So the cat is getting thin again

[SEL]

This is becoming an annual post of mine - timing with her vaccinations.

13 this year and now 2.5kg having been 3kg at her heaviest. Eating fine, drinking fine, active and very much her normal self. Teeth grimy despite having 2 out and a full clean last August but a previous vet said some cats can have that after having a bad start in life. She is munching away on biscuits so no obvious pain - last time she stopped eating dried food and just wanted wet.

Thyroid tests negative two years in a row. I've had cats with thyroid problems before and she isn't coming across like that.

Got a prescription only wormer which is a spot on and I'll have to wait until she's forgiven me for today's visit until I can get close enough to pop that on. Vets want her back a few weeks post worming if she isn't gaining weight. Should say she's long haired so not obviously skin and bones - just a lot of fluff.

Is there a more fattening wet food which is grain free anyone has found palatable? She is incredibly fussy and a lot of the stuff they sell in the vets she won't go near.

I'm not even sure how you go about fattening a cat up tbh. She has food down 24:7 and is quite capable of waking me up at 4am if she thinks portions are insufficient or I've dared to suggest beef instead of chicken!

 

[Nasicus]

I was giving mine this from Akela to help pack some calories in:

Akela Salmon Oil & Sheep Fat 500ml - Natural Oils & Vinegars - Akela Dog Treats - Canine

Akela Salmon Oil & Sheep Fat combines the advantages of salmon oil and sheep/lamb fat to provide your dog with essential fatty acids and enhanced overall health. 100% natural food supplement for dogs. Salmon oil provides essential fatty acids that promote

www.wholeprey.com

Have you tested her liver parameters at all? We suspected thyroid due to weightloss, but mine turned out to be liver lymphoma (until she developed hyperthyroidism a year later anyway).

 

[skinnydipper]

For extra calories you could maybe try giving a sachet of Lick e Lix in addition to her regular food. I bought some for my cat to disguise the medication she was taking, it was preferrable to cat wrangling. She enjoyed it so much I continued to give her it. She has always been slim but I notice she has put on a little weight since she started having the Lick e Lix.

She is senior and has always been extremely fussy about her food (unless it is freshly caught mouse). Chicken is the only flavour that passed the taste test.

 

[lizziebell]

Has she had bloods looked at for anything else or just for thyroid levels? It might be worth getting a complete blood test done in case of kidney or other issues which are common in older cats.

We found with senior cats to give lots of small meals a day, and opt for kitten food as that is higher in calories.

 

[Ratface]

Th late great King Kevin Kat lost a lot of weight over a relatively short space of time due to an inoperable stomach tumour. Sometimes, these can be identified and treated by steroids. The tumour was identified and he had the steroids, but sadly, he was out-run by the cancer and had to be pts.

 

[Lady Jane]

My solution with ageing cats loosing weight is to feed them whatever they will eat, but to be fair they have been late teens when I have got to that stage and I knew what the problem was.
What 'they like' could be Gourmet Gold, Sheba, chicken, fish, prawns, steak, pate. Its actually not good for them but I was past that stage.

I would agree on full bloods as the next step (keeping food healthy for now) especially as you haven't mentioned ruling out kidney problems?

Current 18yr old cat is on Whiskas pouches(3) split 4-6 times a day, lunch is topped with Felix cat soup. He has actually put on a little weight but we can't weigh him as he doesn't like being picked up (ex semi feral) but I would guess 3/3,5kg, he is a small cat. He also gets fish or chicken 2-3 times a week, that's in addition - he howls so much when we have it its easier to give in!

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I'd be looking to get bloods to check kidney function, my parents dear little fluffy girl dropped a lot of weight and the bloods showed it was her kidneys and thyroid

I'm pretty sure she was given tablets for both and she was also put on a renal prescription diet - it's sadly not curable but they helped slow it.

 

[SEL]

Should have mentioned she's had the full range of blood tests for the past two years because the vets were convinced there was something wrong. Removing two teeth last year did help with her eating dry food so I had put it down to pain but I'm not seeing any physical issues at the moment.

If worming doesn't help then I'll probably have blood tests to put my mind at rest but she has never eaten much so I'm wondering if just giving her something more calorific would help. She's eating fine, just needs to be the equivalent of cream cakes instead of celery I think!

