u/thespacebi7

I have a newish cat who needs to gain some weight. The vet says he’s otherwise healthy just needs to weigh a few more pounds. The thing is no matter the food, wet or dry, he only takes a few bites before deciding he finished and moving on to do something else. I cannot free feed as I have other animals in the house and he’s scared of the microchip feeder. I’m looking for a super calorie dense food non-prescription that can get him to 300ish calories in less than 1/2 a cup total a day. Does this exist? He eats the same amount l wet (any texture) or dry and any flavor so I don’t think he’s picky maybe he just has a small stomach. The only thing he won’t eat ironically is high calorie gel and the tiki cat kitten thrive packets give him awful diarrhea.

I had a friendly mom cat and 4 babies dumped on my property about a month ago. I’m trying to find everyone a home on my own because all the shelters and rescues around me are completely full. Mom cat is probably about a year old and the kittens are probably nearly 6 months. I found great multi cat homes for two of the kittens and receive regular updates from them. Mom cat is very afraid of dogs so I’m struggling to find a home for her. She can not stay here as I have two indoor dogs.

I’ve sent an email out at my job and just recently had a couple of friends and my parents do the same. No one has been interested in her, it doesn’t help that she and one of the remaining kittens are plain brown tabbies. I’ve taken some really good photos but it seems hard to get the plain ones homes when cats and kittens are being given away at every shelter.

Yesterday I had someone reach out from an email my mom sent who wants the orange kitten and only the orange one and wants to meet him immediately. This didn’t feel right in my gut but maybe I’m overthinking it… I would prefer it if the kitten go together if there’s not another cat in the house but she wants just the orange one. His neuter appointment and final vaccine are this week so I could let him go after that. I don’t want to turn down what could be a good home but also the kittens are perfectly fine with dogs so I don’t mind if they need to stay here forever. Am I letting perfect be the enemy of good? Should I let him go to this lady?

My calico kitty has been on a diet for the past year and her weight loss has stalled out. She’s 1/2 a pound from her goal weight according to her vet and currently eating about 115 calories a day. This already seems super low to me and I’m scared to decrease it further. My vet is a bit old school and just keeps saying feed her less. I’m in a very rural area so swapping vets isn’t an option. She’s getting 1/4c of Hill’s Light 1-6 and 1/4 of a 5.5oz can of Tiny Tiger a day. Can I safely feed her less?

I had a mom and 4 babies dumped at my place on the 3rd. I found homes for two but it seems like the other three are staying. There’s just too many cats not enough homes apparently. Anyway, I need to simplify the amount that I’m opening, storing, and saving various cans and bags of dry food. Im more than happy to swap what I’m feeding if everyone could be on the same things, that would probably make my life easier. On a budget here too- shopping sales and clearance whenever possible. I have access to Walmart, Petsmart, Tractor Supply, and Bomgaars in person. Chewy, Petco, Petsmart online. I want what’s best for them but I’m trying to keep myself from getting burnt out as I am sure there will be more that show up at some point. Ideas from the hive mind are greatly appreciated!

Amounts are per day.

New kids:
Mama cat- Free fed Chewy kitten dry(Got this for free, will be swapping off of it when it runs out. I don’t like feeding grain free dry). She consumes approximately 1/3c in a 24hr period. 2/3 of a 5.5 oz can of Tiny Tiger turkey with 2 tsp of high calorie gel. She was still nursing the boys when she showed up, she’s currently in a surgery suit to keep that from continuing. Approximately almost a year old, 6lbs but should be 9ish, domestic shorthair, not yet spayed.

Hobbes- Free fed Chewy kitten dry, consumes approximately 1/3c in a 24hr period. 2/3 of a 5.5 oz can of Tiny Tiger turkey with 2 tsp of high calorie gel. 5-6mo, 4lbs, domestic shorthair, not yet neutered.

PM- Free fed Chewy kitten dry, consumes approximately 1/3c in a 24hr period. 2/3 of a 5.5 oz can of Tiny Tiger turkey with 2 tsp of high calorie gel. 5-6mo, 3.5lbs, domestic shorthair, not yet neutered. Super skinny, may have been surviving purely off of mom’s milk until he got here. Will definitely still nurse if given the opportunity.

