Cat eating problems

Kenevil

looking for a bit of advice please.
One of my cats Max will only eat very small amounts of food, when I put the fresh food out he will only eat a few mouth fulls before leaving it, he'll come back later and again only eat a few mouth fulls, he's full of energy tho and runs around the place but he is very light and looks a bit skinny the last time I weighed him he was 8lbs.
His brother weighs close to a stone (tho he's not a fatso) so maybe that why he seems so light but I'm still very worried by the small amount he eats.
I feed them Hills Science Plan, I have tried giving him a wet food but he just does the same?

Anyone any ideas on how to get him to eat a bit more I've never had a cat like him.

leggit

confusing title :eek:

mymo

Cats are grazers, they like to eat little and often, so I wouldn't worry unless he's very skinny, you can ask the vet next time you're in for his opinion, but generally slim pets are healthy pets.
Has he been wormed regularly?
Are his teeth ok?
No problems going to the toilet?
If all the above is ok, I wouldn't worry.
One thing you can try is changing the food, cats aren't like dogs, you can give them different food every day and it won't upset there tums.
I give raw mince, chicken wings and bits of stewing steak regularly and my cats love this. You could also try different wet and dry foods.
Some cats are just small eaters.
Try not to worry too much, if he is full of energy he's good.

Kenevil

thanks for your reply Mymo

he has no problems going to the toilet and is up to date with worming etc.

he does have two extra little fangs on his jaw and I was thinking that this was maybe causing him problems trying to pick up food.
He was at the vet in july for boosters and for the 2nd time I have pointed out these extra teeth I was first told they where only baby teeth and woud fall out I knew they were not baby teeth as he had 3 fangs at one point on the same side.
The 2nd time I was told they weren't bothering him unless they were inflamed. so to leave them be. he doesn't seem to be in pain!!

also he has no interest in eating the likes of cooked chicken :eek: just turns his nose up at it!! :rolleyes:

its just the small amount that he does eat that worries me.

p.s has no problem eating dreamies at all

RainbowJack

I'd agree with what Mymo said.

I have the same thing with one of our kittens, Rainbow doesn't eat as much as Jack and is smaller than him. I know she's female and he'll be bigger because he's a male but even on her own she seems kinda scrawny to me:o She has loads of energy and is great fun and the vet said there was nothing to worry about.

mymo

Those extra teeth may be causing a problem chewing, but if he can eat the dreamies ok, then I think he may just be a light eater.
I would try other food though, sometimes different size and shape kibble will suit them better.
I have a fella with a broken fang (tip gone, but no root showing), and some kind of swelling in the gum(vet thinks it may be due to a fall and breaking the sitting of the tooth), but like your vet is reluctant to do anything about it. His opinion is the risk of putting him under and the risks of the surgery/infection risk, is too high for something that doesn't appear to bother him. If he thought it was bothering him he'd do it straight away. So don't worry, my fella has been like this 6 years no problems.

(one of mine won't eat cooked chicken either, but give him a bit of raw mince or stewing steak and he's happy)

MaryK666

Kenevil,
As mymo says, cats are grazers and will often just eat a mouthfull or two before wandering off.
We free feed our cats kibble and keep soft food for meal times but we have one like yours who only eats a small amount and sometimes it appears that she hasn't eaten at all so we sneakily keep an eye on her to make sure she's getting some food into her. She too is a small cat but full of energy.

She was a very poorly rescue kitten when we got her and it took a lot of trips to the vet and a lot of coaxing and bribery to get her to eat and help her get to the stage where she was strong enough to survive. We got there in the end by putting her medication in some Nurishum paste, which she loved, thereby getting both the meds and some much needed nourishment into her.

She's a year old now and still a small cat with a very picky appetite and the strangest taste in food. She loves stilton cheese, roast beef, any kind of curry, coffee and blueberry yoghurt but she still only nibbles at food. Every so often we'll give her some fresh fish or chicken and pour a little olive oil over it, to make sure she's eating something, and she wolfs it down so it might be worth trying something like that with your little man.

I'd also look into the possibility of problems with the teeth. If your vet is still adamant that they're not causing a problem, it might be worth getting a second opinion. I don't know who your vet is or how highly you rate them but different vets are better with some animals than others. We saw a few different vets before we settled with the one we use now and find them to be absolutely fantastic with the cats.

Hopefully it's just the way he is and there'll be right as rain without any intervention.

Kenevil

Hi everyone, thanks a million for your advice, I'm going to keep an eye on him for the next while keep checking his weight and if he starts loosing weight I'll bring him to the vet. I'm going to try him on a few different foods too see if that makes a difference.

Thanks again