How can I help my cat gain healthy weight and build muscle, not fat?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. 3kg can be a normal weight for a cat, however this depends on her size. If you can feel her ribs but just barely, this is usually a good indication of a good weight. If you can feel her ribs very easily she is likely too thin, and if you can't feel her ribs she is too fat. Most cats will self-regulate amount to eat, so just leave food down for her. If she is happy, playing, energetic and having good poops, then the food is probably fine. Just make sure she is dewormed and has a product for fleas. Make sure you use a cat product, dog products can be fatal to cats. Best of luck with Noushmc.

Noushmc might just be a small cat! If she eats a correct portion of food for her weight and age and if she continues to grow, even if slowly, if her appetite is good, the urination and defecation is normal and she is happy and playful, I wouldn't be worried at the moment. I recommend to record her weight every week to monitor the increase. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.

Taking in more calories is the only way to gain weight. Knowing the number of a pet's weight doesn't really tell us if they are healthy. Instead, we use body condition score to determine if a pet is under- or overweight. Here is a multi-part video on BCS for cats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yRvL8NcfHs

I would first want to rule-out a disease, or parasite causing him to lose or not gain weight. If the vet was not concerned about a possible medical issue, then I would not be overly concerned about her being a little skinny. The truth is that a score of four is not bad and lean cats are statistically healthier and live longer than overweight cats. Some cats (much like people) are able to naturally maintain a lean body condition. I suspect Choo Choo is one of those cats, but would urge you to discuss this with your vet before making any changes to his diet. At this time, I recommend feeding him normally and would not recommend a diet change until advised by your veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Choo Choo.

Zoii is beautiful! It is hard to tell exactly in the picture since she is fluffy, but she doesn't look underweight to me. There are a couple of easy ways to make sure she is at her ideal weight. One is that you should be able to run your fingers across her ribs and feel them without pushing in at all. If you can see them, she is too thin. When you look down on her from above when she is standing, she should have a little indent at her waist. Cats will also normally have a small fat pad at the back part of their bellies (between the back legs). These are all things to watch for so you know you are keeping her at a healthy weight. I hope this helps!

You are feeding correctly, and grazing on food all day is normal and a good way to eat for a cat. I would have dry food out all of the time, and I would check the calorie content of the dry foods at the store and get Zoii the one higher in calories. You may also consider feeding some canned food daily. Some animals prefer to be on the thin side and they self regulate how much they eat so they stay thin and fit. In my experience once the cats mature and get to be adults they become less active and put on weight. Please make sure Zoii doesn't have intestinal parasites by bringing in a fecal sample to your veterinarian. If she's healthy and active with a shiny coat then I'm not concerned about her weight. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Zoii.

So sorry to hear this happened to her. Physical therapy is the best way to build muscle. You cannot feed them food to make them gain muscle weight, they will only gain fat (just like a person). You have to be careful she does not get too overweight or it will be harder on her legs. ( https://wagwalking.com/cat/treatment/passive-range-of-motion-physical-therapy ) There are also many YouTube videos you can watch that show how to do this: ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XRBJ7oPw74 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.