# best canned high quality food to promote gain weight



## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

what is the best brand of high quality canned food to make a cat gain weight? this is a cat with no health issues, was recently switched to canned from dry and she has lost quite a bit of weight, is it evo that is high in fat? thanks!


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## KatBudz (Jun 18, 2009)

Most canned foods are between 5 and 8% fat. As long as your cat is not underweight, it's ok if she loses some weight. However if she is underweight and you want her to gain weight safely, try a variety of flavours and brands and start rotating them so she doesnt get bored. Ones that my cats absolutely love are: Wellness Core chicken turkey and chicken liver, Natural Balance venison and green pea, duck and green pea, and chicken and green pea, Evo (both the 95% ones and the regular one), Holistic Select in the chicken and lamb, Performatrin and Performatrin Ultra (pet valu brand) in chicken, turkey, chicken and lamb, beef. And those are mainly the ones I am feeding right now. They got a bit bored of the previous flavours.


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

Depends, I think, on why she's losing weight. 

Cats get their energy from protein; if she's not getting enough of it, maybe her body is cannibalizing itself? I know that cats on kibble have to eat and eat because there's so little protein in it, which is why they get fat (too many carbs coming in, not enough energy).

How much canned food are you offering her and how much is she eating?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I think the major questions here are how much canned food are you offering and how much of it does she eat? How do you know she doesn't have any health issues...has she had recent blood work? If not, you can't be sure she's healthy. How old is the cat?


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

This can happen b/c people don't realize that you must feed MUCH more volume of canned food than kibble. Kibble has only a tiny bit of water -- it is highly concentrated. So a little goes a long way. Canned food is mostly water, so the cat must eat more food to get the same calories. 1/4 cup of dry is NOT the same as 1/4 cup of canned! Just remember that and you'll be fine!


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

She won't eat the canned food I feed Tiger.. which is high quality, she'd only eat friskies which is horrible, she eats turkey, chicken, sea food.. I wish there was a way she'd eat Tiger's food (Wellness chicken and Natural Balance: Venison and Green Pea)
She has been to the vet for a physical but she hasn't had any blood work.. she started to lose weight when I switch the cats from dry to canned food cause Tiger can't have any dry food at all, before she was just fine.
She eats about 10 Ounces, which equals 2 cans a day.
I was thinking to try EVO, what do you think?
She is 16.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

hypertweeky said:


> She is 16.


And eating 10 oz a day and losing weight....she definitely needs some blood work. In the absence of other symptoms, this sounds like hyper-t.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

doodlebug said:


> hypertweeky said:
> 
> 
> > She is 16.
> ...


ABSOLUTELY. Hopefully you've been having at least annual bloodwork done? She should be having it done every 6 mos at her age -- CBC/chemistry/T4. Definitely take her in and get her worked up. Don't delay -- older cats, esp. if she has some issues, are harder to get weight on so you don't want her losing too much.


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

doodlebug said:


> hypertweeky said:
> 
> 
> > She is 16.
> ...


What is hyper t??
See Hobbs isn't mine.. and I think he is scared to find out what may be wrong with her, she is his baby.. ouchie!


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

hypertweeky said:


> What is hyper t??
> See Hobbs isn't mine.. and I think he is scared to find out what may be wrong with her, she is his baby.. ouchie!


Hyperthyroid. And whoever owns her needs to understand that MANY conditions can be treated. Not knowing ain't gonna get the kitty treated!!! Goodness!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Hyperthyroid, which is very treatable with medication (or radioactive iodine or surgery, but I wouldn't choose either of those for a 16 year old cat)...but if you don't get her in it will affect her organs and do irreversible damage. 

No guarantees that it definitely is hyper-t but since she doesn't have other symptoms, that's a pretty good bet. Is she hungry all the time?


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

doodlebug said:


> Hyperthyroid, which is very treatable with medication (or radioactive iodine or surgery, but I wouldn't choose either of those for a 16 year old cat)...but if you don't get her in it will affect her organs and do irreversible damage.
> 
> No guarantees that it definitely is hyper-t but since she doesn't have other symptoms, that's a pretty good bet. Is she hungry all the time?


She eats all the time yes, she is always getting into stuff even though plenty of food is available to her, she has been like that since she was a kitty according to him..
What kind of blood work should I ask for? I know there is quite a bit you can test for..
Thank You Lisa!!


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

hoofmaiden said:


> hypertweeky said:
> 
> 
> > What is hyper t??
> ...


Agree!!


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

hypertweeky said:


> What kind of blood work should I ask for? I know there is quite a bit you can test for..


She's 16 -- she needs a full workup -- CBC/blood chemistry/T4/urinalysis.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I assume she hasn't had and recent blood tests, so I'd recommend a full senior blood panel. This way you have an idea if there are any other issues lurking. And don't worry about administering daily medication....if you have a hard time getting pills into her, it can be compounded into a treat form or a transdermal gel that you rub on her ear.


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

Thank you for your help!

Ok so I called in my vet's office and made an appointment for Friday at 3:30 pm..
She is going to have a full senior blood panel.
Let's see what happens, I hope nothing serious!!


