Weight loss normal?

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Vhens2211

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Hi All.

Just the backstory: Ozzie was diagnosed back on 9/24. At that time he weighed 14.5 lbs. He used to weigh closer to 16lbs before the diabetes.

He is OTJ over two weeks now, and had his diet changed as soon as he diagnosis was confirmed.

He went to the vet yesterday for some diarrhea issues and was weighed when he was there. He was down to 13 lbs. He was there 3 weeks ago and was closer to 14lbs. The vet did remark on his weight yesterday, but said that was something we could worry about another time.

Is it normal for the low carb diet to cause this much weight loss? Maybe his tummy issues aren't helping? Just trying to be a proactive momma over here!

Thanks!
 
Do you have an idea of his ideal weight? And how much do you feed?

Low carb food usually stabilizes them near a normal weight - so weight loss if they are too heavy, weight gain if they are under weight - assuming a proper amount of food is being fed.

The general rule of thumb is they need 13 cals per pound plus 70 - so a 10 pound cat needs 200 cals/day (13x10 = 130 + 70 = 200). Most cat food doesn't have the calorie content on it, but there are food lists here http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html that have that info.

If he is having digestive issue, he may be sensitive to one of the ingredients in the new diet. Common allergens are grains (wheat, corn, wheat gluten), soy, chicken and, I think, egg. My Jeddie developed chronic diarrhea and after consulting the vet I eliminated one brand of food and fresh catnip. The problem cleared up so I reintroduced the catnip and he did not have trouble with it (he only gets it every other day or so, and only one large leaf). The only ingredient in the food that I could identify as a problem was dried egg product. This was PetSmart's Authority canned food. Innova has whole egg in some flavors so I am avoiding that too.
 
Ozzie is an Ocicat...so they are a large breed to begin with. I think he probably should be around 13lbs-14lbs. He was that weight when he was younger. His brother Milo is also and Ocicat but a little smaller boned so his weight is between 11 and 12lbs.

He needed to lose some weight! Just don't want him getting too skinny.

I gave some FF chunky last week and I guess that has wheat gluten. Perhaps that's the culprit.

Others have suggested trying some FortiFlora.
 
Vivian,
I have been able to regulate Bob's weight since he went OTJ in July by adjusting his caloric intake. I used Binky's charts, the "calories" column to do that. The formula I use is 20cal per pound of body weight, per day. Bob runs between 13 and 14 lbs too.
So I feed him between 250-300 cal per day. If you think Oz's ideal weight is 14, it is supposed to require 280 calories a day to keep him there. ECID, and some of it would be based on his activity level, as to how many calories he burns up each day. But what I did was look up the calorie content on each flavor, and wrote it on the outside of the cans. Then I just stack the cans so that the daily stack falls into the range I'm trying for. Bob hasn't had any digestive issues along the way, so that has helped me to keep things pretty constant.

Carl
 
Ocicats are so cool looking! Didn't know they were that big.

OK, so feed calories as Carl suggested.

How old is Ozzie? Has he had a check for hyperthyroid recently? Generally that hits cats older than 10, but sometimes younger. That can cause weight loss as well as diarrhea, but usually also a ravenous appetite, vomiting (sometimes after drinking a lot of water), excessive thirst and peeing.

I wouldn't "worry another time" about it. The vet should pursue a cause (blood work, exam) in case he has other issues like IBD, intestinal parasites, or even lymphoma (do not mean to scare with that, just know it can happen). These should all be ruled out.
 
Thanks Carl.

I'll def check out the calorie charts and adjust accordingly.

Sheila- Ozzie had bloodwork done 3 weeks ago to confirm his OTJ status. Everything else came back perfect!
 
to add...

here's what I have been feeding...

I split a can of FF between them and leave out an additional 1/2 a can for them to have while I am at work.

In the evening I split another can between them, and again I leave additional 1/2 can out when I go to bed.

I've found that if I put full cans out, they don't eat all of it sometimes.

Maybe what I am feeding isn't enough! Just don't want to waste food!
 
Try feeding more. The real rule is that if they are loosing weight and you do not want that feed more. So you are feeding an average of 1 1/2 cans or FF each a day. That is not enough, especially for a 13 pound cat. A can of FF Liver and Chicken says on a daily basis one can per 3 1/2 pounds.
 
I've got a healthy 10-12 lb cat that eats roughly 5 ounces per meal of low carb Sophisticat Turkey and Giblets dinner.

If your cat won't eat more volume, you might try using the kitten formulas which are a bit more calories and higher in protein too.
 
A can of FF is usually between 75-100 calories, so Oz should get at least 3 a day to stay at 13-14 lbs. More if you want to add weight fairly quickly.

Carl
 
When you leave food out overnight, put an ice cube in the middle of it. It doesn't dry out nearly as fast - they can continue to smell it longer.

Hugs,
 
It sounds like they definitely need more food.

If you can get Wellness and/or Evo in the large cans, I think one large can a day plus one can of FF for both of them might work. They are 12.5 oz and 13.2 oz, respectively and have better ingredients than FF for about the same price (if you buy the larger can). I mix one of those with Sophisitcat 1:1 and add a packet of Fortiflora and a bit less than 1 can of water. I dish that out twice a day and keep it in the fridge between. I just heat it a little in the micro to take the chill out. I have 4 cats, so that is about 25 ozs of food a day for all of them (~ 6 oz ea cat). There is no waste.
 
I got home last night at 4pm and put out two cans of FF.

Ozzie ate a little and so did Milo, but the did not polish anything off.

I went out for dinner myself, and when I came home the food was gone. Not sure which one ate it or if both did.

Before bed I put out another 2 cans of FF. Woke up this morning and here was still a lot of uneaten food leftover.

I fed another two cans this morning, Milo ate more that Ozzie... Ozzie wasn't very interested in the food this morning.

I put out 1 more can of FF before I left the house for work.

I'd loooooooveeee to feed my guys Wellness or Blue Buffalo, but Ozzie just got over a bout of diarreha, which may have been food related.

I ordered some FortiFlora as suggested, and figure I could try to tranisition the guys to Blue or Wellness when I get the packets of FortiFlora in.

I'm having such a hard time finding a food that both of them will eat!!
 
A perfect scenario would be to find a food that oz loves and milo hates, and vice versa. Then you wouldn't have to wonder who ate what. :-)
Carl
 
well... cats aren't eating much again. Started sprinkling FortiFlora on their food and it seems to be helping.

They hate FF Liver and Chicken now so that is out of the rotation.

Might go try some friskies.....running out of options over here!

Just started mixing in 1/3 of a small can into their FF Classic Chicken would like to get them over to wellness if I can get them to eat it.

Ozzie looks skinny to me :( He's eating, but I worry he's not eating enough.

Ozzie and Milo have also been fighting ALOT lately. Ozzie is the Alpha, but both have been VERY aggressive towards each other.

I just want my guys to eat and get along!!
 
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