Cats seem to not be eating as much

[Tundra_Queen]

Hi

I have a 6 yr old male cat, Willie. He is/was 15.4lbs in September when we got the two kittens. I have been trying to change him over to canned food and he is eating it, almost a 5.5 oz can a day. But I have noticed that he has lost some weight. I don't know how much exactly, but I can really feel his hip bones? I think they are. (He is a very long haired cat and it's hard to tell how fat he is by looking at him.)

I am still putting out his dry special food for IBS so he eats a tiny bit of that and a bit of the kitten food, though not as much as he use to. He just doesn't seem to be as hungry as he use to be when he was the only cat. I've been trying to get him to eat more canned food, Wellness, but he won't. I have tried the parmasean cheese on top of it and that helps him to eat more...sometimes.

Do u think he is losing weight because he is chasing the kittens around so much? I don't know how much calories a cat can burn by running around like he never did before the kittens came here.

I can't weigh him as I can't see the scale that great. My son is coming over on Sunday and I'm going to ask him to weigh Willie then.

Willie seems to have more energy that he has in a very long time and he is jumping up and down on things much more than he has in years too, so I don't think he is feeling sick.

Is there something I can feed him to put a bit of weight back on him? I've tried the raw food and he doesn't like it.

Oh yeah, how do u teach a cat to bite or chew his food when all he has ever done is lick it? He even licks the dry food, never chews it.

Now, for the second part of the thread. Since the kittens have gotten fixed they aren't eating as much either. I use to put wet food down in front of them and they would eat until they were going to burst! Since they have been spayed and neutered they don't seem to be eating as much and they don't finish off their food.

I didn't know if because they came from a house with 17 cats they just ate like crazy when they first got here because they were afraid there wouldn't be enough for them and they know now that there is enough food to go around? Or maybe they aren't growing as fast now so they don't need as much food? They are around 25 weeks now. (They were found in a junk car so the rescue didn't know exactly how old they are.)

So for the long post.

Thanks

Debbie

[clm]

I would take your older cat to the vet for a wellness test, just to be sure everything is alright. He will lose weight being more active and being more active is definately a good thing.
As for your kittens appetites dropping off, they don't need the same amount of calories as they get older. Growing kittens have incredible appetites, especially during the growth spurts. It's natural for them to not want to eat as much as they did when they were growing so fast.

Cindy

[sugarcatmom]

I agree with clm. Anytime a cat loses weight, you want to make sure there isn't something else going. He certainly doesn't sound ill, but if he's lost some weight from extra exercise, his hips shouldn't be getting bonier, they should be musclier. Certainly a wellness check wouldn't hurt if he hasn't had one in a while.

As for feeding him, perhaps he's bored of Wellness and would like a little more variety. I feed Aztec a different brand/flavour for every meal. For some reason, cats can eat the same dry food every day forever, but when it comes to canned they tend to get tired of the same-old-same-old. I think it has to do with fewer "flavour enhancers" in canned.

[Tundra_Queen]

Thanks for the opinions. He still has a bowl of his dry food available but he doesn't seem to be pigging out on it like he use to. Maybe because he isn't bored now that the kittens are here to watch? *S* I'm sneaking in a bit of Wellness core into his wellness wet food so hopefully he will get extra calories eating that. I just hope his IBS isn't acting up again.

Debbie

[Love4himies]

I agree with CLM, when a cat looses interest in food and looses weight a blood work check should be done.

Jasper did loose a lot of weight very quickly when I changed from kibble to canned, but has stablized after adding a bit of kibble sprinkled on top of his canned. He also seemed to eat less with the canned (he is on Natures Variety, Instinct). He is now a perfect weight.

[Tundra_Queen]

Thanks Love4himies. I played a trick on Willie tonight. I got his treat container and put some Wellness Core in it and just told him it was his "candy" his word for treats......and he ate them all. He doesn't stop running, playing with the kittens until they go to their room. Right now O'Shawnnessy is hiding under the sheet over our antique chair and they are playing tag thru the sheet.

[Tundra_Queen]

Hi
I was able to get Willie weighed today, he is down to 13.0 lbs from 15.3lbs. That means he has lost 2.3 lbs in 12 wks., that is 3 oz a week. I'm still trying to get him to eat a bit more a day so he doesn't lose anymore weight.

Debbie