Hi all,
I have two cats, Walnut and Cashew who are almost 4 years old. We've had them since 2015.
They eat wet food morning, lunch, dinner. They used to have dry food out, but vet told us Walnut needed to lose weight, so we took that away.
Walnut is 13.8 pounds, Cashew is 10.15-11.0 pounds.
Issue is with Cashew. Cashew is a pretty good eater, normally finishing way faster than Walnut. Sometimes he would vomit right after eating too fast, sometimes he walks away and I would give to him in a different spot where he would finish. This would happen only every few weeks or so, but enough where I know it's not that unusual.
I decided to weigh my cats around end of October and I was shocked to see the both lost about 5 ounces since July. Now a normal person would make the connection that we stopped giving them an afternoon squeeze treat and that probably accounted for the weight loss. Not me, I freaked out. I started giving more treats (crunchy) to see if they'd gain weight.
Cashew started right about this time to leave food on his plate more regularly and he'd walk away, I'd walk behind him and put down his food with a couple treats to get him to eat.
Things seemed to be normal until Thanksgiving. We have a big party at our place and Cashew didn't finish his food the morning of (understandable we had tables set up, etc.). Then at the party my nieces were playing with the cats, giving them treats, etc.
I also during this time decided maybe we should add the dry food back. So at night I would put out a couple of spoons of dry food for each cat and Cashew loves it. So last week I just took him to the vet to rule out anything. The vet said he looks fantastic, perfect weight. They ran a full blood panel and fecal test, called me the next day and say everything was perfect, his decreased (or weird eating) is most likely behavioral and he may want treats, etc now instead of wet food.
Since the visit he's worse with being picky about when he eats. The thing is he isn't eating any less than he used to, but rather finishing at different times. When he's hungry, he finishes the wet food.
Of course my head has run straight to GI lymphoma which can only be detected with more expensive tests. My boyfriend thinks I'm insane and told me I most likely am causing this.
His idea is to put the food out at normal time and if Cashew doesn't finish it, he said don't chase him/bribe him to eat, eventually he will relearn his feeding schedule. He says (and I agree) that feeding time at this point has become stressful for both Cashew and myself so Cashew is now seeing this time as something to fear, therefore he doesn't sit to finish his food, rather wants to eat it in a different spot later, alone.
Also, his weight has remained stable this entire time, even gone up a couple ounces.
Phew.
Thoughts??? I feel so sad that I may be causing him so much stress.
I have two cats, Walnut and Cashew who are almost 4 years old. We've had them since 2015.
They eat wet food morning, lunch, dinner. They used to have dry food out, but vet told us Walnut needed to lose weight, so we took that away.
Walnut is 13.8 pounds, Cashew is 10.15-11.0 pounds.
Issue is with Cashew. Cashew is a pretty good eater, normally finishing way faster than Walnut. Sometimes he would vomit right after eating too fast, sometimes he walks away and I would give to him in a different spot where he would finish. This would happen only every few weeks or so, but enough where I know it's not that unusual.
I decided to weigh my cats around end of October and I was shocked to see the both lost about 5 ounces since July. Now a normal person would make the connection that we stopped giving them an afternoon squeeze treat and that probably accounted for the weight loss. Not me, I freaked out. I started giving more treats (crunchy) to see if they'd gain weight.
Cashew started right about this time to leave food on his plate more regularly and he'd walk away, I'd walk behind him and put down his food with a couple treats to get him to eat.
Things seemed to be normal until Thanksgiving. We have a big party at our place and Cashew didn't finish his food the morning of (understandable we had tables set up, etc.). Then at the party my nieces were playing with the cats, giving them treats, etc.
I also during this time decided maybe we should add the dry food back. So at night I would put out a couple of spoons of dry food for each cat and Cashew loves it. So last week I just took him to the vet to rule out anything. The vet said he looks fantastic, perfect weight. They ran a full blood panel and fecal test, called me the next day and say everything was perfect, his decreased (or weird eating) is most likely behavioral and he may want treats, etc now instead of wet food.
Since the visit he's worse with being picky about when he eats. The thing is he isn't eating any less than he used to, but rather finishing at different times. When he's hungry, he finishes the wet food.
Of course my head has run straight to GI lymphoma which can only be detected with more expensive tests. My boyfriend thinks I'm insane and told me I most likely am causing this.
His idea is to put the food out at normal time and if Cashew doesn't finish it, he said don't chase him/bribe him to eat, eventually he will relearn his feeding schedule. He says (and I agree) that feeding time at this point has become stressful for both Cashew and myself so Cashew is now seeing this time as something to fear, therefore he doesn't sit to finish his food, rather wants to eat it in a different spot later, alone.
Also, his weight has remained stable this entire time, even gone up a couple ounces.
Phew.
Thoughts??? I feel so sad that I may be causing him so much stress.
Yes, put his food down and let him eat in peace. 5 ounces since July is NOT an abnormal loss, especially since you quit dry food. I'm surprised it wasn't more. Just like people cats weight does fluctuate a little and they can get very picky about what they eat. But sooner or later they will eat if they get hungry enough. A day without eating doesn't hurt anyone if it is by choice. If you must weigh, weigh once every couple of weeks. That way the ups and downs will equal out. As long as a cat is eating, drinking and using the litter box, everything is fine. Throwing up once in a while can be normal too, especially if they are stressed. Try to enjoy your time with your little ones more, try not to hover over them, just play with them and love them, that is all they ever wanted! Remember cats by nature are independent creatures. I would much rather see someone like you, who is concerned and loving then those i see that ignore their pets totally. ANY concerns or questions are never too small to bring up here, we will always listen and try to help. You will be blessed for loving them so much!
