My oldie needs to gain some weight...any tips?

[bruxxy]

My girl Lily is getting to be pretty old but suprisingly still has quite a bit of spunk to her. She does have chronic URI though and I have noticed that it seems to come in waves. One week she will look really good and she seems to be gaining a bit of weight, and the next week she will look very thin, her coat is messy and its obvious she isn't doing too well.

The one thing I have noticed about her is that her weight changes alot and I know thats not good for her. Is there anything healthy that I can feed her to fatten her up a bit so that when she is having a hard time, at least she doesn't look like skin and bones.

 

[jennifervb]

When my rat Jerry (RIP) was struggling with his health issues, my vet had him on Ensure (vanilla went over really well). He also received soy based infant formula (powder which I mixed with water) and a high protein ferret formula (sorry, I don't remember what it was called but I could only get it from the vet).

These 3 things were given to him during the course of the day along with pureed vegetables. (Gerber Organics were a favorite with Jerry).

Out of all the recommended items above; Jerry really liked the Ensure and the Gerber Organics.

This may help your little lady. Make sure, however, that any other rats do not share in these meals!!! The protein intake is way too high for healthy rats with a stable weight. I gave Ben (Jerry's brother) little token tastes of what his brother was getting but that was ALL the little glutton got.

Give Lily cuddles, kisses and scritches from me. What a little doll. :love6:

 

[jorats]

High protein is not good in older rats, in fact it would be best to keep them on the lowest protein because it's just too hard on their kidneys.
But older rats would benefit from a high fat diet. So you could add olive oil to their baby cereal or Ensure.

 

[bruxxy]

Ya I was thinking of olive oil too....or avacado since its high in fat but its healthy fat.

 

[SQ]

I have fed rats lab blocks dissolved in boiled water, then cooled, with a bit of olive oil added. Also baby cereal. They have also been willing/able to eat cooked oatmeal with soy milk or soy baby formula. Peas are usually welcome too ...

 

[Godmother]

Boiled or scrambled eggs are always a hit (in moderation), and any kind of grain is very palatable to them.