Should I castrate my cat? Why is he shedding and not gaining weight?

How lovely of you to bring him Cactus! Even though he's not showing behavioral signs now, it doesn't mean that he won't start spraying to mark his territory and want to go outside to roam. Also intact male cats tend to be poor groomers, causing them to become matted and scruffy-looking. On the other hand, neutered male cats tend to pay more attention to themselves and keep themselves clean. I think having him neutered would be a good idea. Best of luck.

After neutering, generally at the age of 6 months, in Leo's case 8 months, cats are still growing not yet reached their full size till around 12 months of age. For now I would recommend to stick to a good quality kitten food till a year old. But, many young cats gain weight beyond what they should gain after neutering so watch him if he is gaining more weight then he should then talk to your vet about adult cat food, some are specific to castrated/spayed young cats.

Poor Canelo. I am sorry that it has been difficult to get him to gain weight. With him being young and petite and intact then I would not be too concerned. Of course, without doing an exam I cannot say this for sure. If he is really skinny and all of his bones are showing then yes, I would be more concerned. If his bones are not showing and you cannot see his ribs then I would be less concerned. Some cats are more petit and slender especially if they are very active and outdoors. I would also recommend to have him neutered as that may also help him gain weight. Finally, if he is really skinny and you are able to see his bones, I would recommend to ensure your vet tested his thyroid (high thyroid isn't common is young cats but possible). Then I would recommend to increase the amount of food you are feeding and if he is still not gaining weigh then the next step would be abdominal x-rays or ultrasound. I hope this helps some. I would love to talk to you more on the forum or if you would like to set up a consult.

I am sorry to hear that Gary is not feeling well. While being intact can make them have behavioral changes and actively seek out a mate, this shouldn't cause him to not eat or lose weight. I would definitely recommend taking him to veterinarian for an examination. It is possible that he is painful somewhere or has problems with his urinary tract that makes him painful and causes him to urinate where he shouldn't. I hope this helps and that Gary feels better soon.

Exercise is definitely a good way to help him lose weight, but make sure you do it at his pace and don't push him too much. The most important thing you can do to control the weight is control his nutrition. Knowing how to feed George properly is an important first step. I've put a couple of links below that have good information about feeding cats to prevent obesity and information about obesity. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/health_information/brochure_feedingcat.cfm http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/obesity.cfm The next step is knowing how to implement a diet. This is often the most difficult thing for owners to do, but I can't stress enough the importance of sticking with the diet. Below is a link to information about getting your cat on a diet. http://www.petmd.com/cat/nutrition/evr_ct_obesity_in_cats_and_what_to_do_about_an_overweight_cat It is best to have George examined by a veterinarian, because it is possible that he has medical condition like hypothyroidism or diabetes that could be causing the obesity. The vet can also help to formulate a diet plan specifically to your cat. Weight loss plans often take a long time to work in cats, so don't be surprised if it takes a year or so to get her slimmed down. I hope that helps and George does well on the diet.

Your cat might have something going on with his mouth or teeth, or may have a urinary tract disease or some other metabolic issue. If he is losing weight, you should have blood work and a urine test done to make sure he doesn't have an infection or other issue causing him to stop eating as well as he was. Otherwise, the increase in wanting attention is not necessarily a bad thing or a sign of illness.

I would talk to your vet about checking her thyroid hormones. It is probably unlikely but definitely possible that her thyroid is too high causing weight loss and hair loss. I would also make sure she is on a high quality dry and canned cat food to help increase the caloric intake. If you aren't planning on breeding her, I would consider getting her spayed as long as she is healthy enough per your vet. I would definitely continue the vitamins. Also, I would talk to your vet about ruling other things out if they haven't already like parasites, giardia, feline leukemia, feline aids, and more. I hope this helps!