Best High Calorie Foods for Senior cats

As they say, You can only know the love of a child once you become a parent. Likewise, you can only know the emotions and attachment and love a cat can give once you become the owner. If your cat for some reason is loosing wait or getting sick or prescribed to take high protein or high calorie food than it becomes the prime responsibility to find the best matching food for your cat’s high calorie needs. So, lets find out the best High Calorie Foods for Senior cats

Remember that you can use the below food for any age of cats as well.

What are high-calorie foods for cats?

High-calorie foods are foods that help in gaining weight. Cats are picky eaters, and because of that, some cats can suffer from undernourishment. These pets need to have their diet planned out for them because they just don’t eat anything lying in front of them. Maintaining a cat’s weight is one of the trials of being a cat owner, you have to be on the lookout for the cat’s health at all times. Your cat can suffer from being underweight due to several reasons, and hence you’ll have to know the tips and tricks to get it backs to its healthy state of weight.

High-calorie foods are the best kind of sustenance to help get your pet back to its healthy state if it’s suffering from being underweight. High-calorie foods provide extra nourishment that ultimately gets your cat back on track to being energetic and playful.

Your cat could have a history of losing weight due to having a sensitive stomach, and that is a serious problem to deal with; it causes severe weight loss, which causes detrimental effects to the cat. Fortunately for cat owners, high-calorie foods help in this regard as it fattens up your pet to a reasonable extent, letting you balance your cat’s weight quite easily.

Your pet will thank you for feeding high-calorie foods during its time of need because these supplements will rejuvenate its vitality and will prolong its life indefinitely. A well-maintained diet helps the pets to live longer and, more importantly, live much better, and that is why the inclusion of high-calorie foods is essential in your cat’s diet.

Reason for using high-calorie foods for senior cats:

There are a lot of reasons why your cat needs high-calorie foods, most of them are health-related. So, keeping in mind your cat’s wellbeing, it’s imperative that you need to resort to high-calorie foods from time to time. These are the following reasons why your cat might need high-calorie foods:

Age:

Cats have different metabolizing rates at various stages of their life. Cats have reasonable metabolizing rates when they’re kittens, and young adults, and they use the nourishment they get quite effectively, letting them be active. Senior cats suffer from this as they don’t metabolize their food as effectively. The senior cat might be eating the same portions of food, but that food doesn’t materialize as the necessary nourishment, making them lose weight for this reason.

Hyperthyroidism:

This is a sickness that causes the thyroid to produce excess amounts of thyroid hormones that cause many problems naturally. These problems range from cats vomiting their food, having an increased appetite, increased water drinking, and diarrhea. All of these problems lead to the digestive system, not taking in the nutrients and causing severe weight loss for the cat.

Diabetes:

This disease has the same symptoms as hyperthyroidism, causing increased hunger and thirst, which all lead to drastic weight loss.

Kidney disease:

Chronic renal failure is becoming more common in cats these days, and they cause weight loss as well, due to the cat drinking large amounts of water and feeling so bloated that it eats less and nourishes even less due to this reason.

Stress:

Stress and pain are a significant factor in your cat’s weight loss. The mental health of your pet is essential as it causes several physiological problems, and one of those troubles is the problem of weight loss.

Intestinal Problems:

Even though cats are picky eaters, it’s funny that they pick up the most stomach problems. Inflammatory Bowel Disease, diarrhea, constipation, etc. are always sure to affect your cat at least once in its lifetime, so be ready to take out the high-calorie food during its sickness.

Toothache:

It’s kind of obvious that your cat will stop eating if it has a cavity. The problem lies in detecting the problem because toothache could be mistaken for lack of interest in the food, which is a common occurrence. So late detection of the problem causes a significant amount of weight to be lost by the cat.

Parasites:

Foreign bodies are always prevalent to attach your feline, and they could be tapeworms, hookworms, and whipworms. These intestinal worms still cause a lot of damage for your cat and, ultimately, make them lose a lot of weight.

All of these problems are the primary reason for your cat to lose its weight, and it’s your job as it’s owner to get it back on track to its healthy lifestyle. Luckily, you’ll find everything you need in this article.

Top rated High-Calorie Foods for senior cats:

Name	Best for	Image	Rating
1. Purina ONE True Instinct	For weight gain		4.8/5
2. Purina Pro Plan Focus Urinary Tract	For kidney diseases		4.7/5
3. Hill’s Science Diet Cat Food	For Weak cats		4.7/5
4. Hill’s Prescription Diet	For sick cats		4.6/5

Best high calorie wet cat food for senior cats:

Buy the Best high calorie wet cat food for senior cats by clicking on the image.

Best high calorie liquid cat food for senior cats:

Buy the Best high calorie liquid cat food for senior cats by clicking on the image.

Best low calorie high fiber wet cat food for senior cats:

Buy the best low calorie high fiber wet cat food for senior cats by clicking on the image.

Which High-Calorie foods should feed cats with?

