Eating Troubles

Hello there

I'm trying to solve a problem my friends are having with their two cats as they are going out of town soon. Here is a run down of the situation:

* They have two cats. One young cat (aged 2) and one older cat (aged 12)

* Both cats are used to being free fed.

* The young cat ended up gaining a lot of weight this way so both cats are now fed on a set schedule of twice a day. Portion sizes were determined by a vet.

* The older cat had problems with a UTI and was moved over to dietary food.

* Both cats are being fed the dietary food.

* Older cats UTI problems have gone away.

The problem is that the older cat is only eating about half of his food for each meal and he's beginning to lose a lot of weight. The younger cat is also being very greedy and constantly wants food all of the time. After he's done eating he will go over to the older cats dish and start eating from it. 

Does it sound like something is wrong with the older cat because he's not eating as much as the vet recommends, or is it possibly because he's used to being free fed his entire life? And is it bad that the younger cat is being fed dietary food when he doesn't need it? Is this causing him to be hungry all of the time?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

I would suggest the old boy has a dental exam - one of the biggest reasons cats go off their food is pain when eating.

Another thing that might help is to give more, smaller feeds. That could help both cats - the younger one may be less hungry if there's a shorter gap between meals, and the older one may be able to clear his plate more easily with a smaller portion.

I'd also consider feeding at least part of the ration as wet food. Because it contains more moisture the serving size is bigger, and this will help the young boy feel more satisfied. Wet foods generally have a higer meat content too, and this makes them more appealing - cats are obligate carnivores after all.

Hydration is a really big deal for cats that have had urinary problems, and simply feeding wet food makes a big difference to a cat's hydration. Cats are desert creatures, and have evolved to get around 80% of their fluid intake from their food. When fed a kibble diet, their this drive just isn't strong enough to compensate without a little help from us (in the form of homemade flavoured waters, water fountains etc). If you DO stick to a 100% dry diet, each cat needs to drink around one cup of water a day.[article="29715"][/article][article="30756"][/article]

It's also possible the older cat is bored with his food. Are you feeding wet or kibble? I think cats get bored, so they need variety. You could add in some wet food varieties to encourage your older cat to eat. But i agree with the other comment, he needs a vet visit. Weight loss and lack of appetite can be many things including dental, or thyroid, or IBD. 

Appreciated. I'll pass the message along.

Thanks!