How To Gain Weight

[himawari]

I'd like my cat to gain another pound or so, and I'm a bit of a loss on how to do that. I try to feed him 4oz of raw food per day, half a 5.5/6.5oz or full 3oz can, and 1/2 scoop of Ziwi Peak air-dried food per day. Canned & air-dried food are left out when I am out or sleeping. The problem is, he never finishes it until the next day. With the raw, I have to give him about a tbsp or two each meal because he leaves & doesn't come back (sometimes I have to hand feed him to finish it). But I'm not home all the time to feed him that every four hours so there are days 4oz is split into two days.

So I guess what I'm trying to ask is: are there any foods that are high protein & calorie dense? and are there any particular exercises I need to make him do to gain muscle weight?

 

[duckpond]

It may be that he is not crazy about the canned food, or the ziwi peak so is not eating quite enough? To Gain muscle weight and not fat it definitely needs to be high protein food with moderate fat, and low carbs.

My cats do quite well on tiki cat, the after dark, some of the weruva foods and against the grain the chicken and cheese. almo nature has a few complete foods, mine like the la cucina chicken and apple. A few of the Fussie cat super premium foods chicken and egg, chicken and beef in pumpkin soup. These are all high protein and low fat and carbs. Meat protein, not vegetable protein, i think that's important for cats. These are all fairly low calorie, so i do feed more, and free feed Dr. Elseys dry.

They also eat some of the american journey minced, its a bit higher in fat than the others i feed, which is ok, cats need some fat so it balances out, the carbs are low at about 8%, they don't list the ash in their foods, so i emailed. they said 2.6 for ash.

I also free feed Dr. Elseys dry, chicken. It is fairly high calories, very high protein, low carbs less than 5 % and all my cats like it. The vet always comments on how fit my guys are, not skinny, but well muscled. Especially my little white girl, and she wont eat much wet food, she loves her Elseys dry. yes, im a fan and they have it on sale right now
Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Chicken Formula Grain-Free Dry Cat Food


for wet foods i use this list and try to follow her above 50% for protein, moderate fat and low carb
http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

my cats get a lot of exercise chasing each other, especially up and down the stairs. play is good for cats but i dont know of any you can do specifically for muscle weight gain.

 

[orange&white]

Remind us again how old your cat is? A senior cat will need more protein. A younger cat needs more calories in general with a combination of fat and protein. Is he feeling boney to you?

I've always found that egg yolks seem to help stimulate a cat's appetite if one isn't finishing meals. They're 55 calories each, and fairly high in fat, but they are 100% digestible and they're packed with vitamins. You might try mixing 2-3 egg yolks per week into his meals.

 

[himawari]

Thanks for the response!

duckpond , I'm not quite sure it's that. I give him a rotation of canned and air-dried food (The Real Meat Company). Sometimes I also leave out Stella & Chewy freeze-dried. He only really gained weight on kibble (Orijen's Cat & Kitten) which I gave him less than 1/4 cup per day before I started feeding him raw. I'm assuming because of carbs.

He doesn't really like After Dark but does like the regular Tiki Cat chicken (Koolina Luau or something). Fussie Cat has carrageenan, I believe, and I'm trying to stay away from that. I've never heard of La Cucina or Almo Nature so I'll have to check those out too. I did hear Dr. Elsey's is good but I'm trying to stay away from kibble since I hear raw & kibble isn't a good combination.

orange&white He's turning 8 this year, according to the shelter. No, he isn't feeling boney at all! He is quite large (long body) compared to my friend's cat, but not Maine Coon large. The vet said (back in Nov) that he's a good size but another lb or two would be okay --- not better 'cause he isn't underweight but it wouldn't hurt him. I did try mixing egg yolks in his raw food but he wanted to graze. And can I add egg yolks in canned food and let him graze on that instead?

 

[duckpond]

Im not sure that raw and kibble would be any different than raw and air, or freeze dried, just not sure on that, but i don't see how it really would? someone else may know more about that than i do. I fed some freeze dried over the years, but my guys were not big fans, so i stooped and went to wet, supplementing with dr. elseys kibble.

Stella & Chewy has about the same carb count as Orijen, so i don't know. Ziwi dry is good, but only one of mine will eat it i have not tried the real meat company. I did feed orijen for a while, and mine gained weight too. They have a new fit and trim that may be better for that, i don't know. My guys do so well on the Dr. elseys im kind of afraid to mess with it right now.

Some Fussie cat does have carrageenan, i stay away from that as well. Their Super premium wet foods do not. I feed a few of those in my rotation, the carbs are fine in the pumpkin soup ones, and the chicken and egg..

Almo nature has a lot of supplemental foods, i don't feed those, but they have recently come out with some complete foods, and i am trying those. there is a chicken and cheese in the can they like, and the chicken and apple in the pouch. I think they are more popular in Europe and have not really caught on in the US yet?
Almo Nature Complete Chicken Recipe with Cheese Grain-Free Canned Cat Food, 2.47-oz, case of 12
Almo Nature La Cucina Chicken with Apple Grain-Free Cat Food Pouches, 1.94 oz, case of 24

 

[orange&white]

He's turning 8 this year, according to the shelter. No, he isn't feeling boney at all! He is quite large (long body) compared to my friend's cat, but not Maine Coon large. The vet said (back in Nov) that he's a good size but another lb or two would be okay --- not better 'cause he isn't underweight but it wouldn't hurt him. I did try mixing egg yolks in his raw food but he wanted to graze. And can I add egg yolks in canned food and let him graze on that instead?

You can add an egg yolk to his canned food, but then you would need to treat it like raw food and not leave it out for hours. You could try serving him an egg yolk by itself. He might like it; or he might look at you like you're crazy. I have one cat who likes scrambled eggs, and two cats who don't. So cooking an egg might get him interested...and you would be able to leave cooked eggs out a little longer than raw.

