Thoughts on civvie not eating much?

[ChloesMama]

Acting completely normal...plays, cleans, purrs, DEFINITELY POOPS (peee-eww), but won't gobble up wet food like he used to. He was a stray that we found in August, and would literally try to steal food from out plates. I caught him eating Indian food once, wheat thins and yogurt. We used to have no problem putting down wet food in addition to the deli cat. But now that Chloe is diabetic, we're trying to switch him to an all wet diet too and THOUGHT it'd be easy. Thought wrong.

He barely touches the different flavors (and brands) that we put down. We gave him 9 lives tonight, which he had eaten previously and devoured, and nothing. I even sprinkled parmesan on top for some stinky flavor. Nada. We have to pick his plate up now because he goes into surgery tomorrow for his neutering. Peter had left down some deli cat because he saw that Frankie didn't eat what I left down for him last night. I hope he filled up on the crappy dry food, at least. Sigh.

I don't really know what to do otherwise. He's a healthy, 13.5lb boy. VERY talkative and playful and affectionate confused_cat

 

[Jean and Megan]

Decidedly not an expert here, but ... If he's acting fine (and the vet obviously will see him tomorrow), I wouldn't worry right now. Depending on his age, he might just be experiencing the slowdown of appetite that comes when growth slows. Or not, but anyhow, if there is a problem brewing, let's hope the vet spots it. You might mention when you take him in for his surgery that he hasn't been eating well lately and see what the vet has to say.

 

[Karen & Angus(GA)]

Some cats are harder to switch to all wet than others. Angus switched over instantly and thought treats (canned food) every meal was great! Minou, my civie, liked canned food, but too many meals of canned in a row upset her stomach. She would vomit, than not want to eat canned. Can you blame her? So, I had to keep feeding her dry and slowly reducing amounts until her tummy adjusted. I also discovered that the higher carb/lower fat canned was less likely to make her vomit. It took me almost two years to totally eliminate dry and high carb canned. I still keep some in the house at all times because she still occasionally starts vomiting.

The stinky poos may mean an upset tummy. So, just make sure he eats something every 24 hours. Sneak him some dry if necessary to keep him eating. Cats that don't eat can get fatty liver (hepatic lipidosis) fairly quickly and that is serious.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Is his weight going down? I would closely monitor his weight. If going down I would be concerned.

 

[ChloesMama]

Also, how much do you feed your babies? Do you go by the recommendations on the side of the can? Like 1 can for every 6-8 lbs of weight? My civies at home are about 11 and 10 lbs each, and they barely finish a 5.5 oz can sometimes. I don't want to be under or over feeding them.

And how about fat/protein content for civies? I'm trying different brands with Linus and Lucy, and Sophistacat and certain Friskies pates are very high in fat, yet low in carbs. I just want to find a good balance for them.