Kitty tired of raw food (any food)

[koobe]

My Cheetah, now is 7 months, 8.5 lbs but his appetite reduces to about 2-3 oz of raw food each day. While Panther, of the same age, 9.5lbs, he probably eats 8 oz per day.

They don't really chew on bones unless it is cut into small pieces, so I add calcium powder to their food to balance it. I tried adding less, but still does not do the trick for Cheetah.

I rotate their food, I have chicken, turkey, pork, quail, rabbit, cornish hen in the rotation. The only ground meat I feed them is turkey. But Cheetah does not like seem to be interested in any of them in particular. I tried adding canned food to raw, but he ate 1 more oz of it. Last night, I added boiled chicken to raw, and he ate 3 oz of it, but that was almost what he ate all day. I tried to add treats on top, not working.

He is not losing weight, but he is just not growing like Panther. He is also active and normal. What can I make Cheetah eat more?

 

[carolina]

IMO he needs to be taken to the vet to rule out any health problems first... Then you move to the second step.
It seems to me he is lacking an appetite in general, and it is affecting his growth; time to see the vet...

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Carolina

IMO he needs to be taken to the vet to rule out any health problems first... Then you move to the second step.
It seems to me he is lacking an appetite in general, and it is affecting his growth; time to see the vet...

very well said... this is not the first issue with your kitties time to get the vet to delve deeper

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by sharky

very well said... this is not the first issue with your kitties time to get the vet to delve deeper

Thank you, we have been thinking about it. But he has been very active so we just hasn't worried too much about it and did not think too much about it. Sometimes we left the food for a while and it will be gone, although we are not sure how much he ate, we assumed that he ate it. Might be a good time to bring him to the vet then. Thank you for your advices.

 

[koobe]

Dear All,
I brought Cheetah and Panther to an animal hospital with good reputation on Wednesday.

Panther gained 1 more lb in 3 weeks and Cheetah gained 0.6 lbs. The vet said both of them are healthy. Cheetah is very friendly, active and curious, so she does not see anything wrong with him. She said if Cheetah is gaining weight, that means he is eating enough, it is just that we might not see it when he eats.

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by koobe

Dear All,
I brought Cheetah and Panther to an animal hospital with good reputation on Wednesday.

Panther gained 1 more lb in 3 weeks and Cheetah gained 0.6 lbs. The vet said both of them are healthy. Cheetah is very friendly, active and curious, so she does not see anything wrong with him. She said if Cheetah is gaining weight, that means he is eating enough, it is just that we might not see it when he eats.

That's good news!
Now... How do you not see when he eats, if he eats raw? I am confused... Does your vet know he eats raw?

 

[koobe]

Originally Posted by Carolina

That's good news!
Now... How do you not see when he eats, if he eats raw? I am confused... Does your vet know he eats raw?

Yes, the vet knows he eats raw.

Well, we left the dish in the kitchen, usually Panther eats right away and Cheetah will just wait. So I wait for about 3 mins, and then I will walk away.

I usually come back and check after 10 mins, sometimes the food is gone, and sometime there is a little left. But since Panther almost eats 3x the food as Cheetah eats, so I have no clue who eats how much.

Then I will try to hand feed Cheetah, because it is how he likes it sometimes. Sometimes he eats, and sometimes he does not. When he eats, he eats about 1.5 oz each time.

I suspect it is the calcium powder that I add that Cheetah does not like. Panther is totally fine with it. So yesterday, I bought some chicken neck. I threw 2 on the floor and Panther ate all his., Cheetah only ate a small piece, like 1/2 inch long. Then I cut the neck into small pieces and mix it into the dinner. Panther ate all his portion, about 3 oz. Cheetah ate about 1.5 oz when I feed him.

This morning, I added chicken neck into their food instead of calcium powder. Panther ate it right away, and I went out. I instructed my brother to collect the plates after 15 mins. I put down about 6 oz of food all together. When I came back, my brother said all food was gone and he did see Cheetah eat, but not sure how much exactly.

 

[carolina]

Does he eat all raw, or wet and dry too?

 

[sharky]

what type of calcium powder ?

And are they now on 100% raw or do they still get other foods?

 

[koobe]

They are on raw 95% of the time.
There are 2 days when no one will be at home for more than 10 hours, so they will have dry food for lunch. I have an auto feeder that puts out 1 cup of dry at 1 pm for both to share.

Sometimes, when I feel that they are not that interested in the raw food, then I will add about 1/3 of a can of canned food to their raw to add favor.

I add Apperon Primalcal as their source of calcium for about 3 week now. Before that, I tried Solid Gold bone meal, and Cheetah won't even touch it.

 

[koobe]

Oh, I also tried to put Panther is a different room, to see if Cheetah will eat. But it does not work.

And there are times that Cheetah will be eating and Panther will sit about 2 feet away and wait. Then Panther will finish Cheetah's when he walks away. So I do not think it is the pressure Panther is giving. They do get along very well.