Sounds like you just need to make sure he's getting enough calories to maintain weight and not lose any, from what your vet said. So maybe a sprinkle of Fortiflora, parmesan cheese, bonito flakes, or some other tempting taste would get him to stop grazing as much and finish more of his food.

 

[lisahe]

I use egg yolk powder (from Food Fur Life) as a topper on our cats' food and they love it. Our pickier cat will eat just about anything that has either that or Pure Bites chicken on it. She's very long and lanky herself, so I like to keep her eating as much as possible since she's a slightly nervous cat with a high metabolism! (Unfortunately, her sister is the opposite of "nervous" and gains weight easily. They are rescue cats.)

 

[KittyKat184]

I also feed my boy raw, canned and dry. I feed him 4oz of raw, 1 3oz canned and 1 tbsp of dry to make up the calorie he needs for a day (~260 to 290kcal). You mentioned that you feed him raw only and he doesn't finish it, try mix it with canned. My boy used to be like your cat, but the mixture of raw and canned fix the problem. Feed him 1 oz of raw and 1.5oz canned in the morning, then the rest at dinner time. Then you can leave out the air-dried at night or during the day when you are not around. Hope this help!

 

[lisahe]

Yes, to mixing things up, as KittyKat184 suggests. Whether it's mixing various kinds of raw food or feeding raw food with another "mode" of food, variety can really help keep cats interested in eating. And adding toppers helps expand the variety even more.

 

[Willowy]

Unless a cat is sick, or is being underfed, they usually won't be underweight. So if he's eating all he wants, that's probably the right weight for him. I wouldn't do anything to make him gain weight deliberately.

Kibble is super fattening but you likely don't want to go there.

 

[himawari]

You can add an egg yolk to his canned food, but then you would need to treat it like raw food and not leave it out for hours. You could try serving him an egg yolk by itself. He might like it; or he might look at you like you're crazy. I have one cat who likes scrambled eggs, and two cats who don't. So cooking an egg might get him interested...and you would be able to leave cooked eggs out a little longer than raw..

Yeah, I figured. I wanted something that i can leave out that is both fattening and something he likes. And I did try cooking some scrambled eggs, he smelled it but then nothing. Now he does this odd thing -- pawing at his bowl, as if covering it like he does with his poops. Do you have any idea what that could mean?

I use egg yolk powder (from Food Fur Life) as a topper on our cats' food and they love it.

Ah, yes I remember you mentioning that in a different thread. I don't have the funds to buy that as of yet but seeing as he doesn't like scrambled or raw eggs, I might buy that sooner than I plan to.

I also feed my boy raw, canned and dry. I feed him 4oz of raw, 1 3oz canned and 1 tbsp of dry to make up the calorie he needs for a day (~260 to 290kcal). You mentioned that you feed him raw only and he doesn't finish it, try mix it with canned. My boy used to be like your cat, but the mixture of raw and canned fix the problem. Feed him 1 oz of raw and 1.5oz canned in the morning, then the rest at dinner time. Then you can leave out the air-dried at night or during the day when you are not around. Hope this help!

I've tried mixing raw with his canned before but he always ends up just eating the canned bits and leaving most of the raw alone. Sad to say, but I did give up and begin giving him 1tbsp of dry (Cat & Kitten that was leftover from before I started raw)... and now he begs for it. I heard that it's bad to mix raw & dry due to digestive issues... has anything like that happen with yours?

Unless a cat is sick, or is being underfed, they usually won't be underweight. So if he's eating all he wants, that's probably the right weight for him. I wouldn't do anything to make him gain weight deliberately.

Kibble is super fattening but you likely don't want to go there.

Uhm... I did kind of go there. He had stopped finishing his canned food and air-dried food completely (I stopped feeding raw for now) so he was basically hungry all the time but never ate his food. I had some kibble leftover from before so I fed him a bit of that. I honestly don't know what's going on with him and what to do. The vet checked him out. He's completely normal. But he just won't eat. And I can tell it's affecting him since his hips are more pronounced.

 

[orange&white]

Yeah, I figured. I wanted something that i can leave out that is both fattening and something he likes. And I did try cooking some scrambled eggs, he smelled it but then nothing. Now he does this odd thing -- pawing at his bowl, as if covering it like he does with his poops. Do you have any idea what that could mean?

Pawing at his bowl is an instinctive behavior. He is trying to bury it to save it for later, and also so the food smell doesn't attract "predators" to the area. It doesn't make sense for an indoor cat to do that, but it's just instinct.

Well, I hope you can get him eating better soon. If he starts dropping weight, I'd get an opinion from a second vet.

 

[duckpond]

Normally with my cats if they paw at their food, try to cover it they don't like it. Have you tried a different food? Depending on how long you have had the kibble it may have went stale or rancid. I know my cats can tell if a bag of food has been open too long, they dont want it. I try to use all dry up within 5 or 6 weeks of opening it.

You did say he begs for kibble? if he is not eating anything else, but wants the kibble i say give it to him.

 

[sabrinah]

I've read many times on this site that the best food is the food your cat will eat. Eating dry is better than starving.

My 14-year-old cat recently did the same exact thing. She has a clean bill of health. Turns out she was just tired of the brands. I have her a sample I had from a brand she doesn't usually eat and she devoured it. I then gave her American Journey, which she had never had before, and she's been eating with no problem. Maybe your kitty just wants you to mix it up a little bit more.

 

[Furballsmom]

I didn't catch whether you tried a bit of raw egg yolk? My Big Guy doesn't like cooked eggs but he thought that the bit of egg yolk I gave him a couple days ago was wonderful LOL