Super Skinny Cat

Okay, so a few of you might have seen my post about my fat cat who needs to lose weight. Well, now my new baby (who is around 1 year old) needs help putting on the pounds! He is a very skittish feral cat who spends most of his day hiding under my bed. When he does eat, he hides if people come to close. He is so skinny and I want to get him to gain some weight. Any ideas?

 

Perhaps leave several bowls of food about so he can eat when and where he feels safe. If he likes it under your bed put food under there. Kitty treats and supplements including cat milk might also help.

 

Your cat probably had a lot of bad experiences with people while it was living on its own. Give it lots of hugs and cuddles. Hopefully, over time, your love would overcome its fear of people.

 

Have you had any success as yet? Keep us updated

 

Nutri cal nutritional supplement paste or L-lystine ( kinda expensive though) both work to help underweight kittys gain, and the nutri cal also stimulates appetite, I have used both with sick extremely underweight kittys along with AD canned cat food that you can buy from a vet and has more nutritional value than other canned foods. The AD of course cost more than most canned food but even one week of it makes an improvement in weight gain, combined with the nutri cal or L-lystine.
If the kitty is not sick, go with the nutri cal, its cheaper and can be bought at pet co or pet supply stores. The L-lystine is good to use if the kitty has a cold or URI but can only, to my knowledge, be bought from a vet, and cost 60, that's from my low cost vet clinic, don't know if that is standard price or if a private vet would charge more.
I found the best was to get a kitty who wants to reside under. The bed is to lay on the floor with food close by you and just stay still and talk softly to the kitty. Keep one hand on floor close by the food palm up, relaxed and still. My under bed resident foster, soulful, kitty would at first cautiously gobble up the food while keeping an eye on me, she eventually started to relax but still. Was cautious, it took about two weeks for her to start vebalizing and rubbing her head in my hand. She still runs under bed when other people are around but I knew she needed socializing when I took her as a foster (another acc kill listed kitty) and slowly and steadily we are making progress.

 

Aw, offer food frequently with a variety in choices. You may find that he prefers one type or flavor over another.

 

Where do you keep the food bowl? If he's that skittish, you probably want to keep one closer to his "safe places" like near the bed. Once he gets comfier, it might be better, but if it's more important for him to bulk up some for his health, then don't push the socializing/scared stuff and let him eat where ever he needs to.

 

I would recommend finding out as much information as possible on the Bufffalo types of cat food. My one cat has diabetes, and using this type of cat food has helped him eat less, but get great nutrition. This brand of cat food, has many varieties of cat food. One may help a cat with eating issues, or other health concerns. Try researching the Buffalo type of cat foods. I'm sure you'll find one that will make for a happier healthier cat, and cat owner.