How do I beef up my cat?

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Cats that are neutered are usually good at avoiding conflict. Perhaps Lily has found herself caught in a turf way with battling toms and can't get out the way?  Our old house in London was like that. We were in a terrace and either side were two toms who kept squaring up to each other on the middle of our lawn. My cats would sit on my doorstep and watch with fascination. Fortunately they weren't scared by it all just entertained, in fact I am sure my Tigger once tried to send out for pizza. 

[Sonnie]

Yes she is neutured and a very friendly cat with people, she doesn't seem to lack confidence.  But she is very wary once outside and looks scared all the time.

I don't necessarily want her to get fat, I think the months on the streets while she was young made her small boned and she is very picky with food (although does like ice cream strangely).

Thinking more about it, I don't think there is much I can do other than moving to a cat-free place but that's taking things a little too far.  As long as she doesn't get seriously hurt I think I'll just let her get on with it.  I just wanted some reassurance that getting in fights is normal for cats and it's not her being a complete wuss (although she is).

Thanks guys.

just a thought....................... how many cats have you got?
mother inlaws cat was the same so she got another furbaby, and the eldest one started sticking up for himself! He became more playfull, and defo more content! Not sure its the right solution for your problem, but just a thought!   

[Mark]

I have found that Science Plan goes down well and is really fattening -I am using it to get Willow back in shape after her flu but have to hid it from Kylie as it is the cause of her being overweight in the first place.

[Lily]

Yes she is neutured and a very friendly cat with people, she doesn't seem to lack confidence.  But she is very wary once outside and looks scared all the time.

I don't necessarily want her to get fat, I think the months on the streets while she was young made her small boned and she is very picky with food (although does like ice cream strangely).

Thinking more about it, I don't think there is much I can do other than moving to a cat-free place but that's taking things a little too far.  As long as she doesn't get seriously hurt I think I'll just let her get on with it.  I just wanted some reassurance that getting in fights is normal for cats and it's not her being a complete wuss (although she is).

Thanks guys.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Lily is neutered isnt she?

Could be there are some toms out there who fancy her cos there always seem to be more boy cats than girl cats.

[Kay and Penny]

I should like to beef up Trigger a bit, as he has always been lean, despite having a good appetite - if he got ill and stopped eating he would go downhill very quickly, I think

but as he is healthy I think he must just have a faster metabolism - I suppose it is like those lucky people who can eat anything and stay slim

Lily seemingly does not avoid these fights - could it be she actually enjoys mixing it with the big boys?

[Sonnie]

When Felix returned home (he ws missing for about 4 weeks) he was very very thin.  I fed him little and often, so that he wouldnt be bringing back up any of the food that was suppost to stay down!! 
I also sprinkle small biccys on all of their food, (i think it fills them up more!!) 
and once a week i boil some chicken, wait for it to cool and shred it in the blender, this also goes on their food as a lil treat!!!  I found that with these small adjustments, Felix is now back to his normal, chumba-wumba chucky self!!   

[Lily]

Lily is about 2 years old (maybe more/less, she's a rescue cat) and she's still a little thing (wears kitten collars as her neck is too small for adult ones) even though she's not skinny (7lbs ish).  But the issue is that she gets into a lot of fights with neighbourhood cats, she always has scrapes and scratches on her legs (from running away) and a few times I've seen scratches on her face (near her ears and mouth).  They all heal fine and she doesn't get any major injuries. 

But I want to know if this is normal?  Can I do anything to stop her being bullied by the other (much larger) cats? 

At 6am this morning she went outside and got into a very noisy fight so much so that I went outside and called her in (couldn't see the fight and she doesn't have any new injuries so probably more yeowling than fighting).  She loves being outdoors and I let her come and go freely, she once had to stay inside for a few months as she had a skin condition and she hated it, always prowling and not eating much.  So I don't want to stop her from going outside, but I'm worried she might get bullied too much.

Any advice?