When you need to make your cat gain or regain weight, the high calorie cat food options become vital to the cat’s health and well-being.
Whether you have an underweight kitten, an elderly cat with a hard time maintaining a healthy weight, or a pet cat healing after an operation, high calorie nutrition will help you keep your pet healthy during the process.
This blog will take you through all the information you should know about choosing, using, and following high calorie cat food to achieve the best outcomes.
Understanding When Your Cat Needs High Calorie Food
High calorie cat food isn’t just about adding extra pounds to your pet. There are various good medical and developmental reasons as to why veterinarians prescribe calorie-dense food to cats.
Medical Recovery and Age Needs
Cats that have recovered after an illness, surgery, or a dental procedure often have played out appetites and typically have heightened nutritional requirements.
These are the times when every bite of food counts, and high calorie cat food is the first aid multiple times in these situations. Elderly cats often lose muscle and may require extra calories to maintain muscle and vitality.
Active and Reproductive Cats
Highly active outdoor cats or working cats may require more calories to fuel their active lifestyles. Also benefit greatly from high-calorie nutrition for cats that are pregnant and nursing.
Pregnant cats require about 25% more calories than at any other point, and pregnant cats may need as many as three times their normal number of calories, depending on the number of their babies, to sustain them while they nurse.
Key Ingredients in Quality High Calorie Cat Food
The top high calorie cat food has high-grade protein sources as the beginning. Knowing what to check for on the ingredient label and you are providing the best nutrition.
Premium Protein and Fat Sources
Good fats are vital in high-calorie solutions. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that are present in high calorie food products such as chicken fat, Salmon oil, and flaxseed oil help to make the coat and brain healthy and reduce inflammation.
Proteins and carbohydrates contain four calories each gram, whereas the latter fats contain nine.
Essential Nutrients
Energies are slowly released from foods of complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and brown rice.
This high-calorie cat food contains many other vitamins and minerals. The B vitamins are conducive to energy production, and vitamin E is a free radical scavenger.
Immune-building minerals like zinc and selenium help tremendously in cats needing to gain weight due to illness.
Top High Calorie Cat Food Brands and Options
When choosing high calorie cat food, there are some brands that are consistently good regarding nutrition to gain weight and recovery.
Premium Wet High Calorie Cat Food
- Hill’s Prescription Diet a/d offers 183 calories per 5.5 oz can and is specifically formulated for recovery nutrition.
- Royal Canin Recovery provides 191 calories per can with highly digestible proteins ideal for post-surgical cats.
- Blue Buffalo Wilderness contains 155 calories per 3-oz can with high protein content from real chicken.
Quality Dry High Calorie Cat Food
Wellness CORE High Protein delivers 421 calories per cup with 45% protein content. Orijen Cat & Kitten contains 406 calories/cup with 85 percent animal ingredients. Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain has 374 calories per cup with real venison and salmon meal.
Wet vs. Dry High Calorie Cat Food Benefits
Both wet and dry varieties have their own benefits in accordance with the needs of your cat.
High calorie cat food will have a higher protein and fat content, thus being more calorie-dense in nature.
The water content acts as a hydrating factor, especially for sick cats. Wet food is more appetizing to the majority of cats and particularly when the feline loses its appetite.
Dry high calorie cat food offers convenience and can be left out for free-feeding cats. Many dry formulations contain 400-500 calories per cup, with the convenience of longer shelf life once opened.
Feeding suggestions with high calorie cat food
Appropriate feeding plans are able to get the most out of their high calorie cat food as well as prevent digestive issues.
Switching to high calorio cat food takes seven to 10 days. Start with 25 percent of the new food with 75 percent of the existing food in the first several days. Incrementally add a greater percentage of high calories food until the transition is made.
Using the assistance of your veterinarian, determine a daily amount of calories suitable for your cat in relation to her current weight, ideal weight, and medical conditions.
To gain weight, they should have 20 calories per pound of body weight, and extra calories of 25-30 per pound of body weight may be needed.
Seven to eight (smaller) meals a day can be more effective than three big meals. It may help to provide three to four small meals a day instead of one or two large meals. This is better digestible and good at avoiding vomiting.
Some of the Mistakes to Avoid
Being aware of the dangers will make your high calorie feeding approach safer and sound.
Too fast an increase in weight may produce digestive problems or unwanted fat. Sustained, modest weight increase is less dangerous than fast weight gain.
If you do give too many treats, supplement your high calorie cat food, then this will cause nutritional imbalances.
Don’t assume all weight loss requires high calorie intervention. Some cats may need controlled weight reduction rather than gain.
Conclusion
The choice of which high calorie cat food to get should be made based on the requirements of the cat, whether it is growing, ill, or simply trying to keep weight down in hard circumstances.
Effective weight management is based on the use of quality ingredients, feeding plans, and veterinary advice.
High calorie cat food may be the answer to your cat gaining proper health, energy, and a new quality of life with patience, good nutrition, and the help of a professional.
FAQs
How soon will I gain weight?
Healthy weight gain will be slow, usually 1-2 percent of body weight per week. In 2-3 weeks, most cats improve in terms of energy and coat quality.
Can I give high-calorie cat food to a healthy cat?
No, high calorie cat food must not be used on healthy cats with a normal weight. It may cause obesity and health issues. This is always subject to the advice of your veterinarian
What is the distinction between the high calorie cat food and kitten food?
Kitten food is designed to promote growth with certain proportions of protein, whereas high calorie cat food is aimed at weight gain and recovery of adults with different ratios of nutrients.
Is it possible to combine high calorie and normal cat food?
Mixing can be advantageous to transitions and the attainment of certain caloric goals. Talk to your vet to come up with the right proportion.
Do they have any side effects?
When introduced properly, side effects are rare. Rapid transitions can cause digestive upset. Most side effects resolve within a few days.
