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cat weight loss/constantly hungry help
I don't really trust the vets in my area and I'm still looking for one for a second opinion.
My 9 year old cat had pancreatitis back in Nov. They gave her medicine and switched her to DM food. A couple of months later they requested a urine sample and told me now she has something similar to a UTI, gave me more antibiotics and switched her to Royal Canin Urinary SO food.
She eats 1/2 cup a day; 1/4 in the morning (5:30 am), 1/8 at 6 pm and 1/8 at 10 pm.
But she acts like were starving her to death. She spends almost her entire day sitting by her food bowl staring back and forth between it and me. She even sleeps less than she used to. She's never been a vocal cat but now she meows/chirps at us when it gets close to her feeding times.
I'm guessing she's not really starving and just exaggerating, but its been almost a month with the SO food. Is this ever going to stop? And how in the world is she ever going to lose weight if shes already upset at the amount of food shes getting and I can rarely convince her to play?
Re: cat weight loss/constantly hungry help
Hi, I was just wondering if the 1/2 cup for the day was recommended by the vet?
I adopted a 13 pound cat, and all he wanted to do was eat. He ended up gaining 3 pounds because he was always eating. The vet put him on a diet of food that was for maintaining a healthy weight, and told me to give him 1/4 cup in the am, and 1/4 cup pm. He did ok with it but in the am, I would give him the 1/4 right before I was out the door for work, and most times, he had eaten it all before I even got to work.
When we went back to the vet, the vet said since he was still so hungry, it was ok to give him 1/2 cup in the am, then 1/4 cup pm, which I do like you, give him small amounts throughout the night. He still does what we call 'Silent Protests', sitting by his food dish, staring at us. Sometimes it's because he's due for his little bit of food, other times he just does it to see my reaction. With the new food amounts, he has slimmed down a lot and is actually skinny.
My cats get 1/4 C dry food each in the morning and eat it all immediately. They get ~1/8 C dry mixed with a spoonful of wet in the evening. They like food, and they will act like they're starving if they think it will get them more.
My overweight girl has lost weight on this combination/amount. A "diet" or "weight maintenance" formula did nothing for her weight loss; she actually liked is a lot less than she likes regular food.
A thought: a higher quality kibble will be more calorie/nutrient dense, meaning you can feed less of it than you would with a lower quality food. While RC prescription diet might help your cat's urinary issues, it's a pretty crappy quality food as far as nutrient density, so you may need to feed more of it for your cat to get everything it needs.
Also, you can probably quit feeding the prescription food after a couple of months; most decent vets will say you can switch back to your preferred food after a period of time if the UTI has cleared up (a single UTI can happen, and isn't a reason in itself to be on a prescription diet; repeated UTIs can be reason to use a prescription food for a while).
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Kinda. I asked how much food and they said "Oh, um, maybe around 1/2 a cup". Since this special food doesn't do anything for weight management, I figured I'd go with the 1/2 cup.
Before she was on any special food she ate about 3/4 cup daily and didn't gain or lose weight. She's a little over 14 lbs.
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
Thank you. Everything you said is exactly what I've been thinking and not adding up. Its almost the complete opposite of what the vet has said. They want to keep her on this food forever which doesn't make sense to me.
I think I really just need a second opinion; I've just been really hesitant to take her since the last vet bill was more than half of our savings and I'm slightly paranoid there is still something wrong with her (although she seems fine) and I just won't have the money to pay for it.
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
I have a fatty who was on Science Diet C/D to control his bladder crystals and other urinary issues. We tried so many different foods, and he had issues with everything but the Science Diet. We hated it because it was expensive, and because it was high in fat and fillers and low on nutrients.
We switched to a grain-free food and he's been doing great. He gets barely 1/4 cup of food a day, and still manages to keep his (fat) weight. I can't see feeding him less than 1/4 cup a day, so we're going to maintain him at like 12 pounds, when he should be more like 11 or even 10. He was almost 16, so this is at least an improvement. And he screams at us morning and night to feed him. He's the worst, but it's for his own good!
