Cat gaining weight but not eating?

[Chester and Rita]

My cat Chester is gaining weight and is not eating a whole lot. When I get home from work most nights, the food just looks nibbled and most of it is still there.He gets just wet food and it's the lowest commercial brand I can get. He contracted pneumonia and his chest x-rays showed that his lungs had cleared up but the vet gave him a second round and his breathing is still shallow. He is obese and his belly seems distended. I'm afraid it's not pneumonia and it might be something else. I know he's fat but is there anything else I can ask my vet about his weight gain? He's 14 and not real active and believe me, I've tried to play with him, take him outside to get fresh air and exercise, and get him to take laps around the house. I'm also afraid that's where he picked up the bacterial pneumonia. He's also had one of his anal glands removed due to adenocarcinoma and I'm wondering if after a year now, it hasn't spread to his lungs? Any thoughts from anyone in a similar situation???

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I'm so sorry to hear your kitty is having issues. I don't have any advice to offer but suggest you change your title to something that describes your questions. You can put a question mark before your title so folks know you are looking for information by using the drop down prefix. A title like "? Cat gaining weight but not eating well". To change the title, click on the edit title tab in upper right area of your screen. That will bump your post up the list and get more attention.

 

[Chester and Rita]

I'm so sorry to hear your kitty is having issues. I don't have any advice to offer but suggest you change your title to something that describes your questions. You can put a question mark before your title so folks know you are looking for information by using the drop down prefix. A title like "? Cat gaining weight but not eating well". To change the title, click on the edit title tab in upper right area of your screen. That will bump your post up the list and get more attention.

Thanks! I did it. I hope someone in our shoes will shed some knowledge...

 

[Ana & Frosty (GA)]

Have the vet thought about doing an ultrasound of the chest and abdomen to make sure there isn't any fluid or abnormalities there?

Does the he seem to be in pain when you press on the belly? Is it soft and squishy or hard to touch?

I would discuss your concerns with your vet and have them do a work up - maybe a belly US and blood work. Sometimes, cancer can cause fluid build up in the abdomen and/or chest. Or it could be something totally different, like pancreatitis, IBS, lymphoma, IBD.

EDIT: It could even be his heart - my kitty went into heart failure and it caused him to be short of breath, and fluid build-up around his lungs, heart, and belly. He wasn't eating well at that time ether, but he also had other problems. These things can be found out by doing an ultrasound. I would definitely talk to your vet, especially given his history.

Hope this helps.

 

[jayla-n-Drevon]

I had a cat that was CKD years ago who of course got fluids and did great for years--then I noticed her feeling heavier and sadly she had a mass in abdomen causing fluid build up... a ultra sound may give you answers

 

[Chester and Rita]

Great news! Chester's tests and x-rays came back fine. He's obese and I need to get weight off of him! Seriously! anyone out there know a good diet regime? He's on Wellness and the vet tech keeps trying to sell me Hill's prescription crap. He won't eat the Diabetic food from them. There's nothing wrong with WHAT I'm feeding him, it's all about the AMOUNT. MY VET SEEMS TO THINK KIBBLES ARE OKAY AND I WONDER WHERE HE GOT HIS DEGREE?

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Great news! Chester's tests and x-rays came back fine. He's obese and I need to get weight off of him! Seriously! anyone out there know a good diet regime? He's on Wellness and the vet tech keeps trying to sell me Hill's prescription crap. He won't eat the Diabetic food from them. There's nothing wrong with WHAT I'm feeding him, it's all about the AMOUNT. MY VET SEEMS TO THINK KIBBLES ARE OKAY AND I WONDER WHERE HE GOT HIS DEGREE?

The best weight loss diet for a kitty is canned low carb food in appropriate amounts. You need to decide what a good weight is for your kitty and this will give you an idea of the daily calorie requirement (courtesy of @Chris & China ):

If you want to have a starting point for calories per day, Dr. Lisa's site has a formula

[13.5 x weight in lbs.] + 70

If that amount of calories doesn't achieve the results you want (a weight loss of 1-2% per week), adjust as needed

 

[Chester and Rita]

Thank you! I will try that. The vet tech said I give him food with too much fat in it? Is that possible? It's the lowest carb but, I suppose fat could be the factor of his weight gain. I'm not getting Hill's prescription though, he won't eat that. I'm sticking with Wellness. It's the lowest carb and his poop is firm and segmented on that, like it's supposed to be.

 

[Ana & Frosty (GA)]

I don't think it's the fat, it's usually too many calories in general. Here's an example. My cat Bella - non-diabetic, was about 13 lb and ate 200 calories of dry food per day. She should probably weight around 10 lb since she's a small cat. We switched her to fancy feast pate when we got Frosty. She eats around 180-190 calories (2 cans, but this varies with flavor). So even though the calorie amount is very slightly less, she lost almost a pound in less than a year. Fancy feast is pretty high in fat though, which is why I think fat isn't as much of an issue as carbs are when it comes to weight. Even in non-diabetic cats.

A vet told me about this once many years ago - that many cats are "malnourished" yet overweight due to eating high carb food. We give them high carb food due to convenience (dry) or because it's cheaper, and most food has some type of carbohydrate additive for bulking purposes, etc. This vet was great and spent a lot of time talking to me about anything cat related. I can now see with my own eyes he was right. I wish I switched them to wet food sooner!