Worried about Sashka's weight...

Sashka has always been a finicky eater. She certainly has an appetite but she doesn't eat much, and is fussy. She has also always been a little tiny cat. At her last vet checkup about a month ago for her booster vaccinations etc, the vet told me she is very healthy, just a very, very little cat.

Lately she has been very stressed because of the dogs, but that had seemed to be getting much better with a Feliway plug-in and lots of extra love and attention.

Today when I got home from work she was waiting in the window as usual. I took one look at her and literally exclaimed, `Oh my God Sashka you are so thin!!'. Max was stunned, too.

Now, this sounds dumb and daft and idiotic but this really seems to have happened since yesterday. Her little tummy is concave on either side, and she just looks very thin today. She is in good spirits, and her appetite is fine.

Now, you all know me on here. You know that I feed my cats, and look after them. I am devastated that I did not notice this earlier - sudden weight loss does NOT happen overnight, no matter how quick it seemed. She's a tiny thing anyway, so a little weight-loss could look like a drastic change, but I am beside myself for only seeing it today.

Does anyone have any advice for me about what I can feed her to fatten her up a bit? I am taking her to the vet again tomorrow for a check-up, of course, but I wondered if anyone here has any handy tips.

I'm relatively new here so I don't know Sashka or you very well so please bear with me and my questions

First of all, how old is Sashka? Does she eat and drink normally?

My cat Mittens got like that back in 2004 shortly before she was diagnosed as diabetic (but we knew something was wrong because she was eating, drinking and peeing in excessive amounts) Even once we got the diabetes controlled, we had a hard time keeping her weight up because she was also a very finicky and fussy eater. It became a case of trying to give her everything and anything.

We discovered she had a penchant for roast chicken so what we would do was make sure she always had some roast chicken in a separate dish alongside her normal wet and dry food. We also gave her lots of "treats" in between meals as well. This all seemed to help. The treats we gave her ranged from baby food to yoghurt to fresh raw mince beef to tinned salmon or tuna in springwater. She was also hand-fed honey roast ham. As a last resort, we also got some AD from the vets - they keep the stuff generally for cats recovering from surgery because it is very palatable.

I'd definitely take her to the vets to be checked out - perhaps you could ask them to do some blood tests to see if anything comes up.

Hope this helps.

Sarah, do let us know how Sashka goes at the vet. If she checks out OK, you could maybe offer her some kitten glop. It is very nutritious and yummy.

Home-made kitten formula (Kitten Glop)

8 ounces water (boiled then cooled)
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
8 ounces whole evaporated milk (not skim)
1 tablespoons mayonnaise (not low fat)
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (not low fat)
1 large or 2 small eggs yolks (raw)
1 teaspoon clear Karo syrup
* 1-3 drops liquid pet vitamins
* 1 capsule acidophilus
* 1 drop Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)

* Optional, though very beneficial.

Boil the water, add the gelatin and mix well. Add the following ingredients in order, mixing well after each addition:

1/2 of the canned milk
Mayonnaise and Yogurt
Rest of the milk
All other ingredients

You can substitute canned goat's milk for the canned evaporated milk, if you prefer it. This mixture will keep in the fridge for up to four days. It is jello-like in consistency in the fridge so you can just scoop out as much as you need and warm. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays and defrosted as needed. You can find pet vitamins at a pet store or your vet, and acidophilus and GSE in the liquid form at a good health food store.

Thanks guys. Tania, that recipe looks great will give it a try.

Vet gave her the all-clear - said she's just a skinny minny and needs to probably be eating a bit more than she is. I told him about the kitten glop and he said to try it, so I'll be doing that this weekend. He just said she needs tempting for a time with foods that she loves, like chicken and chicken necks, to get her to eat more than a tiny mouthful or two with each meal. He wants me to feed her separately from Sunday, because although Sunday doesn't bully, she eats three times as fast as Sashka, and Sashka won't put up a fight if Sunday decides to finish both of their meals!

So I'll be giving Sashka an extra meal or two of cooked chicken, and the kitten glop. We'll see how she goes. She actually has looked ok since that horrible day where she looked so skinny, so maybe it was just that one day, for some reason!

Try a little KMR.

And make sure she's been tested for everything.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Try a little KMR.

And make sure she's been tested for everything.

Click to expand...

KMR? I'm not sure what that is sorry!!

The vet did some blood work which I'm waiting on the results for - she bit him so there's clearly nothing wrong with her psychologically! She bites everyone except me...lol lol

I also have a lean cat .... with she eat canned food??? ( try kitten glop first) .. to put wt on mine I have been using freeze dried salmon and maui maui

I also have a cat who was very small weight wise. She would let the other cats eat the food and just sit back and not eat.If she started to eat the others would hear the food bowl being set down and come to eat. She would just back away and let them eat and she would go away from the food and not return to eat till later on . I started feeding her off by herself. She has done much better this way.
Shes gained weight and eats fine by feeding her by herself. Give it a try I bet you will find your cat will eat more also.

KMR means Kitten Milk Replacer. It's for kittens that have to be bottle fed. I hope everything works out. I don't think you mentioned how old she is? Did the vet do any urine tests?

She's nearly two. And no, no urine tests - although he did mention that I could get a sample and take it in to him, which I will do. Getting a sample from her will be MUCH easier said than done, though...lol

Oy good luck with that! I hope everything is ok!