How can I get my cat to gain weight?

Question

I have a male kitten that's probably a little over 7 months and neutered. It'll normally take him an entire day to eat 1 can of cat food. I leave a bowl of hard food out that he can nibble on through the day, and I also give him another can of cat food at night if he's finished the first one, but he normally nibbles on that a little bit.
My aunt has a cat that's pretty big....She'll feed him his can of soft food in the kitchen (he eats about 2 a day), but puts his hard food and water in the laundry room. Does someone have a reason as to why she may do this?

Answer 1

i bet your little kittie has a high metabolism. He's still young, too. Wait till about the second birthday and give em kitten food to help gain weight. We had a cat who was nothing but skin and bones until she was 8 years old and lost her playmate of her whole life. Now she't the fattest cat we have. I'm wishing she was her perky skinny self again. You could (if not already) give em some kitten food, that's made to help weight gain. Until then, wait for the metabilosm to slow down a little. I'm dealing with that now, my irish setter (who was severly underfed when I got him from the pound) is so skinny that it really bothers me! She just won't eat anything and all she wants to do is chase the cats and play! Good luck, I feel your frustration, man!

Answer 2

At seven months, most kittens appear skinny. That is because so much is going into getting taller and building the insides, muscles, etc.

As long as you are feeding a high quality food, and your cat is eating as much as he wants, things should be fine. Your aunt may just have the dry food in the laundry room, so it won't get knocked out of the bowl. A laundry room has a lot less traffic than a kitchen. It makes it easier to leave it out all the time that way.

Answer 3

I don't know why your aunt does that. My guess is that because hard food is more solid, your cat will need to drink water after eating it. Can food has enough moisturizer and nutrition in it so the cat doesnt need as much water after eating it.

About the skinny cat. My cat was almost 1 yr old when I got her. She had fleas in her ears that made her not eating well. While waiting for the vet appointment, I actually fed her the canned food from my hand. One day she refused to eat and looked weak, so my husband actually held her and I just forced her to eat the canned food. Forcing her to eat grain food will harm her, so we forced her to eat canned food this every day until the vet checked her out and injected her with necessary medication.
She gained weight for the first time, 5 months after vet visit. But she already ate well by then. One can a day is normal for a kitten I think.

Answer 4

It sounds like you're doing everything right. Maybe make the wet food a treat, this might entice him to eat it more quickly. Give it to him at night, but make a really big deal about it. I micowave mine on half power for 15 secs, my kitten Lucky loves the warm food, he just chows it down! Perhaps you should try a different type of wet food. Find the one that has your cat climbing up the counter to get to it.
Also, if you're not doing it already, feed your cat kitten food. For the first year they need the kitten food to put on weight and grow healthy and strong. Yes, it is more expensive, but it is well worth it. I recommend Pro-plan kitten formula, you can get it at PetSmart.
Maybe you should also give your kitten treats through the day, between 6-8 treats per day. If nothing else is working, take your kitten to the vet to find out his opinion on what you can do.
Good luck, snuggle your kitten!

Answer 5

Your kitty is very active at this age, mine eats like a beast and is still a slender kitty. Some cats are just meant to be slim, just like human genes but as long as your cat is healthy I dont think you need to worry - the important thing is that the cat is eating and cats will not woof down a whole meal, they tend to eat a little at a time but often, trying changing the flavor of the food. It's trial and error, sometimes I come home and give my cat food and she wont even touch it, yet if I try a different flavor she will eat it all up. I don't think you have anything to worry about as long as he is eating but try different food - my kitty loves sardine flavored cat food yet will only nibble at chicken flavor. I think he's fine but if you're really concerned ask your vet. Good luck

Answer 6

I'd say that's just her personal preference. Can't imagine why she would want to separate the food that way for any other reason. Maybe the canned stuff's closer to where she keeps it? Cabinets, etc.?

As for your cat gaining weight, if he's uber-skinny, you might want to consider taking him to the vet, or at the very least giving him some liquid wormer. Intestinal parasites will keep him from gaining weight.

If you're just wanting a pudgy cat, give him about a year, he'll fill out and probably get pudgy if you keep feeding him like that! It's not exactly good for him, though.

Answer 7

kittens eat a lot less than older cats do. the amount he is eating actually sounds about right for being a kitten. you don't want your cat to over eat because that is unhealthy. as long as you make sure he has enough food to satisfy his needs, then i would not worry about it. if he stops eating or starts eating significantly less, then i would suggest there may be a problem.

you don't want an over weight cat... trust me. i have had cats for years. now that they are getting older, i am discovering that i should have looked into what i was feeding them more attentively. i fed them cheap dry food & now i have learned that they NEED quality canned food & then dry food as a suppliment.

cats eat until they feel nourished, so they don't need to eat as much quantity when they have quality.

Answer 8

try looking in a pet store, supermarket or vet for kitten milk.
give this to your kitten instead of water, but make sure if you refrigerate the milk, you warm it up a little to take the chill off of it.
kitten milk contains colosterum (not sure if thats the right spelling) but its contained in natural mothers milk and will provide alot of nutrients for your kitten.

Answer 9

Try this - canned Mackerel mashed (bones removed), rich in protein especially for cats.

Answer 10

maybe your cat is just picky .. have you tried changing up the food to keep the cat interested?