How to properly fatten a cat without harming your pet's health. We fatten the cat so that he is fat: large sizes

Every cat owner wants his pet to be well-fed, but not fat. Today we will talk about how to fatten a cat so that he is moderately well-fed and has excellent health.

If the owner decides to fatten a cat, then it should be remembered that each breed, depending on age and size, must have a certain weight. For example, the British should weigh on average 5-6 kg. The structure of the skeleton also affects the complexion. With the same weight, one cat may appear fat, while another may appear thin. It's all about bone structure and constitution. If the cat's ribs and spine cannot be felt, then he has clearly recovered. If they are too noticeable, then the pet is thin.

Normal weight is, first of all, good health and excellent health. Owners are often concerned about why their pet is not gaining weight. The reasons can be different: from a banal rejection of the taste of food to serious diseases. This may also be due to the characteristics of the breed and heavy physical activity.

Cats that hunt are almost never fat, since fats and carbohydrates are quickly burned and do not accumulate in the body. And there are pets with individual characteristics that have good metabolism.

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Reasons for gaining weight

Recovery after illness

Various bacterial and viral infections, accompanied by disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, lead to a sharp weight loss in the pet. The postoperative period, injuries, and the presence of worms can lead to the cat quickly losing weight. After the pet’s recovery, its owner tries to return his pet to its previous weight and may overdo it.

After unfavorable living conditions

Today, more and more people are picking up stray kittens. Sometimes they look unsightly. When a kitten is exposed to normal conditions, it begins to gain weight because it has constant access to food. The owner in this case does not make much effort. It is enough to provide a bowl of food on time.

Preparation for the exhibition

During preparatory activities for participation in various exhibitions, owners begin to correct the pet’s dimensions, since the conditions stipulate certain standards that must be met. That's why owners of fat cats put them on a diet. Those that do not reach the weight standard need to be fattened.

Of course, the correct weight of the pet is not a guarantee of victory, since the general health, appearance of the pet and the condition of the coat are taken into account. But normal weight and excellent health also guarantee good appearance.

You can find out whether a cat is fattened or not even by visual inspection. If your pet has a sunken belly, flabby sagging muscles, prominent hip joints, and a visible spine, then he needs to be fattened urgently.

How to organize meals

If the cat has a good appetite, then the task of feeding it will be easier to complete. You just need to provide the products in the right quantities. First of all, you should make a choice of feeding method: natural or dry food. It is important to remember that these two types of nutrition cannot be mixed. If the owner has settled on dry food, then he should understand that it is not cheap.

Now let's talk about what to feed your domestic cat to make him fat.

Cheap food most often results in health problems for cats. These could be kidney stones or, worse, cancer. Therefore, it is best to feed with premium diets (“Hills”, “Brit”).

If you decide to feed natural food, then the basis of the diet should be meat, poultry and fish. Don't get carried away with fatty varieties. Add cereals to your diet, excluding rice and pearl barley. Also don't forget about fermented milk products and vegetables. To prevent your pets from refusing them, mix in the minced meat. Observe what kind of treat they like and satisfy their taste preferences. This is the most effective way. The only thing you should not do is overfeed and give something that will harm your health.

Further, the cat should not be given large portions at once. Appetite is increased by gradually stretching the stomach. To do this, buy vitamin complexes at the pharmacy. After the stomach stretches, the animal will eat more.

In addition to the vitamin complex, vitamin C should be given twice a day for 7 days. In order for your pet to eat the dragee without problems, you need to crush it and mix it with water or a piece of minced meat. Water is drawn into a syringe without a needle and injected into the mouth.

Taking lactobacilli also helps you gain weight. They are given half an hour before each feeding. Taking fish oil for one week will also speed up weight gain.

Possible risks

Improper selection of diet can lead to obesity, which will cause negative changes in the body:

disruption of the heart;
excessive distension of the stomach;
the appearance of kidney stones;
dysfunction of other organs due to excessive load.

Immediately after sterilization, the cat may become exhausted. To correct the situation, owners try to feed their pet more nutritiously, rather than making a mistake. Sterilization causes hormonal stress, and over time this can lead to excess weight gain. Therefore, familiarize yourself with the rules of feeding your cat after surgery in advance.

