriate amount?
On the other hand, I really don't want to make these kitties sick. They simply can't afford even a minor bout of diarrhea.
Would it be wrong to try a little with my healthy house-cats first, to see if it causes diarrhea? I was thinking that I could try adding one level tablespoon split three ways over the course of the day (which would be a larger amount than I would ideally want to feed the ferals) and monitor their stool to see what happens.
What do you guys think?
I'm only able to feed them once a day because it's downtown in a very busy public area with tons of cars and people. I've been going at 5:30-6:30am each morning for the last week and a half. I'm currently feeding them a mix of dry Orijen with water added and canned food (EVO, Chicken Soup, Evolve, PetGuard, Felidae, and miscellaneous others). I'm feeding them what I have for my cats.
So my question is is this: can I add small amounts of pure lard to the mix to increase the calories?
I called my vet, but the substitute is in today and she apparently was very alarmed, and said that it could cause pancreatitis (at least I think that's what she warned about). But I don't know her, and she could be one of those Science Diet-touting, brainwashed vets that's against any supplementation.
I'm wondering -- how could natural animal fat really be that bad? I mean, they're carnivores. They eat animal fat in every meal. Is a little more really going to be unsafe for them? And if not, what is the appropriate amount?
On the other hand, I really don't want to make these kitties sick. They simply can't afford even a minor bout of diarrhea.
Would it be wrong to try a little with my healthy house-cats first, to see if it causes diarrhea? I was thinking that I could try adding one level tablespoon split three ways over the course of the day (which would be a larger amount than I would ideally want to feed the ferals) and monitor their stool to see what happens.
What do you guys think?