Returned Kitty! What/How should I feed him?

[Rissa]

About two and a half weeks ago our cat Apollo didn't come home one day from his daily romp outside. We did all we could to find him, but as time went by we were mostly starting to lose hope. Then tonight he comes crying his head off at the door! He's never been away from home for that long and has definitely lost a lot of weight. I can feel all of his bones pretty easily. So I'm wondering if there's any specific way I should feed him to get his weight back up and make sure all is well with him. He doesn't have any marks on him, it's just the skinniness that makes me uneasy.

That aside, this is how hubby and I are feeling tonight:

[cooncatbob]

I've heard you should not over feed him at first, but maybe someone more knowledgeable will chime in.
I'd consider making him a indoors only cat, it's a dangerous world out there.
Glad he's come home.

[Rissa]

Yes, after he disappeared we discussed it and decided to make our other two cats (and Apollo, if he came back) indoor only cats, with supervised visits outside. We live in a basement, so our cats don't get nearly the time outdoors that they want and we want for them, so it was hard to resist letting them out when they would whine so longingly at the door. Now, though, we're just hoping they'll be patient until we have a house of our own. They all had collars (we took off the other two's collars once we brought them inside for good), but Apollo came back without his. It's the second time he's lost it (they are break-away collars for safety), and it just makes us wonder what he's been up to for all this time!

[Whaler]

you may want to ask your vet if the hills a/d critical care food would be appropriate. a/d® Canine/Feline Critical Care - Canned

[Pixall]

Depending on HOW skinny he is, Maybe try a reduced protein diet for a few days, slowly bringing it back up to par. If you do too much all at once, it can be very taxing on his little kidneys. I am speaking from experience rehabbing lizards, though, so I could be completely off base. Glad he made it back home!

[laurief]

Actually, with a cat, a high protein diet is the best choice for refeeding. Avoid any high carb foods (in other words, NO KIBBLE). Carbs can throw off the electrolyte balances and trigger refeeding syndrome, which can be deadly. Feed low-carb canned foods (or a raw diet) in very small meals every 3-4 hours for the next few days, then gradually increase the meal sizes and length of time between meals over the next week. If he shows any signs of illness or inappetance over the next 72 hrs, get him to your vet immediately for bloodwork. Chances are, though, that he'll be just fine with a gradual reintroduction to regular, low-carb meals.

Glad your boy is home again!

Laurie

[Rissa]

Thank you all! We are pleased as punch to have him back, but our alpha cat (Hermes) has been unhappy and hissing. I think he's gotten used to being the only male around for a while.

Oh, and we feed wet food only here, though we tried the raw for a couple of weeks with good results, but just don't have access to the resources right now for it.

[marie73]

Do you have any Nutrical?

[laurief]

I would NOT feed Nutrical ... at least not for the first 72 hrs. during which refeeding syndrome is at risk of occurring. Nutrical is high carb (sugar-based).

[marie73]

That's why I was asking if she had any. To tell her not to use it.

Okay, not really.

But I'm learning.....