Male not eating all of his food

[KittyJ]

A few days ago I noticed that my nine-pound male has not been finishing all of his dry food. When I first realized this, he was leaving only a few pieces of his food. The kibbles were quite big, bigger than what I usually feed. Now I am trying a smaller highly digestible dry food. Chicken and brown rice recipe. He is leaving more pieces of kibble now. He usually has a big appetite and is almost always hungry (I never thought it was a problem, seeing how he has been like this for as long as I can remember). Every time I open up the container I keep his food in, he jumps right in it. He still does this. I feed him about half a cup of food a day. Not that long ago, I weighed him and he was eight pounds. I weighed him the morning and he is nine pounds. He is almost two years old so he isn't growing anymore. He is a big-boned cat. I can't see his ribs. Is he a little overweight? Or does he have a healthy weight? He hasn't been acting any different. What could be wrong?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Maurey]

You shouldn't be able to *see* a cat's ribs. You should, however, be able to easily feel them, and the spine, without applying too much pressure. Here's a cat body score condition assessment chart.

He could definitely be eating less in an attempt to self-regulate, or he could be getting bored of his food. If he's not overweight, and this change in behaviour continues, it may be worth getting him seen by a vet to rule out any issues.

 

[KittyJ]

He looks like number five and six. He definitely not bored of his food since I just changed it. Thank you!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Not sure what the issue is - he is eating less than he used to, even with the change in food? What is the calorie count of the 1/2 cup of food you feed him? As a general rule of thumb, most cats can sustain their weight on 20-25 calories per pound of body weight. So, at nine pounds, he theoretically could consume somewhere between 180 - 225 calories per day. However, if all he is eating is dry food, that is so full of carbs/calories that it could be less than that as a rule for him.

If he is not totally food driven, he could be eating less because he doesn't really like the food. He is interested in the food when you take it out for him, but isn't that crazy about the taste of it.

 

[KittyJ]

Yes, he is eating less than he used to, even with the change of food. I don't know what the calorie count is, I'll have to look once I get home.

He is pretty food-driven. I wouldn't say totally, though. That could be it but he really liked it when I feed it to him the first time.

Thank you!

 

[KittyJ]

He has been eating all of his food for about a month now.