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My active outdoor cat is thin but eats a lot. How can he gain weight?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered

My cat is very thin. He almost always eats all of his food. He is an outdoor cat and moves around a lot, but how can I get him to gain weight?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on May 7th, 2016

He may just be one of those cats that metabolise their food very quickly and never will gain weight. He may also have tape worm. You should worm him every three months with a wormer containing praziquantel which hits tapeworm. Food: Feed him good quality canned food, pate style, 3.5 oz twice daily. This would be double the regular amount of food and if he does not gain weight with that over the next 4-6 weeks, then you should take him to the vet for some blood tests including thyroid test.

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