I don't know if I should worry or not

rang_27

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So lately (since like Saturday) Isaac hasn't been finishing all of his meals. Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't. It seems to be behaviroal in nature and health realted, but given what's been going on with Jordan, I don't know. I'm just trying not to totally flip out. Jordan is going on Saturday for a retest on his calcium level, and I was thinking I'd talk to the vet about it when he calls with Jordan's results. I just don't know, I hate to rush him in and look like a crazy person. Sometimes he is eating fine and other times he is leaving food (this is not normal for any of my cats). Lately though he seems to be jealous of the attention Jordan has been getting, and if I feed him wet food like I do Jordan, he will eat that right up. He did throw up a huge hairball the other day and I thought that would help, but he still didn't want to finish his dry food this morning. Maybe I should buy him a small bag of the dry food they used to eat.
 

littleraven7726

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Raven has good days and bad days. But most recently he had a bad reaction to the Metacam and the vet believes that is why he stopped eating. We have to let it clear out of his system, then give him one dose friday afternoon and watch for vomitting again. And call her on Saturday am with results either way.

Stimpy has been jealous and not always eating his wet. But that's partially my fault. It's been seafood central here, and I have to get him some FF chicken or turkey loaf.
 

coaster

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I think you'll worry a whole lot less if you get a pet scale and weigh your cats once a week. Keep a weight log and you can tell long before it's obvious whether a cat is losing weight (or getting fat.) If he's maintaining weight, then the reason he's not eating all his food is because you're just feeding him too much and so he's only eating what he needs -- something that some cats just naturally do (unlike most of us humans)
 

moggiegirl

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Just as we people have had to unlearn the old fashioned rule, "You must eat everything on your plate." I don't think we should enforce this old rule on our cats. The best food rule is "You must eat what you need and stop when you're satisfied and if you're not hungry you don't have to eat." Coaster has a great idea about buying a pet scale. This will give you some peace of mind. You need to know if your cats are gaining weight, losing weight, or maintaining weight.

My cats also don't always finish their food and they're still overweight. So I think it's good for them to occasionally not finish a meal for the sake of their health and to prevent obesity, one of the most common feline related health problems that come up in vet clinics and lead to other illnesses. Cats in the wild also do not get fed twice a day and they're certainly not free fed. By all means feed your cats twice a day or if you wish 3 times a day but keep in mind that house cats live in luxury and it's very rare that they are underfed. But do look for signs of serious weight loss or a refusal to eat anything at all, as that is an indication of illness, especially if they are fed generously as I'm sure your feeding them. You could even get the kind of scale that vet clinics carry. You can order one from Foster and Smith. www.drsfostersmith.com I'm going to get one for my cats. Weigh them once a week and as you feel more comfortable you can weigh them once or twice a month.

Oh, and your cats have smaller stomachs than people do. It's about the size of a fifty cent piece before it expands from being filled with food.
 
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rang_27

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Well he threw up 2 large hair balls in a matter of 3 days & now he's back to eating normally. For my cats the refusal of any food is not normal. I think because of all the health problems Jordan is having I'm probably overly concnerned with what all the cats are eating.
 

littleraven7726

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Originally Posted by Rang_27

Well he threw up 2 large hair balls in a matter of 3 days & now he's back to eating normally. For my cats the refusal of any food is not normal. I think because of all the health problems Jordan is having I'm probably overly concnerned with what all the cats are eating.
My cats get like that when they have a hairball too. Stimpy is our biggest hairball culprit, but he's been better since I've been trying to brush him every day. He lets me with the Zoom Groom. He won't let me use the slicker brush, but allows my DH to use it -- I don't get it
 
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rang_27

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Originally Posted by littleraven7726

My cats get like that when they have a hairball too. Stimpy is our biggest hairball culprit, but he's been better since I've been trying to brush him every day. He lets me with the Zoom Groom. He won't let me use the slicker brush, but allows my DH to use it -- I don't get it
Isaac is a long hair cat (at his last checkup the vet actually said, "You are a hairy beast aren't you"). The problem is he won't let me brush him with anything, although I haven't tried the zoom groom in a while.
 
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rang_27

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Originally Posted by moggiegirl

Just as we people have had to unlearn the old fashioned rule, "You must eat everything on your plate." I don't think we should enforce this old rule on our cats. The best food rule is "You must eat what you need and stop when you're satisfied and if you're not hungry you don't have to eat." Coaster has a great idea about buying a pet scale. This will give you some peace of mind. You need to know if your cats are gaining weight, losing weight, or maintaining weight.

My cats also don't always finish their food and they're still overweight. So I think it's good for them to occasionally not finish a meal for the sake of their health and to prevent obesity, one of the most common feline related health problems that come up in vet clinics and lead to other illnesses. Cats in the wild also do not get fed twice a day and they're certainly not free fed. By all means feed your cats twice a day or if you wish 3 times a day but keep in mind that house cats live in luxury and it's very rare that they are underfed. But do look for signs of serious weight loss or a refusal to eat anything at all, as that is an indication of illness, especially if they are fed generously as I'm sure your feeding them. You could even get the kind of scale that vet clinics carry. You can order one from Foster and Smith. www.drsfostersmith.com I'm going to get one for my cats. Weigh them once a week and as you feel more comfortable you can weigh them once or twice a month.

Oh, and your cats have smaller stomachs than people do. It's about the size of a fifty cent piece before it expands from being filled with food.
I should add that I do not free feed because my Levi would sit & eat all day long if I let him. So they get fed in the morning & then again at night before bed.
 
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