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Post by ladyarya on Sept 8, 2005 21:28:24 GMT -5
I know this is a dog board, but I'm still waiting to be approved on the cat forum and I really need an answer soon I found a cat... absolutely starving... youngish but definately an adult... weighing in at 3.5lbs. I took her in and I'm trying to help her out, but all the cats I ever had needed to lose weight, not gain it She needs to get weight on her something fierce. What more can I do than give her food? Someone also suggested Nutri-cal to me, and I bought some, but most of the ingredients in it is some form of sugar... is that good for her? She's eating fine... kitten food because it has more fat/protein in it... but even then when you look at the amount of fat/protein/etc in kitten food, the numbers are still so low I'm worried that it might not put weight on her. She's going to the vet soon. I got the first appointment I could, but there's still some time between now and then so I'm trying to find anything I can to help her out in the meantime.
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Post by willow on Sept 9, 2005 8:23:36 GMT -5
If it was me, I would ditch the cat food and feed her raw. Cats especially crave raw food! Try some raw hamburger, and/or ground turkey, and raw chicken. You can give her a wing, but a drumstick or any other part of the chicken, with the bone, would be fine too, and let her eat all she wants.
I would also give her organ meat, like chicken liver, heart and gizzards, but start out slow with those as they are rich and may cause stomach upset if given too much, too soon.
She may also have intestinal parasites which is preventing her from gaining weight, so be sure to have that checked and get the necessary wormer for her.
Let us know how she is doing. ;D
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Post by ladyarya on Sept 9, 2005 12:15:57 GMT -5
I hadn't thought of raw feeding a cat until someone else mentioned it to me. I love the idea of raw feeding, but I really think it may start WWIII in my house. I can't feed the dogs raw because of Karma's stomach problems, and if I try to feed Boo raw and not Karma theres an all out war. So until I can figure out a place to put the cat where she can eat raw and the dogs can't get to it, I think I'm stuck with cat food. (Working on it... I'm thinking about cleaning out the laundry room and putting her in there to eat... but I'm worried she might get hurt because the a/c unit and the water heater are in there...)
Someone else mentioned baby food to me. Do you think that's better at all?
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Post by Nicole on Sept 9, 2005 16:00:59 GMT -5
She may also have intestinal parasites which is preventing her from gaining weight, so be sure to have that checked and get the necessary wormer for her. That was the first thing that came to my mind. An animal that has been starved will gain weight very rapidly when given adequate amounts of food. If you can't do raw, I would stick to cat food though. Cats need taurine and other nutrients that you will not find in baby food etc. You should look for a calorie dense food. I know that Innova dog is extremely dense calorically. Maybe the cat food is too. Give a mixture of the canned and kibble if you can. The canned has moisture in case the cat is dehydrated and plus they usually will gobble that up. If the cat is healthy, it should start to gain weight fast. If it doesn't, there is probably a medical problem. Likely some type of parasite as Loey stated. Good luck and keep us posted.
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Post by ladyarya on Sept 9, 2005 16:19:24 GMT -5
Ok well an update. The vet had a cancellation today and managed to squeeze me in. She's healthy. No parasites. FIV negative... all her tests came back clean. She looks like she has put on maybe a pound in the last few days... I'm guessing. She's still uber skinny, but she's starting to put on a little fat padding around the ribs. But here's the kicker.... she's pregnant Since she's shown signs of putting on weight, the vet thinks she'll be able to handle the pregnancy. I didn't get her vaccinated because of the pregnancy, but since she shows no health problems that shouldn't be a big deal. I don't have any other cats in the house and she'll be an indoor cat. I know she's early in the pregnancy, but I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row. Does anyone here know anyone with a petfinder account that might be able to help me post the kittens for adoption when theyre born? I'm not a rescue organization so I don't think I can do postings. I'll run over to the pet store in the mall today and see if I can find innova for cats (ironically, the only pet store in the area that carries innova... go figure). The vet said it would be a good idea to stick to kitten food (as opposed to cat food) because she was going to be a nursing mom. Ok, so this is my first time with any animal having babies at my house. Any advice?
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Post by Nicole on Sept 9, 2005 16:23:05 GMT -5
Well I didn't think of that. ;D Wow. Okay, well that is great that she is healthy. Sorry, I don't know anything about petfinder account but I think others do so help should be along. That is so great that you are helping this cat and that she will have a great home now.
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Post by ladyarya on Sept 14, 2005 15:28:50 GMT -5
Update: As of this morning, my furry little feline friend weighs in at a whopping 8lbs. She looks great. Not fat, not skinny... juuust right
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Post by Nicole on Sept 14, 2005 17:15:31 GMT -5
That's great.
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