How and what do you feed a very malnourished cat?

Question

I found this cat and he is SO skinny, I tried to give him some tuna, but he just drank the water around it, and then vomited directly after. I would like to at least get him to a healthy weight before I take him to a no-kill shelter. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Give him kitten food, it is nourishing and will fatten him up. Make sure he eats small doses at first since he obviously can't handle heavy meals at this point.

Answer 2

I have found that the best thing I can feed a starving cat is raw meat that has been ground. I have had many strays and sick animals and the best has been room temperature hamburger. I have been told there is a enzyme it the raw meat that is needed for the cat to survive. All I know is it has been the best for me.  

Answer 3

If he is really malnourished, then it can be a challenge, as he is not used to food.  (Humans who were rescued from concentration camps were often given lots of food, and many times it killed them.  The shock to the system was too great for their body to handle.)

Try some boiled chicken which most cats can handle.   Many small amounts spaced apart is better than one large serving.

Answer 4

No kill shelters do kill and it can be just because a cat pees inappropriately or for being unadoptable.

That said the cat is probably dehydrated. No dry food please. canned foods no gravy. add a bit extra water. feed small meals as often as possible. Thanks for rescuing, Hope you may think about keeping him

Answer 5

NO NOT TUNA!!!!!

If you have been throwing up all day your mother wouldn't feed you meatloaf, you would start off something small like crackers to make sure you can handle it and that is what you need to do.

Start with small amounts of water, too much could be a bad thing.  Once the cat is handling water you can move up to boiled chicken and or baby food.  Slowly build up to real cat food.

Answer 6

If you want to do this cat some serious good.  Let it adopt you as its owner and get it it's own vet.  

All the  Best

Answer 7

Make sure the cat does not have any diseases by taking it to the vet to get checked out.

Answer 8

NEVER feed a cat tuna, or people food in general. It causes their urine to crystallize, and can cause lots of pain, and lots of bleeding, and bad infections. Kitten food, AND kitten formula, mixed in equal parts. mushed up, and completely liquefied. Depending on how malnourished it is, you may want to dilute the kitten formula. (there are several varieties, for several kinds of needs, you just need to read the labels, the same with the kitten food) who ever said "no dry food" was absolutely correct. Cats actually get the water they need, from the food they eat, so if you feed em dry food, that's just that much more water it will need. (you still need to have water available for it to drink, though). Once the kitty starts to fatten up and feeling better, slowly take out the kitty formula. and then once you get him off the formula, SLOWLY mix in adult cat wet food. Once the cat is healthy, you can feed it dry food, but cats actually NEED wet food, because dry food doesn't have all the vitamins and fats that they need. :)

Answer 9

It sounds wierd but get some turkey and chicken baby foods, I also add peas and carrots baby food into the mix. Tuna is going to be too rich for the poor fella at the moment. Also if he is skinny skinny get a dry kitten food... it has more fat in it...

Answer 10

actually, no kill shelters generally don't take pets from the general public and if they do, they are VERY picky about taking only the most adoptable animals so they can keep their 'no kill' status.

you want to feed the blandest possible diet.  A canned pate type food (not chunks or slices) of chicken or turkey.  No fish and no beef.  you can talk to a vet about purchasing A/D, which is a prescription food that is highly palatable and caloric rich.  feed small meals very frequently.

Answer 11

The problem with this kitty is that he has been malnourished so any food you give him has to be introduced into his system slowly.  I adopted a homeless cat several years ago who had nearly starved to death; my veterinarian at that time had him on an IV until his little body could get used to nutrition being put back into it.  I'm happy to report 8 years later, he is a fat, happy cat who is my best friend.  If your budget allows, you may want to consider adopting him for yourself, he'll never let you forget you're his savior if you do.