It may be very common to see fat cats. You get the feeling that it is cute and cuddly. Underweight cats, on the other hand, are not as cute. In fact, cats can look rather sickly if they are underweight, which is rather true as an underweight cat is a sign of an underlying medical condition.
So how do you increase the weight of your cat? Your cat gaining weight may be just what it needs to be healthy again so be sure to follow the following steps!
Photo by Francesco Ungaro from Pexels
Bring it to the vet
First of all, you have to bring your feline friend to the vet. This is so that your vet can rule out any underlying medical conditions for cat weight loss.
If it does have a health issue, it can be solved with medication or the proper treatment and once dealt with, your cat will eventually put on weight and reach its ideal cat weight.
Once health issues have been ruled out, you can move on to the following ways to fatten up your cat
Increase meals per day
Cats actually prefer to graze and eat small meals throughout the day. Sometimes making its meals more accessible throughout the day can easily solve its underweight issues.
Having food available throughout the day instead of a few big meals could be a good option. You can leave the food bowl full so that your kitty can easily eat whenever it is hungry.
Have a safe environment
Sometimes, there is competition between cats for food. This is when you have more than one cat. One cat may be guarding the food and the other cat will be unable to eat its fill.
Providing an environment that is safe and non-threatening could allow your skinny cat to eat its food properly.
The food bowl may also be near an object that is rather scary to them such as a noisy pipe, air conditioner or barking dog. Moving the food bowl to a safe environment would be a very simple way for your cat to eat in peace.
Try different food
Some cats are just plain ol’ picky eaters. If you normally feed your cat dry kibble, you can try feeding it canned food instead. It works vice versa. You can also add some canned food to its dry kibble.
Another way is to try different flavours and consistencies of the food. There are so many varieties of food available in the market so it should not be hard. Do make sure to slowly transition their food types to avoid digestive issues.
Some cats prefer chicken, some cats prefer beef. Do not worry. Just try a few varieties of food and the best food to feed your underweight cat and eventually you will find one that your cat loves.
Enhance food aroma
The aroma of your cat’s food is very important to your cat. There are times it is just the matter of enhancing the food aroma to entice your cat to eat more.
Try heating their food in the microwave for about 10 seconds so that a nice smell will come wafting to your cat. Another way is to add the liquid from the canned food can to the food.
Although it may not smell to us humans, it will definitely smell delicious to your cat!
Feed higher calorie food
For some cats, it is just a matter of feeding a higher calorie food type to it so that it can put on weight. Better nutrition is also necessary. Some cats need additional omega-3, omega-6, fatty acids and prebiotics, especially older cats.
Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels
Observe and look at the label on the canned food you feed your cat. It is best that you find a type of food that provides the necessary nutrients and at the same time, has the appropriate amount of calories in it such as Petcubes Fresh Cat Food range.
Conclusion
You should always check with your veterinarian before changing your cat’s diet. If you think you have an underweight cat or if it is facing unexplained cat weight loss, your veterinarian should also be able to determine if there are any serious issues underlying the weight loss and come up with strategies to increase weight on your cat. With a little patience and good strategy, you will soon have your dear kitty back to a healthy weight!