Why is one of my cats so skinny??

kuuripu · Dec 17, 2016

Hello there,
Wasn't sure if I should post this in health or nutrition..
But I've been noticing one of my 3 cats is a lot skinnier/bonier than the rest. We have two females, both 3 years old and adopted a month apart from each other. The one, Lucipurr came to us a little younger than we'd like her to be. She could have been with her mom a week or so more. Hufflepuff on the other hand, was extremely tiny and young.
She always grew up a little slower than her sister but nothing drastic. She's fluffy, so just looking at her she doesn't look skinny. But once you put your hands in her you can feel spine and hip bones prominently.
Now that her and her sister are 3 years old, they should be getting into their "adult" bodies. Lucipurr is a healthy, lean, overall good weight cat. While Hufflepuff hasn't changed much in body weight. Both eat the same amount of food everyday and always have been. A new kitten has been added to the mix, adopted at a good age and he bulked up no problem. All three eat the same amount (2 cans of fancy feast chicken pate & occasional other flavors) daily.
I remember our vet stating she's just petit, but I can't help but wonder why it is she's so bony?
Anyone have a cat like this or have any ideas as to what may be the issue? Could she maybe still be growing??

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kuuripu
Dec 17, 2016

amethyst · Dec 17, 2016

I don't know if it's the same problem or even something similar, but one of my cats Rascal (my avatar) is tiny too. She is a mainecoon mix and weighs less then 6 pounds (I know she is mainecoon mix since I have the father) her litter mates are around 10-12 pounds. Anyways, it turns out she was unable to digest grains properly, possibly a genetic problem since the grandmother and mother were also very thin. She was scary thin though, less then 5 pounds, I thought she was going to die, and didn't have an undercoat so she looked really scraggly. After getting her checked out and trying out different diets (if the diets didn't work the next step was supplements) I switched to a high quality grain, gluten, corn, wheat and soy free diet (Orijen) for her and for the first time in her life she grew an undercoat, and even put on weight. She still doesn't eat much, eating has never really been interesting to her she kind of grazes (a few kibble every now and then), so I have to make sure to have food out all the time for her. My cats are free fed, but I also have a bowl of dry food in the bedroom, she is the only one allowed in there so it's just for her.

Maybe grain free is something to look into? Or even trying a different food for her? From the pic she also looks like there is possibly mainecoon in there, so it is possible she is also still growing, some breeds like mainecoons and Norwegian forest cats aren't full grown until they are around 5 years old.

kuuripu · Dec 17, 2016

Amethyst said:
I don't know if it's the same problem or even something similar, but one of my cats Rascal (my avatar) is tiny too. She is a mainecoon mix and weighs less then 6 pounds (I know she is mainecoon mix since I have the father) her litter mates are around 10-12 pounds. Anyways, it turns out she was unable to digest grains properly, possibly a genetic problem since the grandmother and mother were also very thin. She was scary thin though, less then 5 pounds, I thought she was going to die, and didn't have an undercoat so she looked really scraggly. After getting her checked out and trying out different diets (if the diets didn't work the next step was supplements) I switched to a high quality grain, gluten, corn, wheat and soy free diet (Orijen) for her and for the first time in her life she grew an undercoat, and even put on weight. She still doesn't eat much, eating has never really been interesting to her she kind of grazes (a few kibble every now and then), so I have to make sure to have food out all the time for her. My cats are free fed, but I also have a bowl of dry food in the bedroom, she is the only one allowed in there so it's just for her.

Maybe grain free is something to look into? Or even trying a different food for her? From the pic she also looks like there is possibly mainecoon in there, so it is possible she is also still growing, some breeds like mainecoons and Norwegian forest cats aren't full grown until they are around 5 years old.

Hi there, your situation sounds somewhat similar in a way but I do not know her parents. I was thinking she does have Mainecoon in her or NFO, leaning more towards NFO with her head shape and characteristics and all. I'm hoping she's still growing.
I don't think that the diet would be the issue. We've tried food after food after food and it either made all the cats sick or they didn't like it or other issues. We even had them fed on a 100% raw diet for almost a year but she was terribly thin then. Now that they're on this food their poo is solid and not overly smelly and she seemed to put on weight but she's still super skinny compared to everyone else. It's been a year with them on it and she hasn't had much of a change.
She's around the same weight as your Rascal but not 100% sure.

amethyst · Dec 18, 2016

Have you tried just increasing the food she gets? Also do you feed each cat separately and make sure one isn't stealing the other's food? Not all cats will fight to make sure they get their fill. If you have ruled out health issues, my next guess would be not getting enough food. Food amounts aren't one size fits all, some cats require more, some require less depending on age, size, build, and activity level. A lazy cat will need less food then a young hyper cat, even of the same size, especially if they are still growing.

Here is an article I found on the site here about how much to feed a cat. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat

Its more focused on not over feeding cats but it works for skinny ones too, to get an idea on how much to feed and how it can be different from cat to cat.

kuuripu · Dec 18, 2016

Amethyst said:
Have you tried just increasing the food she gets? Also do you feed each cat separately and make sure one isn't stealing the other's food? Not all cats will fight to make sure they get their fill. If you have ruled out health issues, my next guess would be not getting enough food. Food amounts aren't one size fits all, some cats require more, some require less depending on age, size, build, and activity level. A lazy cat will need less food then a young hyper cat, even of the same size, especially if they are still growing.

Here is an article I found on the site here about how much to feed a cat. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-much-food-should-i-feed-my-cat
Its more focused on not over feeding cats but it works for skinny ones too, to get an idea on how much to feed and how it can be different from cat to cat.

I could try to inchrease her to three cans a day rather than the two. I do watch all of them eat to ensure she eats. She's very submissive and if one of the others Finnish before her and try to take her food she'll walk away. So I do keep an eye on them.
Thank you for the info and article,I'll definitely look into it and hopefully get her weight up to a more healthier weight.

catmom marcia · Dec 18, 2016

I am a firm believer that cats are like people. Some are prone to be fat and some are prone to be thin. If she is 2-3 cans a day and not maintaining a healthy weight I would definitely get her vet checked! That is ALOT of food for a little 5-pound cat. Worms will steal nutrition and there are all sorts of other issues it could be.

catpack · Dec 18, 2016

K kuuripu , do try increasing her to 3 cans of food per day and see how she does. Some cats have a faster metabolism and they need more calories per lb.

Geoffrey · Dec 18, 2016

I am a human doctor, not a vet but the condition of "Failing to gain weight" in children warrants a full investigation, and the same would apply to cats.

Your vet stated that she is 'just petite', but has the vet investigated Lucipurr for failing to gain weight? Off the top of my head, I can think of half a dozen medical conditions for failing to gain weight, including worms, thyroid disease and diabetes, just for starters.

In my opinion she warrants full investigations into her condition and I suggest that you consult your vet again, that is if the investigations have not been done.

With best wishes,

Geoffrey

kuuripu · Dec 20, 2016

Catmom Marcia,
She's been vet checked and deemed 100% healthy. She was always at the vet not that long ago for her seizures which are now gone. She had a reaction to a food with green tea extract that caused it. Switched foods and hasn't happened since.

kuuripu · Dec 20, 2016

@Catpack I will definitely give it a try!

kuuripu · Dec 20, 2016

@geoffrey Lucipurr is not underweight she right now is at a good healthy weight. We got her and Hufflepuff about a month a part and they've grown up together but Huffle always seemed to fall behind in weight. She's larger than Luci body structure wise but Luci is still heavier.
We may just have to make an appointment specifically for the weight issue. When we asked the last time she was at the vet it was just a question we brought up.

Why is one of my cats so skinny??

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