Freddie is 14 and came to live with me in June, rescued from my nephews. Since then I've continued his feeding routine of a tin of wet food and 3 cups of kibble (split into two meals) each day. Now, Freddie's always been a poor eater and hardly ever finishes a meal, and he's always been very thin. But this week I learned he'd lost 3 kilos since I last took him to the vet's three months ago (check-up in June, booster jab this week btw; he wasn't ill).
Since I learned this, I've tried changing his diet. I need him to put on weight, otherwise he'll freeze to death this winter. The vet suggested mixing cottage cheese with the meat, but he just refuses to eat that. I then tried putting the cottage cheese on the side; he licked the whey off, and left the curd! He now refuses all kibble full stop, and if you mix the meat with the kibble he just licks the gravy off. I tried tinned-food only, but that gave him the runs. Yesterday, in an effort to get him to eat fibre, I mixed home-made beef gravy with mashed veg (you can't lick the gravy off that!!!!) which he ate with gusto. But then I decided this wouldn't add the bulk on him so this morning I mixed some meat in. He's just eaten his first mouthful now, and given up. I don't think his teeth are giving him pain, because he still crunches his dentastix with great delight.
I always feed him good-quality food (always eat organic myself, no reason why he can't eat well); the kibble is James Wellbeloved senior food, the meat is whatever's in the pet shop that has at least 70% real, named, meat in it (sometimes he gets Winalot Casseroles because that's what my sister-in-law gave him, but I don't like that one; sometimes he gets stewed steak).
Question is, after all that ramble, will mash with gravy be enough to put weight on him, if that's all he'll eat? It was potato, carrot, parsnip and butternut squash mash that I'd made to go with the roast beef we were having - he ate a couple of pieces of beef but refused any more.
Since I learned this, I've tried changing his diet. I need him to put on weight, otherwise he'll freeze to death this winter. The vet suggested mixing cottage cheese with the meat, but he just refuses to eat that. I then tried putting the cottage cheese on the side; he licked the whey off, and left the curd! He now refuses all kibble full stop, and if you mix the meat with the kibble he just licks the gravy off. I tried tinned-food only, but that gave him the runs. Yesterday, in an effort to get him to eat fibre, I mixed home-made beef gravy with mashed veg (you can't lick the gravy off that!!!!) which he ate with gusto. But then I decided this wouldn't add the bulk on him so this morning I mixed some meat in. He's just eaten his first mouthful now, and given up. I don't think his teeth are giving him pain, because he still crunches his dentastix with great delight.
I always feed him good-quality food (always eat organic myself, no reason why he can't eat well); the kibble is James Wellbeloved senior food, the meat is whatever's in the pet shop that has at least 70% real, named, meat in it (sometimes he gets Winalot Casseroles because that's what my sister-in-law gave him, but I don't like that one; sometimes he gets stewed steak).
Question is, after all that ramble, will mash with gravy be enough to put weight on him, if that's all he'll eat? It was potato, carrot, parsnip and butternut squash mash that I'd made to go with the roast beef we were having - he ate a couple of pieces of beef but refused any more.