@Lady Jane you sound as much of a slave to your cat as I am to mine!! The hassle we went to during covid to track down the one brand she'd actually eat ...

We found with senior cats to give lots of small meals a day, and opt for kitten food as that is higher in calories.

Kitten food I can try and oil and I've never heard of Lik e Lix but will track down.

I'll keep you posted. Her ladyship is sulking upstairs on my newly washed fleece

 

[DirectorFury]

Will she eat Katkin? My boy cat can't have any grain and does really well on it.

If you want to try, I've got a referral link for a free trial box (2 weeks of food). For transparency, if you decide to use my link, I get 50% off my next box of Katkin, though that's not why I'm offering .

 

[SEL]

Will she eat Katkin? My boy cat can't have any grain and does really well on it.

If you want to try, I've got a referral link for a free trial box (2 weeks of food). For transparency, if you decide to use my link, I get 50% off my next box of Katkin, though that's not why I'm offering .

I've no idea but I was getting Facebook spam from them a while back. If she won't the bottomless pit of a yard cat will have her rejects

Do you want to pm me the link? More than happy to help you get your 50% off!!

 

[TheHairyOne]

My oldish Bengal very nearly died last november after getting acute peritonitis. Off colour on the Friday. Vets Saturday morning who said he was 'just a bit dehydrated and get some cat milk'. Syringed that down him Sunday and had him in 1st appointment Monday morning.

They diagnosed him with cancer which caused him to stop eating which caused the peritonitis. Now has a steriod jab about every 6 weeks.

Anyway, he's still with us and up from 2.78kg on admitance to the vets to 4.58kg last weigh in. He still could do with a bit more, but going the right way.

He was fed 5 times a day to start with and as someone said above anything he would eat. I got the very expensive cat food to start with that is basically designed as a treat (applause and the encore sainsburys brand) and cat soup of a varitey of brands. He would also get mince, loves roast chicken so bits of that. And i found some treats he'd eat a few of (bonkers!) that had taurine and some vitamins in it.

As he put on weight I switched to still premium brand complete catfood (sainsburys delicious recipes) for 2 meals and sometimes he would only get 4 meals a day.

He then got fussy with the expensive cat food and instead of eating his food would wait and go lick up what was left of the gourmet perle the other boys get!

He's now on 3 meals a day (all catfood but a variety of brands to keep him interested) and he gets dreamies as a mid morning snack if he comes in shouting for them. Dont know how long we have left, but he is much more active now than he was for 6 months before his diagnosis and seems pretty happy.

Hope your's picks up, they are such a worry.

As an aside I have most of a trial pack of katkin in my freezer. None of my 4 would touch it so if someone local wants to collect they are welcome to.

 

[Boulty]

At her age it would definitely be having kidney bloods plus urine sample (to check for protein loss) done if hasn’t been done in the last 6 months. You could also make a case for ultrasound scanning to check for early signs of anything going on internally but if she’s otherwise well then would be totally reasonable to try changing her food. Would probably be looking for something with high quality, easily digestible protein as if all tests coming back normal it could literally be that now she’s a bit older she’s struggling to absorb as much goodness from her food. Something like the Katkin mentioned up thread may be worth a go. (Or yep you could totally try feeding a lickelix a day… accidentally made my cat gain weight when the Hooligan arrived by plying him with lickelix as a way of apologising to him!)

My cat tends to have a winter bod & a summer bod. (He’s way more active & possibly also eats less in Summer). His weight can fluctuate by as much as 0.5kg but as I kinda know the reason why & he’s still within what is healthy I just roll with it. Not suggesting you should with yours (especially as 2.5kg is on the light side for most cats unless literally tiny) just stating that my cat is a weirdo!

 

[poiuytrewq]

Would oil on her biscuits help at all?
I’ve been giving a squirt of salmon oil to the dogs.

 

[SEL]

Would oil on her biscuits help at all?
I’ve been giving a squirt of salmon oil to the dogs.

I'm not sure she'd eat them!

