What foods can i give my old cat to help gain weight?

[dion13]

I have a very old, very thin cat. He's about 14 years old, and he's been to the vet. He had a few battles with cancer, but that's been taken care of. The vet feels something in his belly, either an intestinal mass or lymphoma, both aren't really worth treating at his age because it's either (chemo) too traumatic, or (surgery) just wont buy him much more time anyway.
he's still drinking, still grooming, but weak. he doesn't have much of an appetite. i bought high fat, high calorie special food for him, but he's still not interested.
i'm going to try mixing it with ground beef (his favorite) but is there anything else i can give him? i want to keep him comfortable (and give him a LITTLE more strength and energy via calories) so other than things like ground beef, and the food from the vet.. is there anything else high calorie and high fat i can give him? is it safe to give him cream or half&half... will cats eat egg yolks? any other suggestions. sometimes when my dad cooks he'll save the grease from the meat, so maybe we can pour some of that in his food....

any suggestions? anything that an old kitty even with no appetite really can't turn down?

[hulbart]

cat nip lol

[bryne]

14 years isn't really that old :( But has the vet tested him for hypothyroidism? I know that's a minor thing given all his other health issues, but it's worth a shot and if he is hyper-T, getting him regulated will improve his quality of life. For getting weight on cats - try some of the Fancy Feast cans, especially the ones with gravy. Not exactly the 'best' choice, but when an old or sick cat won't eat, they can be very appealing. It's more important that he eat *something* than what he eats, at this point. Try a variety of the FF flavors - some fish, some chunky ones, some of the pate (they call them classic). Hopefully you will find ones that he likes.

[raynor]

Try lunch meat turkey. I made the mistake of giving my old tabby a taste of my sandwich one day and paid for it for 5 years, lol. Near the end that was all he would eat. Try scrambled eggs too.

[suthley]

All plain meat is good steak chicken ham pork ect. Try adding parmesan cheese on top of canned food heat up canned food for the smell. Try tuna and tuna juice. The whole egg is fine raw or cooked. Tryt kitten milk (kmr) Good luck

[crombwiella83]

you could try just cat treats most cats like them, or (i'm not sure if this is just my 3) cats like marmite you could try that. if he needs to put on weight try to find something he likes and give him more than you normally would of it, even fancy cat food might work. :)

[chonen6]

Don't feed him human food, it isn't nutritionally complete for a cat. When feeding him, take a cup of really good dry cat food, and mix it with 1/2 can of soft cat food, and add a crushed pet vitamin. Mix it all together. He'll be getting all the nutrition he needs, and should put some weight on, and most importantly, be healthy.

[manolo]

Chemo actually is not hard on a cat like it is on humans. They are a little tired that day but seem to not be so affected by it. But that and surgery are expensive and it is only you who can tell if it would be possible. We are on a very reduced pension and couldn't do that for my cat.
My cat is almost 19 now. She is a diabetic who is diet controlled with canned only and has renal disease that we are treating with what we can afford to do for her.
Both diseases caused by dry food. The renal disease was helped along by dry by injuring her kidneys enough that when the probable virus that has been found came along she got hit harder.
Ok that was so you know I do know some about food for cats.
By feeding only wet good high protein cat food you will find your cat will have far less problems if any at all, with crystals, blockages or urinary tract infections. There is also a much better chance of avoiding diabetes and many other illnesses. Also he/she will have a better coat of fur and it will not have dandruff and it will be glossy. Your cat will reach a good weight - whether she/he needs to gain or lose weight - and she/he will eat less than a cheap can of food filled with bad protein and carbohydrates. Not saying all cheap cans are no good. There are some very good ones available. If you can not afford canned food from the list check out http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html
Choose a food that is high in protein and is under 10% carbohydrates and stay away from fish. You will even find a few Walmart brands there on the list that are pretty decent in numbers.
You can leave canned food out all the time to feed your cat 24 hours a day. Cats are grazers. Even in the summer it is ok to leave out wet food for 12 hours. Add a tablespoon or 2 of water to it so they get more fluids and so it stays more moist.
The other place to read is what Dr Lisa Pierson DVM has written. She has devoted her life to proper diets for cats and tells how to get a cat to change over from a dry to wet diet etc.
http://catinfo.org/
Some really good brands are :
Wellness
Innova/EVO
Taste of the Wild
Blue Buffalo/Wilderness
Natural Balance
California Natural
Felidae
Orijen
Acana
Before Grain
Nature’s Variety Instinct



Dry food is bad and does nothing to clean a cats teeth. I have seen cats that are a year old with rotten teeth and all they ever ate was dry.
Buying food from the vet is not the best quality food you can find. In most vet schools the nutrition classes are given by a pet food company without charge to the University, they of course promote their products and the cheapest products for them to make and earn the biggest profit is the dry ingredients as it is mostly carbs and cheap protein like from corn or rice not meat.

I don't know if Wellness was the high calorie and high fat diet you talk about but of all the food on the list that is the highest in calories.
Cats like food with a stronger smell at times like sprinkling it with parmasean cheese, drizzling tuna water or topping with a bit of tuna. When all is said and done you do whatever you can to get your baby to eat. If it is cat food with gravy well do it. When a kitty is sick with a disease they need all the good food and strength they can get. If kity doesn't get sick with the grease left from frying meat give it to her. She shouldn't have spices. Frankly food from the vet will not be the best high calorie food and if you can afford that then get one of the foods off the list. The only thing magic with prescription foods from the vet is the pet food company gets rich and the vet gets lots of money too 20% or more of the sale of the special foods goes into the earnings of his clinic.
Have your dad read the cat info link.
I wish you and your cat time together and do take lots of pictures and give lots of love. You will want that when the end comes.

[berkeley]

At this point in his life, the important thing is just to get him to eat. You're not incredibly worried about nutritional content, because if a cat doesn't eat, it gets fatty liver disease and it dies.

Meat is ok to feed him.
I'm guessing the vet gave you a/d.
Cream or Half and Half may give him gas/diarrhea.
You can try feeding kitten food.
We did microwave some turkey deli meat to get a parvo pup to eat once, so that might help.

He's probably going to be more interested in eating things that have a stronger odor.

[niccolo]

Just fatty foods. Like cats aren't suppose to eat table scraps because they gain a lot of weight off of it so you could try turkey with a little gravy on it. Or if you want to stick to cat food then I recommend buying some cat foods that has a lot of calories.