Cat losing weight since introducing new kitten

bananacat12

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Hi all - looking for some advice and hopefully peace of mind.

My 4 year old cat is the sweetest girl, she's always been a bit on the smaller side. We introduced a 3 month old kitten to the home around 2 months ago, and things have been mostly okay. She tolerates him, but he clearly has much more energy than she does. He pounces on her and tries to play with her when she's trying to sleep or relax. She will swat/hiss at him, and these tousles happen a few times per day. She doesn't isolate herself, and she seems to be eating/behaving normally as far as I can tell. But she is visibly smaller, has lost about a pound on her already small frame, and her fur looks much less healthy and fluffy. Are these just growing pains? She's due to see a vet in 2 weeks but I'm worried I should be doing something different in the meantime.
 

maggie101

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I have the exact same problem. One thing that has helped is clicker train my cat that likes to pay to come instead of bother my other cat. Or pull out the purrfect leather bouncer wand toy or go cat catcher. They are now adult. Things haven't changed
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Hi all - looking for some advice and hopefully peace of mind.

My 4 year old cat is the sweetest girl, she's always been a bit on the smaller side. We introduced a 3 month old kitten to the home around 2 months ago, and things have been mostly okay. She tolerates him, but he clearly has much more energy than she does. He pounces on her and tries to play with her when she's trying to sleep or relax. She will swat/hiss at him, and these tousles happen a few times per day. She doesn't isolate herself, and she seems to be eating/behaving normally as far as I can tell. But she is visibly smaller, has lost about a pound on her already small frame, and her fur looks much less healthy and fluffy. Are these just growing pains? She's due to see a vet in 2 weeks but I'm worried I should be doing something different in the meantime.
Are they sharing the same food? I ask because you said she seems to be eating normally as far as you can tell. If they are sharing, the kitten may actually be eating far more than you are aware, since kittens are eating machines. If possible, weight your girl and see how much she really weighs now and if she indeed has lost weight, maybe you can pull her aside each day and feed her on her own just to make sure she is getting her fair share.

Did you introduce them going through proper cat introductions? She might be very stressed and losing weight because of that. Are you seeing any potty issues. They will sometimes let you know of their dismay through litterbox issues too.
 
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bananacat12

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Are they sharing the same food? I ask because you said she seems to be eating normally as far as you can tell. If they are sharing, the kitten may actually be eating far more than you are aware, since kittens are eating machines. If possible, weight your girl and see how much she really weighs now and if she indeed has lost weight, maybe you can pull her aside each day and feed her on her own just to make sure she is getting her fair share.

Did you introduce them going through proper cat introductions? She might be very stressed and losing weight because of that. Are you seeing any potty issues. They will sometimes let you know of their dismay through litterbox issues too.
Thank you for replying! I suspect you’re right about kitten eating most of the food put out, but I do see her eating regularly too. I introduced them properly, giving the kitten his own room for a week before slowly giving them some together time each day. It’s been fine until recently he’s gotten very rowdy with her and it’s been two months since we’ve had him
 
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