It doesn’t matter how many times a day you feed, the main thing is that the cat eats less food per day than before. Eliminate fish from your diet or feed it in minimal quantities to avoid urolithiasis. Be sure to give vitamins and minerals. If you feed dry food, then choose a specialized series for sterilized cats and neutered cats.

There can be many reasons for exhaustion; they can be divided into two groups: natural and pathological.

A healthy animal can lose a lot of weight during the heat period. Hormonal stress reduces appetite - and this is normal. If the cats have no health problems, then after mating their hormonal levels and weight will return to normal.

Cats often lose weight during breastfeeding - this is also natural, the same hormonal stress. Only, unlike sexual hunting, before the birth of offspring, females eat enough for future use. If there are no physical pathologies, the cat will catch up when the kittens grow up.

It is more difficult if the cause of thinness is pathology:

When the physical condition of a sick cat has stabilized, you first need to stimulate the appetite with the help of vitamin complexes, bifidum or lactobacillary preparations. After all, during a period of acute illness, the stomach is unaccustomed to taking in enough food - and immediately a full diet can lead to undesirable consequences. And only after this can you gradually increase the calorie content of food and its protein content.

Exhaustion due to helminthic infestation

Senile thinness

In older cats, among the causes of exhaustion, dental problems come first. Before adjusting the diet, dental treatment is required: without it, the animal will be able to eat only liquid and pureed food and will not be able to fully absorb nutrients.

Even after treatment, all food should not be hard.

You should also pay attention to possible internal pathologies - any disease can cause exhaustion.

Poor nutrition

Inexperienced owners often rush from one extreme to another. They are afraid of exhaustion and feed their pet until it becomes seriously ill. Or vice versa: they fear obesity and practically stop feeding the animal.

The cat's diet should be balanced and meals should be regular.

First of all, you should pay attention to the nutrition schedule: either large portions no more than twice a day, or more frequent, fractional meals in small portions.

Basic rules for feeding cats:

do not mix industrial and homemade food;
do not feed the cat human food (especially fat, sugar, salt and seasonings);
give enough water to drink.

Natural exhaustion

During periods of sexual heat and during breastfeeding, animals may refuse to eat. There is no need to worry - this is a normal condition. If the cat feels well, then it will later make up for the lost weight. However, you can’t just let everything take its course.

During natural hormonal stress, you need to be more attentive to your pet: loss of appetite during such periods is not permanent, as during illness. A cat may not eat for a couple of days while on a binge, but at some point the appetite will return and the owner should be ready to feed the hungry reveler. During such periods, food should be as nutritious as possible, since meals occur less frequently than usual.

Cats with artificially limited reproductive function require a different approach. Immediately after sterilization, malnutrition can also occur, and owners often make the mistake of trying to feed the animal better. – this is also hormonal stress, which after some time can lead to obesity. Therefore, it is worth asking in advance how and what to feed a sterilized cat at home after surgery:

the number of meals does not matter, but the daily diet should become smaller;
It is necessary to remove fish from the diet or at least reduce its quantity: phosphorus can cause it, since all sterilized cats are at risk;
Sterilized animals require vitamin and mineral supplements - their balance is calculated individually.

About products

If the cat is as thin as a reed, you can fatten it with the following products:

lean meat is the basis of the diet;
carbohydrates - cereals in the form of any cereals, except rice and pearl barley;
low-fat varieties of sea fish should make up no more than a third of the total diet;
Fermented milk products (cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream) will improve the functioning of the digestive system and, accordingly, the absorption of nutrients.

It is difficult for some owners to correctly create a diet on their own. In this case, it is better to buy ready-made food than to feed domestic cats haphazardly. However, industrial feed must be of very good quality: extra or premium. Moreover, when choosing a product, you must carefully read the instructions on the packaging. Special foods are produced for emaciated cats; mineral supplements and vitamin complexes included in such products play an important role.

Should a real cat be skinny? Any “cat person” (and not only him), when he imagines a furry representative of the feline family, sees him, if not fat, then at least moderately well-fed. There are such responsible owners who may not have enough to eat themselves, but the cat will always be fed “to its fullest.” This article discusses the reasons why an animal has low weight, as well as ways to gain body weight.

What is cat thinness and its causes?