It doesn't help that she's never been a big eater. I used to have to warn the cattery that if they put a whole packet down she'd nibble and leave most of it. Best to give her a bit of meat and leave biscuits / kibble down. She's quite fussy too. I've bought her those incredibly expensive tins that even I'd eat before and she'll have one and then turn her nose up.

She was a tiny stray and had a heavy load of tapeworm so it might be that her guts will never be 100% - but she's still prowling around the garden with attitude.

@Boulty she's only 3.1kg at her fattest so losing 0.5kg is a fair % of weight. If she wasn't long haired then I think it would be pretty obvious she was underweight. I'll run her up for bloods in a couple of weeks if no improvement.

 

[poiuytrewq]

One of ours drops off dramatically at this time of year. He looks pretty skinny and almost tucked up, I hate to think what he looks like with out fur.
It’s because he’s out so much and a lot more active. He even comes on dog walks with us, literally never stops.
Come winter he will put weight back on and turn onto a lazy lump again. He hates cold and rain.
Could it be anything that simple?

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

No help really but I look after the yard cat and he’s 14 this year but lost a lot of weight this winter whereas he used to put it on and be quite porky.

He’s had a senior cat blood panel done and apparently all perfect. He was palpated all over and no obvious signs of tumour and his teeth are in good shape. He eats one day and then not the next and he’s taken a liking to Cat Milk which I started giving in the very hot weather as I didn’t want him to get dehydrated. He’s on the most expensive of wet cat food but I can’t leave it out due to the flies. Sometimes he’ll clear his plate the next time he leaves most of it. I’m still worried there’s something underlying but he’s happy active with a shiny coat so maybe just age.

 

[Ratface]

You've done your best in getting him vet checked and a blood panel done. He's a very lucky cat to have you in his corner.
Fatty Chatty Carrie Catty sends her regards and says "Keep the Cat Slaves on their toes at all times. That way, they try their best to get you whatever you want and/or need, 24/7!"

 

[SEL]

One of ours drops off dramatically at this time of year. He looks pretty skinny and almost tucked up, I hate to think what he looks like with out fur.
It’s because he’s out so much and a lot more active. He even comes on dog walks with us, literally never stops.
Come winter he will put weight back on and turn onto a lazy lump again. He hates cold and rain.
Could it be anything that simple?

It really could be that simple. She's out most nights unless it's raining and I have a suspicion she's off in the fields stalking stuff.

Currently it's like cat treat tapas to see what she will / won't eat. But she has a little bit from everything then heads out. Heavy rain due in so if she gets wet I'm due a cuddle in the early hours so she can dry off

 

[poiuytrewq]

Soggy mid night cat cuddles!
How lovely

 

[HollyWoozle]

All old cats we’ve had have really enjoyed the pate/mousse type foods. It sounds silly but especially if you sort of pile them up in the middle of the dish, I think it’s just easier for them to eat and pick up. Salmon oil is also surprisingly palatable (it’s in quite a few foods now anyway I think) and worth a try for added oomph.

 

[Ratface]

All old cats we’ve had have really enjoyed the pate/mousse type foods. It sounds silly but especially if you sort of pile them up in the middle of the dish, I think it’s just easier for them to eat and pick up. Salmon oil is also surprisingly palatable (it’s in quite a few foods now anyway I think) and worth a try for added oomph.

Fatty Chatty Carrie Catty highly recommends tins of Purina Chicken Pate. She was only given Purina Dry Biscuits in her previous home. They're OK, but definitely not on a par with the wet food.
Train your Cat Slave to pile it in the centre of the plate, as recommended above.
Cat Slaves learn quickly, but you have to train them up the way you want them to go.
Hopping onto their bunk whilst they're asleep and biting their nose is a good reminder . . .

 

[rabatsa]

Fatty Chatty Carrie Catty highly recommends tins of Purina Chicken Pate. She was only given Purina Dry Biscuits in her previous home. They're OK, but definitely not on a par with the wet food.
Train your Cat Slave to pile it in the centre of the plate, as recommended above.
Cat Slaves learn quickly, but you have to train them up the way you want them to go.
Hopping onto their bunk whilst they're asleep and biting their nose is a good reminder . . .

This makes me so grateful that Squeak is a feral barn cat. My nose is safe.