High-calorie foods are targeted at cats that are malnourished and are consistently losing weight. Its also needed for cats that need extra nourishment for their bodies. It depends on the state the cat is in, and likewise, you’ll need to plan out the diet. Here are the following cats that need high-calorie food for their dietary needs:

Growing cat:

Kittens require a large amount of food and nourishment to grow up to be healthy and active cats. Kittens grow up fast till they are two years old, but the most crucial period of their growth is around 4-7 months old. That is the prime time to feed them high-calorie foods. You will need to buy high-quality foods to meet the demands of its nutrients, so it doesn’t have any deficits during its growth.

Pregnant cat:

A pregnant cat needs more food to supplement itself and the growing kittens inside its belly. If you’re supplying the same regular amount of food to your pregnant feline, then it will start to grow weak and skinny and also adversely affect the budding kittens inside the belly of the mother. You’ll need to feed it high-calorie food during its pregnancy duration so that your cat can recover after giving birth, and the kittens come out healthy.

cat has parasites:

Parasites are not good news for your cat and always cause a lot of damage to their health. You will need to go to the vet to take care of the pesky parasites. These parasites can range from tapeworms, ringworms, and roundworms. Once the parasites have been removed from their systems, you’ll need to feed it adequate food to get its health back on par, and what better food is there than high-calorie foods? The highly nourishing and weighty food will give a boost to your cat’s weight, mood, and energy during your cat’s recovery period.

Your cat has aged:

Your cat has started aging, and just like in humans, its body is changing with it. The cat’s metabolism starts slowing down, and due to this, most pet owners switch to a senior cat’s diet. These diets consist of low calories but jam-packed with proteins and nutrients. There is one problem, though, due to the fading sense of smell, the cats lose their appetites.  Pet owners will continuously need to see how much their cats are eating at this late stage of their age, and the best way to compensate for the lack of calories they are getting is by giving them high-calorie foods. 

This change of diet helps regulate the food and weight of the older cat and ensures a healthier lifestyle for the remainder of the cat’s life.

Neutered Cat:

Neutered cats have a hard time coming back to their normal appetite due to the sudden loss of hormones. They may experience a severe loss of appetite because of this, and this makes them significantly skinnier. You need to feed it high-calorie foods that also smell good so that it may gain back the lost weight. You need to constantly check on these cats so that they may not inversely affect their health due to losing their hormones.

Insufficient Nourishment:

Your cat is always suffering from a lack of nourishment due to multiple reasons. It could be because it’s not appropriately fed due to factors within the house such as multiple cats or multiple feeders, it could be because of diseases that it’s affected continuously by or because it just doesn’t like the food, whatever the reason may be, you need to keep it well-fed and well-nourished, and that is why high-calorie foods are the go-to option to keep your cat healthy and happy.

What are the calorie requirements of a cat of all ages?

As we’ve discussed that the weight of your cat is a determinant of its health, so it’s your responsibility to know how much your cat weighs. The general way to know how many calories your cat should eat is defined by the pounds it weighs.

A normal indoor cat weighs around 8-10 pounds.  You should be feeding your cat 20 calories per pound. The average calories per day a cat should eat is 200 calories if your cat is heavier than you might need to cut back on its consumption to avoid making it obese.

If your cat likes to roam the outdoors more than being cooped up in the house, then you’ll have to feed it around 300 calories. They are significantly much more active and hence will need those extra calories. If your cat is overweight, you’ll have to reduce the intake by 40 pounds and keep recording the weight loss to make sure if the weight loss is going effectively or not. You’ll also have to look out for the age of your cat, it’s metabolism, the kind of food it’s eating, and the amount of exercise it gets in a day.

How can a cat gain weight?

Weight gain fn that isn’t a problem, you just have to protect it from all the factors that make it lose weight, unless your cat is old, putting weight on your cat is relatively easy, you’ll just have to vigilant of it and most importantly, patience.  Some cats take longer to gain weight, but it is possible. Here are the following ways to maximize weight gain for your feline:

1. You’ll have to increase your cat’s consumption per day. Usually, cats eat around 200 calories a day, so just increase the food intake by 40 calories. More importantly, make sure you’re presenting dry food and make it readily available for your cat to consume.
2. or make sure that your cat doesn’t suffer from any kind of mental stress. If your cat is in pain or is anxious for any reason, this will be the number one reason for it to lose weight, so it’s advisable to calm it down and make it feel relaxed.
3. If you keep feeding your cat dry food, try to add some canned food.
4. Make sure to heat the food before presenting it to increase the aroma for your cat to be attracted to the food.
5. Mix different flavors of food to make sure your cat will have an increased appetite for further meals.

What are the reasons your cat is underweight?