You should never compare your pet to the pet of a neighbor, friend, etc. Cats are very individual. Even brother cats from the same litter can have different body shapes and fatness. If the cat is “elite”, you should collect detailed information about the breed: characteristics, features, possible pathologies.

All cats are very individual and have different body shapes.

When does a cat need to be fattened to a large size?

the spine and/or ribs are clearly visible;
the tuberosities of the hip joint are clearly visualized;
the stomach is sunken, sometimes pulsation of blood vessels is even visible on it;
on the front and hind legs, in the sternum area, the muscles are flabby and weak (“saggy”).

If the cat's spine begins to show, then it is necessary to fatten it.

Causes of low weight in cats

Why are some cats underweight?

Veterinarians conventionally divide thinness into physiological and pathological.

Physiological thinness may be associated

This cat needs to be well fed!

with breed characteristics (for example, Sphynx cats and American Shorthair cats always look thin);
with genetically determined metabolic characteristics (as they say, “not the horse’s food” - strong metabolism contributes to the rapid and intense “burning” of nutrients);
with the degree of hunting activity (hunting cats are never fat - physical activity does not allow fats and carbohydrates to accumulate in the body);
with feeding numerous offspring ;
Refusal to eat in case the pet doesn’t like it. or eat little while waiting for your favorite food.

Sphynx cats always look thin.

Pathological thinness is a symptom of some more serious disease. The root cause must be identified and addressed urgently.

Causes of pathological thinness

Stress and hunger are the main reasons why stray cats are thin.

All these reasons negatively affect the cat’s metabolism, causing the animal to lose weight. But with good care and a nutritious diet, the pet quickly returns to physical normality.
If there is dysbacteriosis, the cat's diet should be changed.

How to fatten a cat so that it is fat?

Even if they are very thin, cats should not be given fatty foods in large quantities - this is very bad.

Your cat should not be given fatty foods frequently.

Taking into account your pet's tastes, you should buy foods with high energy value, and most importantly, follow a feeding schedule.

You need to feed your cat often , but in small portions. This way she will become well-fed, and not an always-eating “bump” with a distended stomach.

It is important to monitor the amount of food your cat consumes, otherwise it can become very fat.

beef;

steamed or lightly boiled oatmeal or bran. If the cat does not eat them in their pure form, you can add them to a meat dish or wet food;

boiled (!) liver;

hard-boiled egg yolks (no more than 2 times a week);

boiled fish in small quantities;

jelly or cartilage brew;

cottage cheese or cream (milk with a fat content of at least 3.5%);

You can take baby food for complementary feeding - meat with vegetables. You just need to be careful that there are no legumes or seasonings in the mixture;

special food and vitamin supplements for cats - dragees, tablets, drops, powders;

To restore intestinal microflora after antibiotics or prolonged hunger, Bifidumbacterin can be used before each feeding 20–30 minutes. The course is from 7 to 14 days, depending on the severity of symptoms.

Many pet owners are sure that their pets are too thin. Therefore, they are interested in ways to fatten them. But is there really a need to feed your pets better? How can you tell if your cat needs to gain weight? What are the reasons for an animal losing weight, and how can I help it gain weight? Let's find out in detail.

Thinness or normal?

Excessive thinness in a cat can be physiological or pathological. The latter can be dealt with only after the cause of the problem is found out.

Physiological thinness is the result of stress, starvation, metabolic disorders and poor nutrition. But how can you accurately determine that a cat is too thin? After all, sometimes the reason for this opinion is a comparison of your pet and your neighbor’s. And this is absolutely wrong! Even two brothers from the same litter can have different constitutions. As for purebred animals, the owner must familiarize himself with the standards for their minimum and maximum weight.

The ribs and spine are visible to the eye, and the tubercles of the hip joint are clearly visible.
There are depressions in the peritoneal area.
On the hind legs, in the area of the forearms, and the sternum, the muscles “fall off.”

Owners should also take into account the constitution of their pet’s body and its typical muscle tone. After all, representatives of many breeds appear thin in appearance, but they have quite a solid muscle mass.

Please note that there are no average formulas for calculating weight norms for cats. For example, the standard for a British cat requires a weight of 4.2 to 6.8 kg. But at the same time, the statistical maximum recorded by the breeders was a male of this breed weighing 13.8 kg. The cat was healthy, but due to excess weight he was rejected from breeding.

