Hints needed for feeding a starved cat

[Mystery]

A co-worker stopped by my cube this morning to get some advice for his kitty, Sam. Apparently, Sam disappeared from home about four weeks ago, suspected of sneaking out of the house when the garage doors were opened. Yesterday, Sam was brought home to co-worker by the owner of the property across the street from where he lives. Property owner told co-worker that Sam had been locked up in his vacant apartment all this time.

That poor little baby.

Sam was previously ~15 lbs, and now weighs about ~9 lbs, is about 5 years old and was previously in very good health. Of course, I recommended an immediate trip to the vet, but co-worker is convinced Sam is fine and has no intention of taking him to get checked out by a doctor. So, the only thing I could think of to caution is no dry food, small bits at a time of some quality canned foods, lots of water and of course love and adoration.

Does anyone have other recommendations, suggestions, helpful hints?

 

[MikeysMom]

Depending on the size of Sam, if he has no other health problems, several small meals of good quality canned food a day should do the trick. Around 4 of the 3-oz. or 2-2 1/2 5.5 oz cans should be about right for slow, steady weight gain. My diabetic has gained on this amount, so a civilian should have no problem. If she can spread that into about six smaller meals each day, that's best-she can use a timed feeder, or freeze canned food in ice cube trays and leave two or three cubes out during the day for Sam to eat as they melt. Once he reaches his goal weight, she can back off to about 1 1/2 5.5 oz. or 2-3 3-oz. cans for maintenance...the average cat needs 200-300 calories a day to maintain weight.

She should definitely avoid dry food, even if Sam isn't diabetic-it can lead to health problems later. Also, it's a good opportunity to think about Sam's ideal weight-if 15 pounds was a little chubby, like it is for most average house cats, she shouldn't let Sam get back to being overweight. Depending on his overall size, 10-12 pounds might be a healthier weight. But again, that depends on his overall size.

 

[BJM]

I second the small frequent meals. If he eats too fast, he may vomit. Think an ounce at a time (1/3 of a Fancy Feast sized can).

If he is in scarf mode due to being starved, placing a heavy ceramic mug upside down in the center of the plate can help slow him down, as can smearing the food across a large plate so he can't take huge mouthfuls. He may hang on to that kind of behavior for a while.

I have seen shelter vets use the high fiber, low cal canned foods for rehabbing starvation cases. It lets you give a bit more volume, without overloading the calories. Fiber, in and of itself, has negligible calories. It will, however, bulk up the stool volume and may cause some odor.

Since he was outside, he does need a worm/parasite check from the vet, whether you take in a specimen, or the cat too. Worms will make it harder to recover.

 

[Mystery]

Thanks for the hints!

Coworker's wife is home during the day, so several small meals won't be an issue. I think the immediate concern is convincing them there is more to caring for this little guy than just feeding some tuna. There was some vomiting last night, hopefully from too much food at one time but who knows what kind of issues could be in progress. Poor little Sam.

I'm going to go to Petco at lunch and pick up some canned foods for coworker to take home since he's only mentioned tuna, and send a list of these suggestions for Sam's mom.

Four three-oz cans seems like a lot of calories, I doubt Sam could take that much in right now. It also seems logical that that much food, or even free-feeding, could lead to rapid weight gain, and I think I've read rapid gains can be just as hard on kitty as rapid loss. Do y'all know if that is true? BJM - do you know of a food brand/variety that is high-fiber, low-cal ?

Thanks again for the suggestions, BJM and Mikey's Mom!

 

[Karen & Angus(GA)]

Did he have access to water while he was locked in? If not, he may need to be checked for kidney problems and other issues from severe dehydration. He may also have some liver damage (hepatic lipidosis) from losing weight too fast. A check-up and basic blood work would be best. Otherwise, I agree with the small, frequent meals and lots of love.

 

[Mystery]

I really don't have much more info. I suspect he had at least some water, maybe a faucet or toilet bowl? Who knows. Surely four weeks with no water at all would have killed him? I'll mention the liver issue to them too, and will try again to convince them that a checkup with the vet is needed. I'm not hopeful they'll actually take him.

I just keep thinking about how scared and lonely little Sam must have been. That poor little baby. Sam is a blackie like my Beauregard and for some reason that makes it even worse to imagine. Argh!

 

[BJM]

You don't have to do the fiber, its only an option.

I'd feed plain old Fancy Feast Classics, maybe 1/3 can every couple of hours, or smear the can thinkly across the plate so he can't scarf.

Observe eating behavior - is there food left over? Or is it gone in seconds? and adjust accordingly.

If he isn't scarfing, it should be OK to leave out a FF sized can at a time until finished.

 

[JL and Chip]

Like others have mentioned, the cat could be suffering dehydration, kidney issues, liver issues, electrolyte imbalances, and so on.

If the cat really lost 40% of its weight in a month, I'd also wonder about the risk of refeeding syndrome. Google it for more info.
http://www.felipedia.org/~felipedi/wiki ... g_syndrome

IMHO, a vet check and bloodwork are the only responsible thing to do. If that's unlikely, maybe you can find a compassionate vet who will give you additional suggestions that you can lob in your co-worker's direction.