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I would definitely consider adding wet food, it tends to make them feel fuller and is better for their kidneys. I'd also look into high quality grain free. Some people may have experience with urinary health diets if you post a separate thread or change the title of this one to ask that question. Science diet funds most vet nutrition classes and I think they get kick backs for selling it, so most recommend it.
Do you know what ever caused the pancreatitis? I'd be worried that she might have a thyroid issue.
The vet doesn't know what caused the pancreatitis. I think they checked her thyroid then but without checking the paperwork at home, I'm not positive.
We got a kitten around that time, but no other changes. She was previously eating Chicken Soup. It drives me absolutely crazy that shes eating crap food now. Especially since its crap food at $50 a bag.
I've tried wet food with her before and she refuses to touch it. The pet store gave me free Blue Wellness wet cans when I picked up food for the kitten; I'm half tempted to see if she'll try that but still concerned it will just make things worse.
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
My kitties get the Chicken Soup dry food. I'd be pretty pissed if my vet was pushing a sh!tty prescription food, too. It's expensive and awful!
Blue Wellness? Do you mean Blue Wilderness? My cats eat Wellness or Merrick Before Grain wet food (both are the pate style). One is VERY picky about the flavors; the other eats whatever I put in front of her (the fatty, lol). Perhaps your kitty just prefers a different flavor/brand/type? Try a bunch of different types of wet, from differing brands to differing flavors of each brand. Also try the chunk-style vs the pate; she just might like a different texture.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
I know what you mean about crap food. Samson is on renal diet food part of the time (the time I force feed him, he won't eat it otherwise), and if that wasn't bad enough, the only other food he seems to want to eat is fancy feast. Yeah...
Anyway, if she's only eating 1/2 a cup per day, that's about 150 calories, according to this chart: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html
Cats need 30 calories per pound of body weight, so that's only enough for 5 pounds. How far down are you trying to get her? I weigh out Sam's food everyday and measure how many calories he eats, but the difference is that I'm trying to get him to gain weight. If you are aiming for, say, 8 pounds, then measure out 240 calories of food per day (about 4/5 of a cup) and have her eat that amount until she gets to that weight - then, well, continue! I think with only 150 calories per day, she's probably hungry. Good luck.
ETA: I see that she's 14 pounds, so I would start with aiming for maybe 11-12 pounds, then decrease the amount of food even more if needed, but it sounds like she's probably going to be good at around 10-12 pounds. It depends on what your vet says, though.
Also, some dry foods can be upwards of 500 calories/cup, which is why she was maintaining before with about 3/4 of a cup.
40/112
Has your cat been tested for diabetes? Weight loss & constant hunger can indicate blood sugar issues. Does kitty drink lots of water? Stand with ankles together, toes out?
You can try adding a bit of wet food. I would see about the Diabetes screen though.
I don't think she's been tested for diabetes. The vet ran a ton of tests before they diagnosed her with pancreatitis so I'd have to check the paperwork.
How much water she drinks varies from day to day. Some days she finishes her bowl and other days she doesn't. I'll try to monitor that more though. She doesn't stand like that but its something I'll keep an eye out for.
I'm going to double check with the vet on the amount of food. The calorie difference between what she's on now and what she ate previously is only 65 calories but at 30 calories per pound, that makes a decent sized difference.
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
I think you should get your kitty tested for diabetes. My male cat use to weigh about 15 pounds and started losing tons of weight about 5 pounds in a few months. He was eating more than normal, drinking a lot of water, and going to the bathroom a lot. My vet thought it might be thyroid issues and tested him for everything just to be sure. After getting insulin and on a very strict diet a mixture of blue buffalo wet and dry food twice a day around his shot times he's doing a lot better. He gained about a pound back but looks a lot better now.
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
5 cats. 1 baby.