My cat is skinny but eats a lot. What high-fat foods for weight gain?

I would recommend having some blood work performed on your cat. Hyperthyroidism is a common disease in middle aged to older cats that causes an increase metabolism so cats are often very hungry but unable to gain weight. I would also recommend having your vet check a fecal sample to ensure that Koda does not have any intestinal parasites as this can cause weight loss as well. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hi there and thank you for using PetCoach to address your concern. I would increase the amount of food being fed per day. Science Diet Adult maintenance would be a good choice or something high in protein and calories. If you would like to feed a homemade diet to see if he eats better with home cooked food, I would recommend visiting www. balanceit.com If he continues to lose weight or does not gain any weight with the diet switch, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would definitely consider testing his thyroid to make sure he does not have hyperthyroidism, which can lead to weight loss or difficulty gaining weight. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Cats can be thin for a variety of reasons. Make sure he has been checked for parasites or dewormed recently. Some cats will also become thin due to kidney disease or hyperthyroidism. Sometimes this can happen even before kidney disease begins. Any GI disease will also cause a thin body. Lastly, some cats have a fast metabolism. Make sure Choo Choo's bloodwork is all normal and that parasites are not a concern. Then you may try focusing on nutrition. I recommend the brand Royal Canin. It's diets are all tested and formulated to contain appropriate protein levels that are high quality and easy to digest. Feed one of the higher calorie diets available. This may help to put weight on him. You can also supplement with a high calorie canned like A/D or R/S.

He may just be one of those cats that metabolise their food very quickly and never will gain weight. He may also have tape worm. You should worm him every three months with a wormer containing praziquantel which hits tapeworm. Food: Feed him good quality canned food, pate style, 3.5 oz twice daily. This would be double the regular amount of food and if he does not gain weight with that over the next 4-6 weeks, then you should take him to the vet for some blood tests including thyroid test.

This kind of dramatic weight loss is almost always due to an underlying medical condition. Ask your vet if he has checked Frida Katio's thyroid levels to rule out hyperthyroidism and performed full body X-rays to scan for any masses. He should also perform full mouth dental X-rays to rule out any dental disease that may be preventing her from eating. If all of these diseases have been ruled out, you could consider switching Frida to a higher calorie canned food such as Hills Science Diet AD.

I suggest you take your cat to a veterinarian for a weigh-in and a wellness exam. Your vet can tell you if your cat is underweight. You can also use a body condition score chart to monitor her body condition as weight alone is not a reliable way to assess a cat's condition. If your vet says your cat is in good condition then you will not need to change food. Should you have to "fatten" her up you should use a complete cat food manufactured by a reputable company such as Iams, Hill's, Royal Canine, etc.. You can feed kitten food for a few weeks until she has the target condition specified by your vet. Here is a body condition chart: https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/default/files/images/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20cats_0.pdf

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