He's not eating enough

Because 2 of my 3 cats need to lose weight, I've been feeding meals to all three for the past couple of months. Usually each cat has cleaned their plate at each meal, and the younger two both usually want more.

Over last weekend I was ill, so I was just leaving food out for them all day, as I didn't much want to get out of bed, so I'm not sure exactly when this problem started, but on Tuesday of this last week I noticed that my youngest, Tady, was not eating all of his food. This pattern has continued throughout this week, with him typically eating about a half of what I give him.

The strange thing about this, though, is that he is still hungry. He will go after the other two cats food, he will search the counter for any stray bits, try to open the can if it isn't empty... but he won't touch what is left on his plate, or in his bowl.

Also, he has been shaking his head a lot. And, loose stools began appearing in the litter box a few days ago, and I have now determined that they are coming from him.

His activity levels are good; there has been no change there. He is very active, and inquisitive.

I am worried, as he is a small cat (6.5 pounds), and already very lean. I've actually been feeding him a bit extra food over the last few months, trying to help him add a little weight.

I've got a vet appointment for him, but the first opening available wasn't til next week wednesday. I'm going to spend the next 5 days worrying; I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas or suggestions. I want to get him to eat.

If I were you, I would call your vet in the morning and explain the situation to them and express your concerns. Some clinics offer a drop off service if they don't have any appointments available. It sounds like your little one needs to see a doctor. You could also try to call a few other veterinary offices and see if they can get him in sooner. Any follow-up visits could then be done at your regular office.

5 days is a long time to wait and the symptoms could worsen. Dehydration is always a risk when it come to loose stool, and loss of appetite is never a good sign. As for him shaking his head, you could be dealing with an ear infection, inner ear infection, ruptured ear drum, ear mites etc. And some illnesses/problems can be transmitted to your other kitties in the house.

If the symptoms do worsen before the morning, don't hesitate to take him to an emergency clinic where he can be treated immediately, but I would definitely try and get him in to see a doctor as soon as possible. Many things are easier to treat when they are diagnosed early. Good luck and let us know how the little one is.

Hi Jamie,

It's hard to say from what you are describing, and I agree, it might be best if you called for a drop-off apt. tomorrow or for Saturday or Monday.

If you can not, try feeding him small amounts more often, to see if he'll take in more food overall. You can also try using treats atop or mixed into his food to get him to eat more...things such as Kitty Kaviar - dried bonito flakes, even a bit of catnip sprinkled atop...pouring some plain homemade chicken broth (cooked without any onions or garlic), or plain tuna juice (from tuna in just water...no veggie broth) over his wet food.
The juice or broth would both hopefully encourage him to eat more, as well as increase his fluid intake.

Be sure to pull any wet food not consumed within 30 minutes or so, as in warm weather, it will begin to spoil faster than you might expect. I'd say leave it out no more than an hour tops.

Please keep us updated,

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Hi Jamie,

It's hard to say from what you are describing, and I agree, it might be best if you called for a drop-off apt. tomorrow or for Saturday or Monday.

If you can not, try feeding him small amounts more often, to see if he'll take in more food overall. You can also try using treats atop or mixed into his food to get him to eat more...things such as Kitty Kaviar - dried bonito flakes, even a bit of catnip sprinkled atop...pouring some plain homemade chicken broth (cooked without any onions or garlic), or plain tuna juice (from tuna in just water...no veggie broth) over his wet food.
The juice or broth would both hopefully encourage him to eat more, as well as increase his fluid intake.

Be sure to pull any wet food not consumed within 30 minutes or so, as in warm weather, it will begin to spoil faster than you might expect. I'd say leave it out no more than an hour tops.

Please keep us updated,

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I've seperated him from the other cats, so I can leave him with a bowl of dry food today while I'm at work. So, I'll see if he eats any of that when I get home later today. And I've also got a drop off appointment for him on monday. They aren't open on the weekends, and are booked solid today.

I had a thought this morning. I hadn't really considered it before, but, a couple of weeks ago I had a little trouble with my oldest cat & hairballs. My vet gave me laxatone for her. I've been giving it to her, and it cleared things up for her, but I also gave some to the other two. I'm wondering if this might be contributing to Tady's stool problems? He really loves it.

I'm going to pick some snacks and new food up after work today, hopefully that will help. Thank you for the advise, I will let you know what happens.

Okay, he didn't even touch the dry food I left for him today. That was really disappointing to me.

But... I found some tuna without the vegetable broth at the store. It's labled as low sodium. All the others had vegetable broth, so I hope this is okay. He ate about half his food again, as usual, and then I put a little of the tuna water on the rest, and he loved that, ate it all up.

I also bought the Iam's Ocean Fish canned food, and gave him some of that, and he really liked that too. They have all been eating Innova canned, which I like, but maybe I could switch to the Iam's for Tady.

So, his second meal today has gone well.

good to read this update. I'm glad the tuna juice helped