Causes of cat thinness

Sometimes pets rapidly lose weight for physiological reasons. The most common among them:

Feeding a large litter.
Hunger, forcing street animals to eat anything.
Stress that negatively affects appetite and the digestive system.
Dehydration as a result of vomiting or diarrhea.
Surgical interventions and the need to follow a strict diet.
Metabolic disorder (congenital or acquired - as a result of a mixed type of diet).
Dysbacteriosis, eating unsuitable foods.
Worm infestations, which are accompanied by loss of appetite and diarrhea.

All of these reasons slow down the metabolism, and the animal slowly loses weight. With proper diet, the weight of the wards returns to normal physical shape quickly. If the reason for the animal’s weight loss is dysbacteriosis, then it will need specific care, nutritional correction, probiotics, and vitamins.

How to help your cat get better

You should not assume that fatty foods will help your animal gain weight. They will only create unnecessary stress on the liver. Such products should not be given to pets.

In order for a cat to gain weight, you need to take into account his taste preferences, choose high-energy foods, and adhere to a diet. The pet must be fed often, but the portions should be small. This will encourage weight gain without turning your cat into a hamster. The animal's stomach will not stretch.

You need to lean on proteins, which help build muscle mass. Veterinarians advise introducing the following foods into the diet of a skinny cat: beef, oatmeal and bran, beef and chicken liver, quail eggs, boiled sea fish, jellied cartilage, homemade yogurt, cottage cheese. In such situations, breeders recommend that owners feed their children with infant formula or complementary foods. You can also use special energy supplements in the form of drops and powders. They are sold in veterinary pharmacies and pet stores. If we are talking about the thinness of a nursing cat with a large litter, then she should be given special soft canned food or food for pets recovering from operations.

Regardless of how thin or obese a cat is, this will in any case negatively affect its health. Regardless of the condition, the animal develops a number of certain pathologies. If you are faced with the fact that your cat has lost a lot of weight, we will tell you what to do in this case.

Natural food for a cat must be prepared based on what it prefers. A healthy individual will consume certain portions of food with a protein content of about 90%. This applies to wild cats. It is extremely difficult to achieve such indicators at home, but it is worth striving for it.
Your pet won't gain weight if he doesn't get enough protein. Therefore, include boiled or frozen meat in your diet. To avoid disruptions in the digestive system, be sure to provide foods with coarse fiber.
Vegetables, herbs, fruits and unprocessed cereals are perfect for this role. Give special vitamin supplements regularly. A cat's diet should include meat. The best options are rabbit, lean pork, chicken, beef and quail. It is recommended to freeze or boil the meat well.
Such actions will help destroy all pathogenic organisms. Give your pet ocean fish. It should be noble-looking and boiled. It is not recommended to offer river animals to your cat. A couple of times a week, include quail and chicken eggs in your animal menu; if the product is rustic, give it raw.
Dairy products are also allowed, but they must be strictly homemade. Pamper your cat with natural yogurt, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, sour cream and kefir. Due to their high fat content, introduce such products in small portions and gradually. Do not give whole homemade milk in large quantities. It puts stress on the liver.
Make sure that the animal does not have loose stools. If this occurs, eliminate milk from your diet. Pamper your pet with hard cheese regularly. It contains beneficial bacteria. Don't forget about grains. The animal needs oatmeal, rice and buckwheat.
As for vegetables, your cat should be taught to eat raw potatoes, sweet peppers and carrots. To ensure that your animal eats such food without any problems, chop the vegetables on a grater and mix them with minced meat or cottage cheese. Try to do the same with fruits. To improve digestion, dill, parsley and special herbs for cats are recommended.
Use flax, olive and sunflower oil as an additive to products. It is also recommended to occasionally give meat and bone meal, fish oil and brewer's yeast. Keep in mind that if the animal has lost weight due to illness, the diet should be strictly prepared by a veterinarian. You shouldn’t delay this; it’s better to seek help right away.

Remember that your main task remains a properly composed diet. If you think your animal is suffering from a medical condition, seek immediate veterinary help. Do not try to cure your animal with food yourself.