Underweight But Active.

[kevintsh]

My Cat is a traditional Persian cat.
She's about 7 months old and consider under weight.
She only weigh 2.7kg. I feed her royal canin persian kitten dry food and whiskas wet food. But she eat very little. She was vaccinated and deworm..
Any idea how to help my cat to gain weight?

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Is she underweight, or just a small cat? Take a look at this chart:

http://www.cwvet.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Body-Condition.jpg

If her body condition is in the Ideal range, she may just be a small cats. Sometimes, they just don't get bigger than 8lbs, which is ok!

Has she been spayed yet? Cats that have not been spayed tend to be leaner than spayed ones, in my (limited) experience.

She is absolutely beautiful!

 

[kevintsh]

Hi. Thanks for replying.
Nope. She's not spayed. I've checked out some website regarding the right portion for a 7 months old cat serving is about 1 cup twice a day, my cat probably eat less than 40g dry food a day .

 

[EmersonandEvie]

2 cups of food a day?? Wow! I looked up the calories for the dry alone and she would be eating almost 900 calories a day if she ate two cups. Her little tummy would about burst! Combine that with her wet food and she would be sitting at about 1000 calories a day. No, that's way too many. What website were you referencing?

You could leave out a bowl of the hard food for her to eat all day and give her the wet food once or twice a day, depending on your schedule. Even the most active kittens would eat 600 calories a day tops.

 

[kevintsh]

Sorry. I think I got it wrong. Should be around 43g of dry food each serving. Twice a day.
So I think my cat 1 serving a day.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Since she is also eating the wet food, I wouldn't worry about it. Did you see that chart I gave you? Can you give an estimate on what her body condition is, based off of it?

 

[She's a witch]

40gr dry plus wet food seems enough to me. My female cat was under 3kg before she was 1yo, some of them are naturally small. I would however make sure she gets high protein, low carbs diet. There are different kinds of whiskas wet foods but lots of them are very low quality.. I'm guessing the Royal Canin kibbles may have too much carbs as well? high protein low carbs is the best you can do for your growing kitty.

 

[kevintsh]

The top shoulder bone is quite obvious. I think according to the chart. Probably somewhere between thin and the normal size. According to my vet, she said she's under weight. So I'm wondering how to increase her appetite . But she's active though.

 

[kevintsh]

Actually less than 40g. For wet food, she never finish it... 85 g per pouch. I would she eat around 40g from the 85g wet food.

40gr dry plus wet food seems enough to me. My female cat was under 3kg before she was 1yo, some of them are naturally small. I would however make sure she gets high protein, low carbs diet. There are different kinds of whiskas wet foods but lots of them are very low quality.. I'm guessing the Royal Canin kibbles may have too much carbs as well? high protein low carbs is the best you can do for your growing kitty.

 

[She's a witch]

you can add some treats that she likes to increase the calories intake. You can also offer her a variety of wet food (I wouldn't change her dry food a lot though, and only gradually, it can cause upsets, but you should be ok with wet food frequent change, although observe), maybe you'll notice she likes some brands more than the others and she'll eat more of it? Again, I strongly advocate for high protein, low carbs.
Also, maybe she prefers small portions only. My female cats won't eat more than 40gr at one sitting. i have to feed her several times a day (although in small intervals, eg. in the morning when we wake up around 7-8am, and then before we leave for a day, around 9-10am, we do the same in the evening). She will not come back to her bowl to eat residue, fresh food or refrigerated (but in a glass jar, not in a can not plastic container) is only accepted by this queen.

 

[kevintsh]

you can add some treats that she likes to increase the calories intake. You can also offer her a variety of wet food (I wouldn't change her dry food a lot though, and only gradually, it can cause upsets, but you should be ok with wet food frequent change, although observe), maybe you'll notice she likes some brands more than the others and she'll eat more of it? Again, I strongly advocate for high protein, low carbs.
Also, maybe she prefers small portions only. My female cats won't eat more than 40gr at one sitting. i have to feed her several times a day (although in small intervals, eg. in the morning when we wake up around 7-8am, and then before we leave for a day, around 9-10am, we do the same in the evening). She will not come back to her bowl to eat residue, fresh food or refrigerated (but in a glass jar, not in a can not plastic container) is only accepted by this queen.

Noted. Thanks for the advise. Truly appreciate it.
I do give her some treats once in a while... I noticed she really like to eat the treats which is not as healthy compare to both dry food and wet food.
Any idea on high protein and low carb food? My country probably has limited cat food choice. Any idea on home cook low carb and high protein recipe that you do for your cat?

 

[She's a witch]

have a look at the raw feeding subforum, lots of people cook/prepare raw food for their cats. The problem with this is it needs to be properly supplemented to meet all the nutritional needs and it's not easy. The subforum is rather US specific but some things are universal. You can find some recipes in the internet and then consult it on the forum. Home prepared food that meets all the requirements is the best thing you can do to your cat, in my opinion.
Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food
Back in Europe, I used to give my cats raw meat as treats only, without the supplementation. They loved it, but you can't do it too often, and only with the meat that you're certain is of good quality. Check if Zooplus delivers to your country, it does to most European countries, I can then recommend specific food.

 

[kevintsh]

have a look at the raw feeding subforum, lots of people cook/prepare raw food for their cats. The problem with this is it needs to be properly supplemented to meet all the nutritional needs and it's not easy. The subforum is rather US specific but some things are universal. You can find some recipes in the internet and then consult it on the forum. Home prepared food that meets all the requirements is the best thing you can do to your cat, in my opinion.
Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food
Back in Europe, I used to give my cats raw meat as treats only, without the supplementation. They loved it, but you can't do it too often, and only with the meat that you're certain is of good quality. Check if Zooplus delivers to your country, it does to most European countries, I can then recommend specific food.

Thanks. Hopefully my cat (Anya) can gain some weight.

 

[kevintsh]

Today I brought her to see the Vet. She's still a little bit underweight for a 7 month old cat. (6.1lbs)
Doctor gave some vitamin to improve her appetite. Hope all goes well.

 

[She's a witch]

Good luck!!

 

[MissClouseau]

Does the dewormer they use cover all internal worms? Most dewormers I know don't. If she got dewormed for hookworms and roundworms, but not tapeworm, she might still have tapeworm.

I also agree with She's a witch that maybe she prefers small portions. My Hima did even when she was a stray. She also tends to be significantly more physically active some days than the others so she needs more calories. Personally I'm not that strict about portions and would recommend the same you. Weigh her on the same digital scale the same day every week so it will be easier to take an action if there is ever an unwanted weight gain (or loss). I always leave some dry food on Hima's plate. It's only when she gains more than it should I restrict the amount the next 2-3 days depending on her activity level.