There are multiple reasons why your cat hasn’t been eating as it has been, which has ultimately lead it to reduce weight. You will need to examine the condition of your cat and decide which reason for the following reasons is making your cat seem underweight:

• Your cat has a sensitive stomach, and because of it, it isn’t eating correctly. You need to soothe your cat’s stomach before you feed it anything. You might even need to put it on a fast to make sure it’s digestive system has had time to heal up.
• The cat has diseases that need to be shown to the vet immediately. Although rare, you shouldn’t rule out any chance because if your cat is afflicted by diseases such as cancers, kidney failures, or Feline Leukemia Virus, your cat could be in perilous danger.
• The feline is feeling stressed, and due to this, it has lost its appetite. Your cat could feel disturbed due to several reasons, and it’s important to resolve the reason for anxiety for your cat. Your cat needs to feel calm to feel it’s hunger back to normal again, so be sure to keep your pet in a relaxed environment. 
• The cat has food allergies and cannot ingest the food. You will have to change up the diet of your cat for it to start eating normal again.

DIY tips for cat weight gain

Your cat can gain weight as fast and effectively as possible; some natural home remedies will help your cat eat more and feel more healthy. You’ll need to keep an eye on these techniques so that you know that you are on the right track. Each cat is different, and not every tip may be suitable to apply to your cat.

• Mix in different flavors of your cat’s favorite foods. You need to know your cat’s likes and dislikes for this one, just make sure you put in whatever you’re putting in plentiful amounts.
• Try to warm up your food so that the aroma of the serving becomes more appealing. The best way to increase a cat’s appetite is through its sense of smell. The tastier your meal smells, the more your cat will want to eat it.
• Try to mix in a dry food with wet food. Your cat can’t live on a single type of food alone, and hence you should keep mixing them up to satiate its taste and appetite.
• And last but not least, incorporate high calories foods into the mix so that you can give that extra punch of energy and calories in your cat’s diet.

What has more calories, wet or dry cat food?

Dry cat food is an arguably better option if you’re looking to increase your pet’s weight. Dry food has more calories than wet food. Wet food is a much better even for hairball protection option if you’re considering decreasing your cat’s weight. As dry food has more carbohydrates, which is a staple for weight gain, these are the number one option for your cat’s high-calorie diet. The downside to having dry food is that it’s the most likely of the two to cause feline diabetes and toothache.

On the other hand, wet food is optimal if you want your cat to lose weight. Cats with diabetic issues can feed on wet food as it hydrates the cat as well as doesn’t cause strain on the feline’s digestive tract. This type of food lets your cat feels full while also steadily working towards losing weight.

How long does it take an emaciated cat to gain weight?

The weight gain of the cat depends on its age. If your cat is in its infancy, then you’ll need to have the intake of the cat of 20-35 calories per pound. The heavier your cat is, the more calories it will eat. Once your cat has grown into an adult; you’ll need to feed it between 180-220 calories per day; this is known as maintenance weight.  If you’re seeking your cat to gain weight, you’ll need to increase this number. The amount of weight gain, just as before, depends on the weight of your cat. Increase the calorie intake to about five calories per pound. Usually, this leads to the cat consuming 230-270 calories.

You’ll have to increase this amount on a steady basis, though, because your cat won’t just start eating right away. You’ll need to increase the amount by 20% daily, till it starts consuming its fill.

Can cats live on dry food only?

Cat food is the most common type of food that is presented to cats. According to vets, the food is excellent as long as it’s plentiful and balanced. Dry food lasts fresh longer than wet food, so that it’s why it’s preferred, it’s also readily available everywhere. Dry food is comparatively inexpensive to wet food, too, which makes it a godsend for any pet owner. This type of food is also vital for weight gain so

The downsides to completely dry food for your cat’s diet is that you’ll need to keep your cat constantly hydrated as dry food takes up a lot of moisture to digest. It’s also the likelihood of the two diets to cause diabetes and toothache due to the hard chewing involved in it.

Can I mix wet and dry cat food?

Mixing dry food and cat food is the best way for your cat to enjoy its meals. You can serve your cat with either of the two, and each type of food has its ups and downs, but why settle with a kind of food when you can have the best of both worlds. It will be a bit less economical because wet food is a bit more expensive due to its packaging. Wet food also spoils faster, so you’ll have to regularly place your servings and be mindful of how long they’ve been out there.  You can necessarily put dry foods for days on end and not worry about spoiling, but that isn’t the case with wet food. 

How do I know if my kitten is malnourished?

Kittens are generally very active and playful, and that is an indication of whether your infant cat is healthy or not. Kittens are at a growing age, and hence they eat a lot compared to the rest of their life. You need to keep their nourishments in check to avoid it developing any defects later on in their life. You can see if your kitten is malnourished by these following ways:

• Check the ribs of your kitten; if the ribs feel prominent, that means your kitten isn’t getting enough to eat.
• If your kitten isn’t active or playful on average, that means there is something wrong, or it’s not getting its due to nutrients.
• If your kitten is whining even after its feeding time, then that means that it’s not feeling well or fully nourished.
• If your kitten is roaming far from the litter or it just doesn’t want to be disturbed and starts hiding in corners and unusual places, that means it’s not eating well.