New foods, not going well

andrya

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l'm very disappointed and disheartened. l switched my cats over from grocery store canned food (mostly Friskies pate) to 6 different "premium" canned foods, all but one of them are grain-free (the lnnova has rice). One immediate positive reaction was that Tanner, the Siamese, stopped his daily puke-after-eating routine. l can't even remember the last time either of them threw up. Another positive is that both cats eat way less of these foods.

But, there has been a downside with Tanner - he has slowly lost weight. l knew they had gone from weighing about the same, to one being heavier than the other, but l don't own scales so l didn't know if one had gained or one had lost, or a little of both. l expected a wee bit of an evening out period where they might gain or lose a tiny bit until they became accustomed to their new diet, but there is now a quite pronounced difference between the weight of the two. When my son came over today, he said "Wow, Tanner's lost weight". He doesn't see them and pick them up every day so it was quite noticeable to him. 

Another thing: Tanner, same cat, initially with the change in diet, his fur became glossy. He's always had very fine, soft fur, but it got a nice shine to it. At this point, months later, l would say it's gone beyond shiny to almost oily. 

Bretten, the other fella, is just thriving on the new diet, and l do think he's gained a little weight, although l'd rather he didn't. He's meant to be slim.

l've already ordered mice for them, and l'm going to give commercial raw once or twice a week, just so they have more variety. But l don't know where to start with their canned food - which l want to keep feeding them. l don't know if he's reacting to something in the ingredients, or just not eating enough.

lf anyone has any suggestions for what to do, l'd be really grateful.

Tanner has a teeth-cleaning appointment at the end of the month, so l'll mention it to the vet too.

Their canned foods are:

EVO cat+kitten, Wellness Grain Free, Wellness Core, Blue Wilderness, Go! Grain Free, and Innova cat+kitten.

Tanner is only 6 yo btw.
 

ldg

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I'm so sorry, I'm a little confused. What is the problem Tanner's having with the new diet? He's lost too much weight? His coat is oily?

Does he have a healthy appetite? Is he eating his meals? Are they fed individually? I mean - do you know how much food each cat is eating?

When you feel his back, is there still a little "roll" on his neck? Or does his backbone stick out? Do his ribs protrude?
 
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andrya

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Yes, that he's lost weight, and his fur now looks a little oily. He was skinny to start with, his hip bones have always stood out and his backbone protrudes. But he's fleshy enough, and l still can't see his ribs. l've never monitored how much they eat - l put the bowl out, they eat it, l wash the bowl. When l started the new foods, l'd have to throw a fair amount away until l started giving less. 

Neither cat has a huge appetite, they eat when they're fed and seem otherwise satisfied. There's no change in behaviour or anything, and he seems perfectly normal other than my son was shocked at how light he is now.

When the weight loss is coupled with the change in coat appearance, l'm worried that he's either not reacting well to a new ingredient, or the loss of an old ingredient, or that he's not eating enough.
 
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andrya

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l changed their diet about 5 - 6 months ago, so it's been a very slow change in weight.

Last time he was at the vet he weighed 7.2lbs, he's very small and leggy. He has a tiny skinny frame, but a wee bit of a blubber-bag under his belly.

l'll buy a scale tomorrow and see where he is now.

According to the Royal Canin body condition chart that l just found online, he is a definite A, and needs veterinary attention!

http://www.pet-slimmers.com/shapecat.htm

lf l weigh him tomorrow and his weight has dropped, l'll take him to the vet and see what's going on.

l should add too, that l made his teeth cleaning appointment because although l do clean his teeth, he has one lower fang with the gum pink around it, so l'm pretty sure it must be sore. Maybe he's eating less because it hurts too much.

Sorry, l meant to add too, that he's 6 years old.
 
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ldg

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I'm asking all these questions, and I don't mean to worry you, but loss of weight and a greasy coat are sometimes indicators of hyperthyroidism. He's a little young for that, but you might want to schedule an annual appointment for him to get blood work done and have him see a vet prior to that dental. :dk:

Do they share a bowl? You might want to start giving them individual bowls of food so you can monitor his intake.

:vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 
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andrya

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Thanks. You're right, l'm going to make an appointment rather than worry for the next 2 weeks.

Hopefully l'm worrying over nothing.
 

ldg

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Just wanted to check back in. :hugs: How is Tanner? Is he eating OK? Has the weight loss subsided or... ????? :cross: Did you schedule a vet visit to coincide with the dental, or did you make another appointment to get blood work done/have a physical? :rub:

:vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 
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andrya

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l took him to the vet the following day. He weighed 7lbs even, so although he had lost weight, it wasn't as much as l thought.

They took the opportunity to take his bloodwork for the dental he's having, and l've heard nothing, so l assume everything's okay.

His new appointment is for next week so once the bad tooth (possibly more than one) is extracted, he might be more interested in eating.

l took your advice and gave them separate bowls. Tanner likes to eat tiny amounts through the day so l keep giving it, rather than sticking to their scheduled times. He's still skinny as a rail but is otherwise normal, happy, and bratty. l started them on Tiki Cat and they love it! l also started hiding some raw in with it, and they eat it so far, so we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for asking :)
 

ldg

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:D :clap: :clap: :clap: Oh that's great news! Oh I'm sure if there was a problem they would have called. :nod: :cross:

So do you know how much food he's eating? My Flowerbelle weighs a little over 7 pounds. She ate about 4-5 ounces of canned food a day, I think. On raw, she eats 3 ounces a day and keeps her girlish figure. ;) :lol3:

Flowerbelle looks thin - but the vets assure us she's at her ideal weight. What did the vet say? Did he / she concur that Tanner needed to gain some weight?

...and yeah, the dental will probably help. :rub: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 
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andrya

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This is a new vet, so he's just going by the previous weights listed in Tanner's record.

l had made the dental app. across the border in Quebec because it's a lot less expensive, so l figured l'd take him there with the weight loss issue and check out the vet. The clinic and staff are awesome, l'm happy to say.

The vet did say he's thin, but he's always been consistently thin so that's his normal. He gave me the impression that he thinks the x-rays are going reveal more than the one bad tooth, so l'm sure eating doesn't feel good right now. He'll probably regain his quarter pound once he's fixed up.
 
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