Is my cat losing weight from climbing her tall cat tree for food?

Thanks for visiting Petcoach. A lot of vets have a hard time assessing an overweight cat during an exam, mainly because some cats have a short temper and we are working against the clock in a lot of these cases. So sometimes we cannot feel for the ribs, spine, etc. It is very possible that Jasper was overweight to begin with and now is more ideal weight. Without a photo attached it is hard to tell, but as long as his other faculties are intact (i.e. eating well, normal stools), then I would not worry about the weight loss. The weight control food is limiting his calorie intake, and with his activity level, he is likely just going back down to his normal standard weight. He should level off with he weight loss once he has reached his ideal weight soon, if this is the case. Here is a website link so that you can assess his BCS (body condition score) yourself at home https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/PDF_old/Body-condition-score-chart-cats.pdf If however, you are still concerned about his weight loss, and he seems overly hungry, then I would be suspicious of underlying thyroid disease. A thyroid test would be next on the agenda if he meets these criteria. Thyroid disease is typically easily managed in cats and he is of the age where we do see more of this disorder. i hope that Jasper's weight loss is attributed to his new food and that he starts to level off with his weight soon! Best wishes and take care.

This kind of dramatic weight loss is almost always due to an underlying medical condition. Ask your vet if he has checked Frida Katio's thyroid levels to rule out hyperthyroidism and performed full body X-rays to scan for any masses. He should also perform full mouth dental X-rays to rule out any dental disease that may be preventing her from eating. If all of these diseases have been ruled out, you could consider switching Frida to a higher calorie canned food such as Hills Science Diet AD.

Hi! It does concern me that Myla has lost a noticeable amount of weight over the past few months. It's certainly possible that this could be due to her picky eating habits, but I wouldn't necessarily expect her to lose a considerable amount of weight from that alone since I'm assuming that she's always been a bit picky. Other causes of weight loss can include inflammatory bowel disease, a heavy burden of parasites, cancer, kidney disease, or diabetes, although we often see other changes associated with many of these conditions. I do think it would be best to take Myla to her vet for an exam and some diagnostic testing (blood work and/or imaging - x-rays or ultrasound) to try to get to the bottom of this situation. Until her appointment, try feeding her wet food in a room away from your other two cats so that you can more accurately see exactly how much she's eating. I hope that everything goes well!

It could be that your cat is gaining weight, but without seeing her in person, I can't say for certain if she is overweight or not. I recommend looking at her body condition score, and I can give you a link to a website detailing how to measure that. That will give you an indication if she is overweight or not. If she is, then you can cut out the chicken. It's a treat she really doesn't need and is adding extra calories to her diet. https://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/Body%20condition%20score%20chart%20cats.pdf

This is not unusual behavior. In the wild, cats eat 9-16 times in a day. Since she is not over weight, you can continue free feeding her. Make sure she is checked regularly for worms and watch for any signs of illness. I hope this helps.

Kit is very handsome! Thanks for posting a picture. Since cats are obligate carnivores, we think the most biologically appropriate food for a domesticated cat is a mouse which is a high protein diet. The closest we can get to that ideal diet with commercial food is a canned food diet. Canned food diets are lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein than dry foods. Since cats are obligate carnivores, they are not able to utilize carbohydrates effectively and will often just gain weight on foods that are higher in carbohydrates. The best website I have found to describe this well is listed below. http://catinfo.org/ The above website also discusses changing cats from dry food to canned food. I most commonly recommend Wellness canned food for cats. It is a very food company with a good history and cats tend to do well on it. The general rule for cats is that they should eat about 5.5 ounces of canned food each day for each 10 pounds of ideal body weight. But be sure to go slowly with any diet changes to prevent GI upset. As far as getting Kit to be more active, I would recommend looking at the website below for ideas to get an indoor cat more active. https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Weight loss is possible due to increased activity, but 9kg to 4kg is more drastic than I would expect. I would discuss doing bloodwork with your vet. Increased activity and weight loss is common in cats with hyperthyroidism. Weight loss can also be caused by kidney disease and diabetes. All 3 of these conditions can be diagnosed with simple bloodwork (CBC, chemistry, thyroid panel) and urinalysis.