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

So I read online:

Canned cat foods in pop-top containers may play a role in the development of hyperthyroidism in cats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_food
So since she has been on Friskies.. do you think this could have done it?
She was on dry food before and was fine, I kinda feel bad now!!
I was thinking to give wellness another try.. the big cans of wellness chicken don't have a pop top.. it requires the can opener.. so it will be ok right?
I know wellness makes the 5 OZ too.. and those are pop top.. does this mean they are "bad"??
I am all freaked out now!!


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

hypertweeky said:


> So I read online:
> 
> Canned cat foods in pop-top containers may play a role in the development of hyperthyroidism in cats.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_food
> ...


Honestly, Friskies is the equivalent of feeding your kid McDonald's every day, so the food itself is more of a risk than the pop-top.

That said, the greatest risk re: hyper-T these days is fire-retardent coatings used in MANY household products and building supplies. This is esp. an issue in CA but increasingly a problem across the country. It is the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the fire retardants, and they have also been found in seafood-based canned cat foods (and I'll bet Friskies has a high % of fish, b/c that's how they hook cats on it):

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 122354.htm

The best thing you can do is raw. After that, HIGH-QUALITY, non-fish-based, grain-free canned food (Wellness CORE, EVO, etc.). This is the way to prevent many problems, not just hyper-T.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

There may be a connection, but there is no real proof...all the info I've seen say "may" and "possible" there is nothing definitive out there. Hyper-t has other factors that can cause it to develop as well. Any info relating to it being caused by the chemicals in cans also indicated prolonged exposure, so if you just made this change it's not likely a factor.

And then there are the tradeoffs...we KNOW that a diet of dry food is bad for a cat and the resulting diseases are more difficult to treat...kidney disease, urinary issues, obesity and resulting diabetes etc. I would much rather treat hyper-t than any of the others I mentioned. In addition while all of them can be treated successfully for long periods of time, hyper-t is the only one that can be cured with radioactive iodine treatment. And if that's not a good option, administering transdermal gel to the ear is a lot easier than giving sub-q fluids, insulin shots etc.


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

She was on Friskies.. because she wouldn't eat anything at all.. that was not our choice for her.
We feed Lucie and Tiger Wellness chicken, and natural balance.. which has no grains, no by products and no fillers.. I know about cat nutrition.
I guess I am gonna have to put my foot down and let her go a little hungry.. and hopefully she eats the good food
I agree that Friskies is like McDonalds! that stuff is just nasty!!

I will let you know what the results are, she is going in on friday at 3:30 so I probably won't hear back until Tuesday or Wednesday.
I hope is nothing serious!!


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

doodlebug said:


> And then there are the tradeoffs...we KNOW that a diet of dry food is bad for a cat and the resulting diseases are more difficult to treat...kidney disease, urinary issues, obesity and resulting diabetes etc. I would much rather treat hyper-t than any of the others I mentioned. In addition while all of them can be treated successfully for long periods of time, hyper-t is the only one that can be cured with radioactive iodine treatment. And if that's not a good option, administering transdermal gel to the ear is a lot easier than giving sub-q fluids, insulin shots etc.


This has made my day, thank You lisa!! You are the best!!!
Thank you Thank you!!


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Try mixing the Friskies into the good food -- going from 75% Friskies to 50% to 25%, etc. Reduce the Friskies and increase the good food very gradually over a week or more.

Make sure the Wellness is Wellness CORE or one of the other truly grain-free formulas. Wellness does make formulae containing veggies and grains.


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## hypertweeky (Nov 25, 2007)

hoofmaiden said:


> Try mixing the Friskies into the good food -- going from 75% Friskies to 50% to 25%, etc. Reduce the Friskies and increase the good food very gradually over a week or more.
> 
> Make sure the Wellness is Wellness CORE or one of the other truly grain-free formulas. Wellness does make formulae containing veggies and grains.


It is the wellness chicken formula, it has the grain free yellow tag as seen below

http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter. ... _large.jpg

I learned about cat nutrition when my baby tiger blocked.. that was very scary!!
Thank you!!


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

hypertweeky said:


> It is the wellness chicken formula, it has the grain free yellow tag as seen below
> 
> http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter. ... _large.jpg
> 
> I learned about cat nutrition when my baby tiger blocked.. that was very scary!!


That's good. Keep learning, though!

That formula contains the following (first few ingredients) [*Items cats do not need, cannot digest, and which may well be detrimental to them are in red*]: Chicken, Chicken Liver, Turkey, Chicken Broth, Carrots, Natural Chicken Flavor, Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Zucchini, Cranberries, Blueberries, Guar Gum, Dicalcium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Ground Flaxseed, etc. [http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_chicken.html]

Wheras the Wellness CORE formulae contain: Chicken, Turkey, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Chicken Meal, Turkey Liver, Dried Ground Potatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Cranberries, Ground Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Taurine, Dried Kelp, etc [http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_core_chicken.html] 

There's more stuff they don't need in the regular formula. Neither is a carb-free formula, but IMO the CORE is better.

EVO 95% is better still: Chicken, Chicken Broth, Turkey, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Minerals, Guar Gum, Vitamins, Herring Oil, 
Salt, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Ascorbate, Taurine, Sunflower Oil [http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1662]

Before going raw, EVO 95% is what I fed, after extensive research. IMO it's the best of the canned formulae.


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

Just checking in, Hypertweeky. How did the vet visit go and how is your kitty?


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