what kinds of cat food that make the cat gain weight?

Question

My cat is very skinny and I give her can food and the same time dry food like 9 lives and she is still the same not gain weight, i do need help to find the best foods that help her gain weight?

Answer 1

9Lives is a very low quality cat food. The first two ingredients are corn products (2/3 of the formulation) and the third is chicken by-product meat which you should never feed your cat as that meat is treated with chemicals and designated by law as "unfit for human consumption".

All that corn should actually be making your cat fat in a very unhealthy way. I think you should have your vet evaluate her health to determine is their is a reason for her being underweight.
Cats of ten years and more can develop health problems that cause them to lose weight such as hyperthyroidism and diabetes and you should rule out any medical condition before looking into a more "fattening" food.

Answer 2

First feel for your cat's ribs. You should be able to feel the ribs quite easily. There should be a slight amount of fat over them, but each rib should be distinct. If you can see the ribs, your cat is too thin. If you cannot feel them at all, your cat is very overweight.

The label recommendations provide guidelines based on caloric needs of what the manufacturer considers to be an "average" cat with "average" activity. Often, many cats will gain excess weight if fed what cat food manufacturers suggest. It is a good idea to start at the low end of the suggested amount, monitor your cat's weight for several weeks, then adjust the amount fed accordingly.

Answer 3

Wet food can help, but high quality wet food only, please! Many wet foods aren't worth purchasing because they're so high in water.

Besides wet stuff, try mixing an egg into her dry food every day or every other day. Eggs are very high in proteins. If she doesn't like egg, or maybe on days you don't feed them to her, mix in a little olive oil or other vegetable based oil. Fish can help out too. My cat (decent weight to start with) gets chubby on just the water squeezed out of a can of tuna. Many cats like the canned mackerel that's available, or you can always use canned sardines. If you decide to include mackerel, don't feed it more than once a week as mackerel is relatively high in contaminents.

The good news is that per serving, all of these foods are cheap for a cat. Most cats don't need more than half to three-quarters of a cup of food a day. So, for example, if you decide to feed her tuna one day, a six ounce can costs between 50 and 60 some cents. That's about a serving and a half for kitty. Supplament half a can with an egg or a quarter cup of high quality kibble and you've got a day's meal for around 25-35 cents. VERY cheap and she'll put on weight quickly.

Answer 4

This is rather difficult to answer since you did not state whether she is a kitten, adult or a senior. However, if this is a sudden on-set of weight loss, you'd better take her to the vet. If this is an adult, you might try feeding her KITTEN CHOW/KITTEN food--it is much higher in calories, vitamins, protein, minerals, etc. If you don't notice any weight gain within 6-8 weeks, you need to see the vet because she may have worms, and these parasites suck all the nutrition out of the food. Hope this can help you. Good luck

Answer 5

9 Lives (and all grocery store food and all Wal Mart food ) is crap - too much filler not enough nutrition

if she is under 2 years you can give her some kitten food.. but she should be checked by a vet for worms or teeth problem or other reason she is thin - some cats are naturally thin.. just like some people....

canned Chicken and Rice will help but dont over feed canned food - 1 teaspoon of canned 2 x a day is plenty

go to a pet supply store and pick a better food - they cost more but your cat will eat less and poop less too

Answer 6

Your cat's inability to put on weight could indicate an underlying condition such as worms, diabetes (some diabetics, like my cat, are skinny), hyperthyroidism, allergies, etc. Since many of these can be serious, the safest thing to do is go to your vet and ask for a complete blood count (CBC), a urinalysis, and a stool culture. Most vets will let you make payment arrangements, if necessary. In the meantime, a carbohydrate free diet may be your safest bet - In dry food you can find Natural Balance at PetCo. In canned food, Whiskas. You want to avoid anything with grains - wheat, rice, oat, corn, barley, etc. I do urge you, however, to verify all of this with your vet.

Answer 7

The first step to getting your cat to an ideal weight (not overweight), is to feed a high quality food.

AVOID foods that have things like:

by-products (beaks, feathers, ect.--nutritionally useless for your cat)
brewers' rice (byproduct of the alcohol industry...not as nutritionally beneficial as whole brown rice)
wheat (hard for carnivores like cats and dogs to digest and is an allergen for most pets)
soy (same as wheat)
corn (filler---nutritionally useless)

Foods like 9 Lives, Friskies, Whiskas, Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Purina, and generally anything you can buy in a grocery store will contain the above ingredients in large quanities. They are not, by any means, healthy for your pet.

Now that you know what to avoid, you can focus on what you want... Always look for a food that has an identified meat source, such as chicken, salmon, duck, beef, ect. as the first ingredient, and preferably the 2nd as well. Look for wholesome ingredients. For cats, look for foods with cranberries (for urinary tract health) and psyllium (soluable fiber that helps prevent the formation of hairballs). Look for a low ash content (helps prevent kidney stone formation and bladder problems) and make sure you're getting a food that has fish oil, sunflower oil, and the -right- vegetables/grains.

Some good foods: Blue Buffalo Spa Select, Wellness, Innova, and Nutro ULTRA.

A wet food is not necessary if you're feeding a high quality dry food, as most wet foods contain the same amount of protein/fat/calories despite the fact they're labeled as 'adult' or 'kitten'. They're bad for your cats' teeth if fed on a long term basis.

Answer 8

As has already been posted here, many cats are naturally slender and should stay that way.

Plumpness and obesity are unhealthy for cats for all the same reason they're unhealthy for humans.

Here's a site that will teach you everything you need to know about properly feeding your cat. (It will also show you that most of what you're probably heard and read about feeding a cat, including what many vets might tell you, is completely wrong!)

http://www.catinfo.org

Answer 9

Try giving her canned food only. I was giving my old cat dry food and she lost alot of weight. One day my mom mentioned that my 92 yr old grandmother ( who had all her teeth) had trouble chewing certain things because of bone loss. I had never thought about it, but because my cat was old it is natural for animals, ourselves included, to suffer bone loss. I realized it was her teeth even though they looked fine, it hurt for her to chew. I gave her canned cat food and she ate like there was no tomorrow.
If this doesn't put weight on her have her checked by your vet...

Answer 10

Wet food seems to be high in calories, and so do treats. Also, does your cat go outside, and is it prone to having fleas? If so, they can sometimes get tapeworms, which will make them appear thin. A wormer medication, which is usually given once (but this may depend on the individual package directions), will eliminate those, if you suspect that is the case.