1 Year Old Boy Kitty Kind Of Skinny

Hi all! Been away awhile. My baby Merlin went across the rainbow bridge April of 2015 and I just adopted in 2018 two brothers as kittens. Love of my life and beautiful boys!!. As they have grown, one has been a little more solid and almost on the stout side (not fat) and the other has been on the slender side. We just moved this month into a bigger house that they love, but they have so much more room to run. By skinny boy (Bullwinkle aka Moose) is long haired so he doesn't look slender, but he seems bonier than he should be. He has a vet appt today at 245, but I'm obsessing about it and worried. He eats fine, poops and pees fine and is very active. My friends keep saying he is just burning all he eats, but I'm just nervous. Lost a young act about 18 years ago to cancer, so paranoid. He is affectionate, active and doesn't hide. Coat is pretty as usual, other than some mats on his belly that he fusses when I try to get to them. Thoughts on this?

I know its hard to see how thin he really is because of how fluffy he is . I can feel his vertebrae in his back (which I know isn't bad), but his tailbone is pronounced and his ribs can be felt. He seems lighter when I pick him up than he did at our other house, but again, he has about double to the square feet and they run around a lot. He is a super alert kitty too and will jump up and run to investigate even the slightest noise. He was super cuddly this morning too. He was my "wool sucker" when a baby and recently has started doing this again. past couple of days. I know moving can be stressful on them, but they seem to love this new house. But when we moved I was home a lot more. Now I'm back in my normal routine and I commute an hour away. Again, they both seem fine. His brother, the chunkier boy, seems to have lost some weight too. So I know they are probably losing due to exercise, but still nervous about it.

Does he have access to hard food at all times? He may just be burning off more than he can eat, like your friend said.

My Emerson is 13lbs of slender. He is just a very lean cat. If he filled out he would probably be closer to 15lbs. Just because brother kitty is stockier doesn't mean that this one will be the same build!

Let us know what the vet says!

I feed wet and dry, and the dry is available free choice. So he has it all the time, but I don't leave down mountains of it. They get basically a can and a half of wet a day and I try to fill the food dish if the bottom is showing on the dry. He loves kibble more than his brother, so I thought he would bulk up. Last weight when I checked them at home they were still within about a half a pound of each other. They were only 8 lbs at the vet when they were neutered. But that was awhile back. Both are smaller in stature, but their mom was tiny. I feel nutro on the dry and blue buffalo on the wet.

Don't fret too much! Let the vet have a good look. As long as he is happy, eating, playing, etc., he will be fine!

Ask your vet this, but see if maybe you could give him some wet kitten food. It is higher in fat and calories than normal adult food. It should help him put on some weight.

I wondered about that! I bought some of the Nutro with gravy to supplement, but it hasn't seemed to add to much to him, though it seems a little better. I did have him on the adult Nutro dry that said it helped "maintain a healthy weight". Well I bought him the hairball control kind this time to see if it had more calories.

thanks for your response. His appointment is actually at 215. I'm at work and will have to leave to take him. So I'm sitting her trying to not think about it, but the clock is just dragging!!!

He had a sensitive stomach as a kitten, but he seems to have grown out of that, but I still don't want to flood him with too much. Also, I don't want his brother to get fat. he is the perfect weight. And feeding them in two places can be challenging. They go everywhere together.

merlinsmom said:

I did have him on the adult Nutro dry that said it helped "maintain a healthy weight". Well I bought him the hairball control kind this time to see if it had more calories.

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Hairball and "healthy weight" kibbles are usually low-fat and lower in calories. Since most pet cats are too fat rather than too skinny, lol (and low-fat doesn't actually help cats lose weight, but that's a whole different subject). So if you want him to gain weight, try the regular adult kibble, and if that doesn't work, kitten kibble. Also, higher fat might help the quality of his coat.

He's probably fine but just thin because he's active. It's good you got him in to see the vet though.

My two recently-rescued youngsters were thin when I picked 'em up from the shelter... I knew they had both been wormed, but I decided to keep an eye out for worms, as those will keep a cat skinny. Even after several months of good feeding, a combination of wet and unlimited dry Friskies (served separately), the cats seemed kinda skinny, but still no sign of worms. I finally realized that the two youngsters are growing so fast, their bodies have a hard time keeping up with the skeletal growth.

