What diet helps a cat with fragile bones due to poor nutrition?

Hi and thanks for posting on PetCoach! The first thing I'd make sure Willow is eating is enough calcium. Be sure Willow is eating a kitten food until she is about 9 months to a year of age as kitten food has more calcium and other minerals in it that is required for healthy bone growth. A great supplement you may want to consider is DHA and EPA. Both are types of omega 3 fatty acid that are excellent for healthy development for multiple organ systems such as the heart, brain, skin, and bone/joint health. I have a product I'd recommend below: # I hope this helps!

I think perhaps you're asking about Rickets Disease. Rickets is a disease of young, growing animals that causes soft and deformed bones. It is commonly caused by insufficient phosphorus or vitamin D in the diet. More rarely, calcium deficiencies are to blame. As in most diets causing defective bone formation, the cause is typically an imbalance in the ratio of calcium to phosphorus. Animals fed all-meat diets are commonly affected. It's very important to get him on a well balanced diet - I recommend Hills, Royal Canin, or Purina (although I don't know if they are available in Turkey) - to try to correct the issue. Prognosis is generally good, after an appropriate diet is started, unless he's started to have broken bones or his growth plates are affected. I hope that helps!

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Lio. Most kittens with this condition do have trouble walking and become weak after extended play. The condition can, however, be treated in most cases that haven't experienced broken bones by switching to a healthy balanced diet and exposure to sunlight. You can read more about this condition at https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/bone,-joint,-and-muscle-disorders-of-cats/disorders-associated-with-calcium,-phosphorus,-and-vitamin-d-in-cats . It is possible this kitten was mildly affected and is improving with proper diet.

High calcium is not very commonly found in cats on well-balanced cat foods. Potential causes for hypercalcemia in cats include lab error or lipemic blood sample, cancer, kidney failure, bone disease, hyperthyroidism, toxic exposure, supplements, among a few others. I would recommend that you follow-up with your vet about these possible concerns. The vet may recommend additional testing, including an ionized Calcium level, which more accurately evaluates the calcium in the body than total calcium on most in-house blood panels.

It's hard to know what's going on with him without seeing the xrays and knowing which pain medications your cat is on. Hopefully there is an opiate on-board like a long-acting buprenorphine injection to help appropriately with the pain. Usually with adequate pain medication cats will start eating after an injury if there is no other issue like kidney disease or a ruptured bladder (like from trauma). If he has not had bloodwork and a urine test done, I recommend these tests to make sure there isn't something else going on besides the fracture. Appetite stimulants like Mirtazapine may help him to start eating on his own, or you may have to force-feed him with a syringe and canned cat food. Hope that helps!

If the food is very high in calcium it would not be ideal for any cat and there could be health complications. I always recommend feeding a food that has an AAFCO label to make sure it is complete and balanced for an adult cat - there is a maximum acceptable calcium level that is determine by AAFCO.

Properly balancing a home cooked diet for cats is extremely difficult, and is nearly impossible for growing kittens. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they require meat as the staple of their diets. They are also require a careful balance of amino acids, particularly taurine, to maintain optimal health. Nutritional deficiencies can lead to dilated cardiomyopathy, abnormal bone growth, or a host of other problems. I strongly recommend exclusively feeding Pelly a commercial kitten food to provide a proper nutritional balance for optimal growth. Royal Canin kitten food is a great option! You do not need to add additional foods or vitamins while feeding commercial diets. If you decide to feed more home cooked foods, try to wait until she is fully grown, and then only do so under the guidance of a board-certified veterinary nutritionist (including the recommendations found on www.balanceit.com). I hope this helps and that all goes well for Pelly!