Skinny Nilah

I'm really not sure whether I need to do anything about Nilah.. she's very thin.  She's up to date with everything, so it's not worms etc.  She seems healthy, her coat is lovely and she doesn't oversleep.  But she's so very slender and light. 

Of course, comparing her to Sundar is silly as he's a big boofy male.  It does worry me that he will covet her food constantly, and I do put her in another room away from distractions when I feed her, but she still just eats a little, even if she's really interested.   She will look at a lot of food and then do the imaginary burying thing, unless it's something she adores.  Then it's just a little eating and then wandering off.  She always buries raw.

I did try converting to raw, but that's when she lost so much weight as she'd rather just not eat. 

Now it's canned Wellness, which she may eat a little of, Ultimates, which is an Australian one that always has some fish in it as it's produced by a fisheries company here, Applaws, which I dislike as it is cooked chicken with no additives, therefore no taurine, and the one she'll usually eat is Fancy Feast classic, but still not enough of it.

On the rare occasions she scoffs her food she immediately throws it back up.

I give both of them a probiotic mix in a dropper which they both really enjoy.  It's a good way to get more fluid into them.

She'll gobble Greenies if she gets half the chance, and will eat some Wellness kibble that the store gave me.  But giving in to her food whims is just not good for her health, and I can't have her wasting away either.  Has her tummy just shrunk so much?

It's a long trip to my 'good' vet but I think a check up is in order.

I'd appreciate any thoughts ..

I forget, how old is Nilah? I would do a vet check-up with some blood work too, just to make sure there's not a deeper issue than mere pickiness going on. Is everything else normal with her, playing and eliminating okay? It's just the weight loss you're really concerned about? Do you weigh them at home? Do you know how much weight she's lost?

Have you tried crushing the Greenies and kibble to use as toppers on the wet food? Are there any other toppers she likes that you can use to entice her to eat more?

Nilah is three.  She weighs just within the 'healthy' range, but I actually don't know how much she's lost.  It happens so slowly and then it's just a realisation that she's pretty slender.  Everything else is fine with her.

If I put anything with the wet food she will search it out and just eat it, or just ignore the food.  I do try using fancy feast a la carte as a topper, (chicken), but she either just eats it if it's on top, or ignores the food if it's mixed through.  We don't have anything that is actually called a 'topper' in Australia.

She won't eat raw chicken, but last night I baked some organic chicken breast and gave her some and she scoffed it (not a huge amount, but then she doesn't eat huge amounts).

These picky eaters will drive us to an early grave! I'm glad she liked the baked chicken breast though. If she continues to like it, and you want to feed it as more than 15% of her diet, we can help you balance it to make it nutritionally complete.

I know you have tons of Asian markets there though. I wonder if you could find bonito flakes at a Japanese market. If she likes fish of course...

I am just going to take her for a check-up this arvo.  I'll let you know what the vet says.

I always go through a 'which vet?' thing, as I have one lot who are soley for cats, which I think is really desirable, or I have an holistic vet who does all animals.. I'm going to do the cat clinic today,  although they'll probably suggest some 'vet' diet which I won't like.  But I just want be sure there's nothing amiss.

Why would I get bonito flakes as opposed to good quality fish cat food?  I know it's a red-flesh fish and wonder if that's the reason.

Vet update:  Nilah is in a fabulous condition.. great physique, fur, teeth, heart etc.  She's a picky eater living with a gluttonous one, but I can work my way around that..  The vet wants me to weigh her weekly, just to be on the safe side.  The vet's words : This is what a healthy cat should look like.  

I think I just became concerned because everyone was saying how thin she is (the vet described her as 'fine-boned' which didn't sound very medical, but does describe her).  She seems more so as Summer is coming and she's shedding a lot.  And she has lost weight due to not wanting to eat what I'm giving her.  So I'll continue a transition, but very slowly.

Basically I just had a little 'mother fret' 

I'm new to owning cats and cat health but if shes only eatting small amounts try feeding her little amounts but on a more regular basis it may help to build up her appetite.

Thanks StephieDoodle, that's good advice, even if you are new to owning cats

I do do that with her, but I have to seperate her all the time or the big bloater boy comes and scoffs the lot...

One thing you might try to make the wet food more appealing to her is Forti-Flora.  It's a veterinary product here in the USA and it's made by Purina (Don't let that scare you).  It is a powdered dietary supplement with pro-biotics.  It adds a flavor cats like.  It comes in a box of 30 packets but we don't use a whole packet at a time, just a sprinkle on top.  One warning is that it's pricy, about $30 US.

jcornman said:

 
One thing you might try to make the wet food more appealing to her is Forti-Flora.  It's a veterinary product here in the USA and it's made by Purina (Don't let that scare you).  It is a powdered dietary supplement with pro-biotics.  It adds a flavor cats like.  It comes in a box of 30 packets but we don't use a whole packet at a time, just a sprinkle on top.  One warning is that it's pricy, about $30 US.

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And would probably cost the same to ship to Australia.  Sounds good but I don't think it's an option.

I give them probiotics mixed in about 20 mls of water daily, using a dropper... they love it.

Mani said:

 
Thanks StephieDoodle, that's good advice, even if you are new to owning cats

I do do that with her, but I have to seperate her all the time or the big bloater boy comes and scoffs the lot...

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Thanks an oh a bloater boy our little lady is very slight she is 2 kg and is only six months (Vet weighed her for her medication and anesthesia for her op) as she has a very broken leg I've wondered if she is underweight but vet did not seem concerned. 

StephieDoodle said:

 
Thanks an oh a bloater boy our little lady is very slight she is 2 kg and is only six months (Vet weighed her for her medication and anesthesia for her op) as she has a very broken leg I've wondered if she is underweight but vet did not seem concerned. 

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Sounds like you're doing what I've been doing... fretting when in fact all is well.. 

She'll pick up as she recovers and the vet is keeping an eye on her. 

Yeah I have been fretting about her a lot lately as she keeps kicking her litter out of her litter tray and refuses to take her medications

Is it possible to mix in the probiotics with the wet food?

thevegancuddler said:

 
Is it possible to mix in the probiotics with the wet food?

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I could, but it's nowhere near as much fun. 

They love the dropper thing, and I can be sure they get it all.