Preexisting crew:

Dizzy- 1/4c Hill’s light 1-6 dry, 1/4 5.5oz can Tiny Tiger pate. Tends to be on the larger side, not too picky, currently 10.4lbs. 6yr old spayed female domestic shorthair. Hasn’t lost any more weight in several months- the vet would like her to be at 10lbs

Stevie- exclusively fed wet food, approximately 180 calories. Nulo pate, Fancy Feast pate, and Tiki Cat of various flavors or whatever else is on sale. Has had on and off very soft stool since I got her at 1lb 3oz at 8 weeks and it only resolves with Forti Flora. Tiny creature is maybe 8lbs soaking wet, will eat anything in sight. 2yr old spayed female domestic medium hair

Barn cats (have access to a heated tack room) various levels of tame:

Bug- 1/4 can Friskies pate, 3/8c Cat Chow Natural Indoor. Not picky about dry but prefers pate wet. Tends to be on the heavier side. 11lbs, 2yr old spayed female domestic shorthair

Jim-1/3c Hill’s Light Hairball dry, 6oz of Friskies or Fancy Feast Pate. Also gets 1/8 tsp Miralax am and pm. His vet recommended he be on some sort of hairball food because he has a tendency to become constipated. Not picky about food. Currently 12.5lbs, 8yr old castrated male domestic shorthair

Haystack- 1/3c Diamond Naturals kitten dry, 1/8 12.5oz can Nulo Chicken and Turkey Pate. Currently 8.5lbs, tends to be a bit round. Will eat anything. Swapping to an adult food when this bag is finished. 10mo spayed female domestic medium hair

Eyeballs-1/3c Diamond Naturals kitten dry, 1/8 12.5oz can Nulo Chicken and Turkey Pate. Not always the best at showing up for mealtimes but if you can corral her with food in front of her she’ll eat what’s on the plate. Currently 8lbs. Swapping to an adult food when this bag is finished. 10mo spayed female domestic medium hair

Number Three- 1/3c Diamond Naturals kitten dry, 1/8 12.5oz can Nulo Chicken and Turkey Pate. Not picky. Currently 7.5lbs, 10mo spayed female domestic shorthair

Thanks!

I had a mom and four 4ish month old kittens dumped on my property about a week ago. I’ve found homes for the two kittens that were at a decent weight but I still have mom and two boys. They are all super skinny. The kittens were still nursing when they showed up, I have since put a surgery suit on mom to stop them. They got the all clear at the vet other than their weight and have been dewormed. The vet wants them to gain a some more weight before they get spayed and neutered but didn’t have any suggestions on the best way to do that. For as skinny as they are, they are not super good eaters. I have kitten dry food available at all times and offer half of a 5.5oz can of friskies pate twice a day. Amongst the three of them in a day, they are consuming about 3/4c of Iams kitten dry and 2/3 can of Friskies. Mom is about 6lbs and should be 9 according to the vet. She is currently in heat so I would like to get some weight on her as quickly as safely possible so that she can be spayed and go to her new home. Any suggestions on how to efficiently and safely get this little family to gain weight would be greatly appreciated!

I’m debating on switching from Iams Hairball to Purina Cat Chow Indoor to save a bit while feeding 5 cats. Is this a significant drop in quality? Is there anything else of decent quality that’s less than $2 a pound? I think I’ve used up most of the online retailers’ 50% off first autoship deals so that’s not super helpful now. They also get wet food once a day. That ends up being what I can find on clearance, right now that’s- Friskies, Nulo, Tiki Cat, Chewy, and Merrick. Thanks!

Those of you with multiple animals, do you have a plan in case of an emergency that requires evacuation? I’m thinking you have 10-30min to get everyone loaded and in the car/mode of transport. What is your plan for securing your animals(carrier, leash, etc.?)? How many/what types of animals do you have? How big of a vehicle are you using? Do you have go bags for your animals?

I just had a scare that I thought we were going to need to evacuate for and realized I really need to do a bit more prep. I have a F150 and a 2 horse bumper pull trailer. I would need to take 2 full size horses, 1 mini donkey, 2 dogs, and 7 cats (2 indoor and 5 barn cats). Obviously the horses go in the trailer. The mini donkey fits in the front tack room. I have crates in the house for the dogs but I’m not able to get them in the truck quickly so right now they are riding loose. I have 3 carriers for the cats right now so that needs to change, although one is big enough to squish in the three barn cats that get along really well. I definitely need to pack some easily accessible supplies so that if we needed to be somewhere else for a few days everyone would be able to be fed.