Have you recently found a stray cat wandering in the backyard of your house? To your surprise, the cat is unpleasantly in an awful condition. You could see the fur is truly filthy and she barely possesses any weight. You might perceive that the cat is severely malnourished and might possess some illnesses.
Knowing the burden the cat had, you may want to take her in and give her an appropriate shelter. Moreover, you may have the urge to treat the cat and turn her into a lusty cat with her weight gained. Unless you have had experience of petting cats and can manage the poor cat, it is necessary for you to follow some guidelines. Since cats are very different from human, you need to recognize several matters after deciding to take care of the cat. They have some sensitive issue that often left unnoticed.
There are things you have to do when fostering the malnourished cat for the first time. After making the cat acknowledge you, you might need to brush the cat’s fur and take her to the bath. By doing so, you could get rid of fleas, mats and other issues that can worsen your new pet’s health. Other than that, you would face another issue—how to gain the cat’s weight. It sounds simple, you only have to give the cat a meal. Yet not all foods are safe for cats. You could also mistakenly overfeed your cat. Learn these tips to help the cat gain its weight.
1. Know the nourishment cats need
You may find the malnourished cat is extremely thin from the first sight; you can view the lack of the body fat, even the bones can almost be seen through that skin. The lack of food source in the cat’s environment is likely to be the main cause. To deal with this problem, you should begin to provide her meals routinely.
Take a note that you cannot randomly serve anything that stored in your kitchen cabinet or fridge. Cats have a sensitive stomach. What you think safe like milk or raw meat may become poisonous for your cat. Veterinarians would recommend using the cat food that is rich in protein and fat. These two properties are mainly necessary for the development of your cat’s health.
Protein is certainly essential for cats than any domestic animal since they are a natural carnivore. Protein turns into amino acid once it enters cat’s body. It then produces energy to support bodily processes, which cats highly depend on. In other words, this acid maintains cats’ metabolism; that without this property, the cats’ body would not be able to function normally. Choose cat food that contains the animal-based protein—it is easy to digest and consists of taurine that good for cats’ heart and vision.
Fat is also important to help the malnourished cat gaining its weight. Known for its capability to make food tasty and easily saturate bowel, it has many substantial functions that can support the growth of cats’ health. Same as protein, fat supplies energy that cats need, but twice in amount. Moreover, it takes a part in the distribution of nutrients through the cell. Added to that, fat can prevent bacterial and viral development. It also helps the absorption of vitamin A, D, E and K. Furthermore, fat produces metabolites that can regulate inflammation and is the source of omega-6 and omega-3 that can speed the healing process.
You should be careful when deciding a cat food though. Most inexpensive cat food may contain a lot of carbohydrates instead of protein or fat, which could cause diabetes to your cat. Some high-quality cat food has already consisted high amount of fat and protein with other balanced nutrients needed by cats’ body. For choosing a cat food with sufficient composition, PetCarerx recommends a dry food that stores 30% protein and 20% fat; and a wet food that holds 7% protein and 5% fat.
2. Learn how to supply food properly
Before getting your pet some food, you may wonder if the cat has suffered dehydration. Cats that lose massive fluid in their body may become reluctant to eat. You could pinch the cat’s skin to check if she dehydrates. Skin that slowly springs back is likely to be a sign of lacking water. If this occurs, immediately provide your cat enough water. Add water with the juice from fish, which has the inviting smell for cats. You can also give electrolyte as another alternative. If the cat still not want to drink, you may need to use turkey buster and put an ounce or two water into her mouth within 30 minutes interval.
When giving the food for the first time, take the similar treatment as supplying drink to your cat. Make sure you provide it progressively and start from a small portion. Otherwise, you might surprise and upset the cat’s belly, which sometimes leads to vomiting or sickness. Put the cat food less a quarter amount of its bowl and repeat within every one hour. The weak body will slowly digest the food and gradually regain more energy until the cat receives all the nourishment she needs. Hence, you can progressively increase the amount of food once there is the slightest sign that the cat begins delighted.
If you have a hard time when feeding your cat, you could mix the food with some supplement that can increase appetite. Simply warming the food may solve the problem as it imparts the same sensation as a fresh meat of newly caught prey. You may resort to the forceful attempt if the cat still persists in denying the food.
3. Give variation in the diet
While a dry food is chosen as the main meal, you can change it to wet food sometime between her routine. It has a pleasant smell (for cats) and is palatable. It also holds many benefits twice the regular food. Be wary of the composition though. Only take the wet food with the advised amount of protein, fat and other nutrients that cats need. Remember to change the diet occasionally. Cats may possibly become bored of consuming the same food all the time.
Some owners may feed their cats with alternative homemade food. Chicken meat or liver and fish are the most popular main ingredients with other additional items such as rice and egg. Either cooking or serve it raw, each type has its downside. While the raw food possibly contains living bacteria or parasites, food can lose some nourishment when being cooked. It all depends on you when choosing the better food for your cat. Therefore, you should recognize food that is safe or become hazardous to cats. You can also give supplements that contain vitamin, mineral and other essential properties to boost your cat’s health and appetite in her early diet.
4. Go to vet
Bringing the malnourished cat to a veterinarian is really advised. They would check any possible issue that may inhibit and affect your cat’s health. Moreover, you can ask the best feeding option and the vet would suggest what your cat needs for her daily diet.