Tiger has grown like a weed since I rescued him, and he is starting to flesh out and gain solid muscle mass from all the exercise and good food. Phoenix has shown slower growth, so she sometimes looks a bit skinny, but she's a dainty & delicate cat and I'm not sure if she'll ever catch up to Tiger in terms of physical growth. I guess one could say that she's a petite cat, while Tiger is a teenaged monster, LOL. Tiger is nearly the size of my 3-year-old cat Crackhead, who is not small by any means.

My whole point here is this: sometimes these young cats grow so fast and run around so much that they still appear skinny, but that's not unhealthy, especially if they're happy, active, their fur shines in excellent condition, etc., etc. I must admit, I give these growing youngsters a bowl of milk every 2-3 days, along with other "human food" to help supplement their diet. Not too much milk, as that leads to the squirts, but enough to help those bones grow... as evidenced in Tiger, who seems quite large for his age.

Of course, Tiger is extremely active, and I don't discourage this activity either, I like to see a cat grow to his (or her) full potential. Phoenix is active as well, but nowhere near as active as Tiger, and I chalk this up to differences in personality. They are not litter mates, Phoenix is roughly 2 months younger than Tiger, but I don't think she'll ever catch up to Tiger in growth, due to genetics and disposition. They play together, but sometimes Tiger is too rough, since he's 1 1/2 times her size. That's when Crackhead steps in and schools Tiger, LOL.

Only one other young cat I had in the past grew faster than Tiger, and that was Wingnut... I adopted Little Wing from a foster home when he was about two months old, specifically so he could keep my aging mom company and sleep with her at night. We already had two adult cats at the time, otherwise I would've adopted another kitten to keep Wingnut company. No worries, Wingnut made a fine companion for my elderly mom. His growth was phenomenal, he was literally a monster at two years of age, even larger than Sage who was in his prime.

What's that old saw? From tiny acorns grow mighty oaks... in the right environment, with plenty of love, good food & exercise, these young cats grow like weeds, and they don't start fleshing out until their skeletal growth slows down. That's how it appears to me, and I routinely check my cats for any sign of pests, parasites, disease & disorders. Easy enough to do while I'm petting them, or while they're lying next to me on the bed. And when they wolf down their food, I try to get 'em to slow down a bit, but they're like ravenous teenagers... in due time they'll reach solid maturity, but for now I let 'em be youngsters, LOL.

P.S. Tiger occasionally rips nasty gas while lying next to me in bed, but I attribute this to his "teenage" personality... of all three cats, he is the most wild & energetic, and he eats more than Phoenix or Crackhead. He's a growing boy and I want him to attain his full stature, therefore I keep him well-supplied with food. His flatulence is not chronic, he just floats an SBD now and then while I'm reading... at which point I grab the remote for the fan and momentarily crank it, LOL. Meh, no worries, Tiger is growing so fast that a little bit o' gas now and then is to be expected. I still love the blasted varmint...

Let us know how the appointment went!

Hope they check bloodwork while he is in. Just in case. I know he is young, but never know.

Hi all. Sorry for the delay! She pretty much said what you did. He is lean but not unhealthy skinny. Suggested I supplement his food with some fatty options like sardines. I know my boy though and fish hasn’t been his friend in the past. I got some kitten wet food and I am using it as a topper. She did a fecal but I wasn’t sure it was his but pretty sure. No worms. She also said to set up another feeding station which I used to have for them. She said if he still won’t gain with these changes I need to bring him back for bloodwork. I took his brother too to weigh him and they were about a pound apart which they always were a half a pound apart. He was two pounds heavier than Feb when he was last there. He was 8.4 and brother was 9.3.

Some kitties are just leaner than others, kind of like people. As long as he is eating well, using the box, playing well, and not hiding or lethargic I think you're okay. Also, if he's not drinking excessively, that's good. I have 4 cats. Three of them are on the lean side and one is a bit more chunky.

Thanks. Yes, he is very active. Suddenly much more cuddly with me though, and started his "wool sucking" again. Not sure what thats all about, other than just feeling insecure in some way. New house (though they love it) still different, and I work an hour away. So not hiding or lethargic. Eats well. Hoping the kitten food helps. His brother isn't fat, but definitely more of a chunk than brother.