2 cats - 1 overweight + 1 underweight

I'm hoping someone can give me some helpful advice, as I'm not sure what to do.

I've had Tigger for a few years, she was our only cat, not socialized with other animals, and was spayed. She came to us from a shelter and it was obvious she had been abused and was malnourished... it took us awhile to get her healthy, and then get her to trust us. So finally all was well with Tigger who was now a very happy indoor cat, although she was a little heavier than I would have liked (she had the tummy pouch I've seen frequently with spayed cats)

So last summer we decided to introduce a new kitten, Callie, into our home (female, spayed). Soon after, I noticed Tigger was starting to lose weight. But the two were running around a lot (compared to when Tigger was alone) so I figured that was the reason, and she looked healthier/leaner so I wasn't worried.

Now, months later, Tigger is still losing weight and Callie is gaining like crazy. She's not even a year old and she's got a big belly and she's heavier than Tigger now. I used to 'free feed' but now I feed morning and night and try to make sure that Tigger is eating and Callie's not bullying all the food. We're using an indoor cat Royal Canin dry food which Tigger has always loved (and she's extremely picky so it's very hard to find something she likes). We were feeding kitten food to Callie but stopped early because she was gaining so much weight. She's now eating the same food as Tigger.

Tigger is soooo skinny now! If this keeps up she'll look ill like she did when we got her. Both cats get physically sick and very stressed out when we take them in the car to the vet, so I don't want to do that if I don't have to (although they both have a checkup in a few months).

Has anyone had this type of problem and been able to balance things correctly? Callie needs to lose weight - I'm actually scared/embarrassed to go back to my vet... they saw her last when she was just a kitten, right after her spay. Now she's ballooned! And Tigger needs to gain weight. My husband and I work full time (and then some) and we're not here to watch them all the time, I'm not sure what to do.

Sorry for the long post. I hope someone has some insight.

Since your feeding a qualtiy food I would suggest trying one higher in protein and fat ... I beleive the indoor is 27% protein and 13% fat that is quite low on both ends... do check to make sure the l-carnitine is high in what you pick ... I hope this makes a lick of sence as it is early and I didnt sleep much

How old is Tigger? If she is older than 7, I would definitely get her to the vet and have them run a blood test to check for diabetes, CRF, and Hyperthyroidism. All three of those conditions can cause dramatic weight loss and should be ruled out before considering other options.

Originally Posted by sharky

Since your feeding a qualtiy food I would suggest trying one higher in protein and fat ... I beleive the indoor is 27% protein and 13% fat that is quite low on both ends... do check to make sure the l-carnitine is high in what you pick ... I hope this makes a lick of sence as it is early and I didnt sleep much

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Thanks for the suggestion. After I saw your message I switched to a food with 37% protein... they've been on this for about 2 weeks now.

I'm trying to get my chubby kitty more active, and I'm sneaking extra food to my skinny cat when the other one is not around I swear Tigger is still losing weight and Callie is still gaining.

And to cloud_shade's question: Tigger (the skinny older one) is between 3 and 4 years old... we're not sure because we got her from a shelter and 2 different vets have given different opinions of her age.

Thanks for your responses! Any help is greatly appreciated.

Can you feed them in separate rooms? Do you have a scale to weigh them by? I'd consider keeping an informal log of sorts of when you feed, where you feed, etc. Also, if you put Tigger in a room by herself when you feed them, you can see how much food she is getting. I know that would be kind of hard with my two as they like to nibble all day, but worth a shot.

Okay here's a recent pic of my chubby Callie... this is just 9 months after the skinny pic of her in my sig!

Originally Posted by MoochNNoodles

Can you feed them in separate rooms? Do you have a scale to weigh them by? I'd consider keeping an informal log of sorts of when you feed, where you feed, etc. Also, if you put Tigger in a room by herself when you feed them, you can see how much food she is getting. I know that would be kind of hard with my two as they like to nibble all day, but worth a shot.

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We have been trying to feed them morning and night and watch to make sure Tigger's eating (we transitioned from free feeding). But: 1) Tigger gets really upset when there's not food in the bowl, even if she doesn't necessarily want to eat it at the moment. So we leave some food for the day when we're at work and we can't tell who is eating it. And 2) Tigger doesn't like to be watched when she eats... if anyone else is nearby (people or cats) she will not eat. This makes it really hard to monitor, and also means whenever Callie approaches, Tigger runs away from the food.

Argh!