Is George eating enough?

[botolo]

Dear Friends,

A couple of questions for you.

First, I have noticed that my beautiful cat George (10.5 years old) has been eating less than usual. He used to be a voracious cat, but since my other wonderful cat Holly (George's sister) passed away a couple of months ago, George has been eating less. I brought him to the vet a few days ago to check his kidney values and everything looks good. I have an appointment with the dentist this week to check whether he has any issue (Holly died because of oral squamous cell carcinoma and I am now in complete PTSD mode). The doctor says that sometimes cats eat more when they live with other cats because they are always afraid that food will be taken away, and then eat less when they are all by themselves because they don't feel the pressure of others stealing food anymore.

The second question is related to the first one. How to know whether your cat is eating less than needed? I say that George eats less because in the past he was jumping on the food bowl all the time, and was often finishing both his wet and dry food, with many times vomiting because he was eating way too fast. Now here is what he is eating:

- I leave a bowl of dry food (Purina Pro Plan 7+ years, Chicken) and a 3 oz can of wet food (Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Beef) when I go to bed, and he usually eats half the can and a little bit of dry food very early in the morning (5am);

- I then give him a Fancy Feast broth when I wake up. He usually licks all the juice and eats some of the meat pieces in the broth.

- I then give him his blood pressure medication, together with a Churu wet stick to make sure he swallows the pill.

- I then leave dry food out during the day and he eats a little bit once in a while.

- The day ends when I give him another can of wet food (and he usually eats half of it) and I give him 10/15 greenies dental treats when we play together in the evening.

In total, I think he is eating roughly 1 can (3oz) of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers, 1 broth, 1 churu stick, and maybe 1/3 or 1/4 cup of dry food. He is 6.2kg. I have weighed him yesterday and he seems to have fairly the same weight as before.

Thank you for your time in reviewing my post.

 

[treeclimber]

It is hard to tell what “enough” is for any specific cat since it can vary so much with size and activity level.

The good news is he is eating - not refusing food. And the amount he’s eating is at least close enough to the ballpark of “enough” that it’s hard to tell one way or the other.

The other good news is that you have a pretty good idea why his eating has changed, and that it’s likely to be from the change in his life rather than a medical problem (and good for you for getting him checked for medical problems first!)

The best thing right now is probably to just continue keeping an eye on his weight - if he’s not eating enough you will see that start to change, or if he is eating enough then it will continue to be stable. Unfortunately that’s an answer that will take time to become clear, but it is also the most accurate way to determine if what he’s eating is enough.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I personally would cut back on the Greenies, and there might be something here that's useful;
How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat? – TheCatSite Articles

Body condition score your cat

 

[louisstools]

I've been in a similar situation since last December. Boy cat passed due to oral squamous cell cancer and been struggling with a handful of issues with my surviving cat around eating. I'll spare the details...they're in my post history if you care. Its hard what you're going through.

Bottom line for me is my girl is eating less and slightly less interested in food. Likely due to less exercise and no competition for food...he would eat from her bowl. But she's eating and maintaining weight.

I weigh her twice a week and weigh out how much she eats in a day. Both numbers fluctuate a bit but I've learned how many calories she's needs to maintain weight (1/3 what the vet and Purina say). You really need a month or two data to see the fluctuations.

She's likely going to eat less for awhile as you both find new normal. As long as she is eating and not losing weight too fast it's probably not an issue.