Worried About Wieght Loss

I noticed last night that I can really easily feel Amigo's backbone, he seems to have lost a lot of wieght. All of the rest of the farm cats are doing really well on the food they are getting right now, he's the only one who has lost wieght. should i try (hint word is try!) to feed him a differant brand of food seperated from the rest of the cats when i go there in the evening? He is still very active, playing with everyone on the pile of straw bales. I am just concerned that he has lost too much wieght. Is there any food that i should try give him that could help? Do i try get him to eat more wet food? Could it be that he just has a problem with what i am feeding everyone? The too skinny cats have all gained wieght on their food, so i don't understand why amigo is having problems. any advice would really be appreciated!

how old is he??

do you have a vet who will come to you??

amigo is one year old, and he is eating still. i do not ever take the farm cats to the vet, the only exception is when they all got spayed/nuetered. they all get worm meds, and if i notice that one of them is having problems with fleas i give them flea meds too.

i can take his tempeture tonight and see if it is high, though would the could weather right now affect his temp at all or not? he appears perfectly healthy. i do have some vitamins i could give him if you think that would help.

Is there anyways you can take him to the vet? Considerable weight loss can be a sign of something serious...

he was fine tonight, still underwieght but he ate lots of the kitten food i gave him. i wonder though if he isn't getting enough to eat - he is to much of a gentleman for his own good, he'll wait for everyone to finish eating what they want and then he will eat. i gave him some kitten wet food tonight because that was the only 3 oz cans i had and its been so cold out lately it should be good for him. he ate the whole can, and is back into the haymow so he has little competition for his food, only jessie, shadow, nightmare, mo, and whisper are up there, and i gave them lots of dry food. if he shows no improvement in a few days i might end up trying to take him in. he is also going to the bathroom, so its not that he is blocked or anything.

Kitten food is good for him, as it is more nutritious and caloric than regular adult food.
Try giving his food in separate, to make sure he eats the whole thing.

tonight he seemed to have already have gained back some wieght. i fed him another 3 oz can of kitten wet food. could it have just been that it got really cold?

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

could it have just been that it got really cold?

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Nope. If anything, I get the sense that barn cats bulk up in the cold weather, not lose weight. Extra fat and fur keeps them warm and losing weight over winter can kill them. They have too strong of a survival instinct to do that to themselves.

The new food might not be settling with him very well. Some cats have intolerances for some ingredients that others do not. I suspect with all the barn cats there is no way to see what his poop looks like? Look around and see if you spot anything really runny.

If you don't continue to see improvements with him, you really need to get him to a vet. I know you live with your parents. Do you have the means to pay for a vet bill or get him into the vet?

up to a few days ago it was in the 40's at night, but then it all of the sudden dropped down to 17 degrees f. at night, and if you add in the wind chill it was about 1 degree.

they have been getting this food for a while and he has never had a problem with it. i did just recently start giving them some blue wilderness dry, but that i do not mix with the other two dry foods, i give it to them seperatly. he never eats it, the rest inhale it before he can get a chance to have any.

if he doesn't gain back any more wieght over the next few days i can try to get him into the vet.

i caught amigo going to the bathroom so i was able to see his poo before he covered it. it looks fine, not to be gross or anything, but it looked like normal cat poo should, it wasn't water but wasn't to hard either. also, there weren't any worms in it or anything that was visible. it also doesn't stink much, doesn't stink at all if you compare it to marty (house kitten who is unfortunatly on science diet)

he himself has gained back more wieght again, getting very close to his ideal wieght.

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

i caught amigo going to the bathroom so i was able to see his poo before he covered it. it looks fine, not to be gross or anything, but it looked like normal cat poo should, it wasn't water but wasn't to hard either. also, there weren't any worms in it or anything that was visible. it also doesn't stink much, doesn't stink at all if you compare it to marty (house kitten who is unfortunatly on science diet)

he himself has gained back more wieght again, getting very close to his ideal wieght.

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Good news on his weight.

And don't think its gross to check their poo. Every good cat parent has to be prepared to do that!