Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Kay and Penny on September 08, 2010, 12:26:05 PM
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are there any medical conditions which make a cat start eating more, but gain rather than lose weight?
Trigger has been showing much more interest in food just lately, and I feared it might be the start of HyperT (he is 9 now) but have been weighing him and he is 4.8 kilos, which is at least 0.8 more than last February at the vets, and I'm pretty sure more than he has ever been
he still looks lean and svelte, his pooing, weeing and drinking are all normal
the only difference lately is that I have been feeding him Bozita meat, lambs kidney and heart, coley and a grain free dry food, A Taste of the Wild
is it possible cutting out all rubbish additives could alone account for his sudden interest in food? or is there cause for concern?
I should add that Trigger has major freak outs at going to the vet, so that is not for me the first resort
can anyone offer advice or an opinion, please?
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Jumpy turned into a piglet as he reached around 5 years. Middle aged spread. :evillaugh: Is there any reason why you would think it's hyper T rather then him just wanting to eat more? :shify: Normally the simplest answer is the correct one. ;) :hug:
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An increased appetite can be attributed to many things. Are there any other symptoms did you say? Sorry if you said there were but i haven't read it correctly! :-[
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Could it be that he is just enjoying the tasty food he is being offered? Is he more sedentary too as he gets older?
When I look back on photos of Tiggy & Benji they were both portly at around 'middle age' and I don't recall their eating habits changing.
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he's always been rather inactive - or laid back, as no doubt he would prefer me to say ;)
until he sees a cat carrier, that is
it's just so odd to me that I have struggled for 9 years to get him to eat enough, and suddenly he is looking for food all the time - he is now eating more than Tiffany and Tosker, and both of them are quite - well, portly :-[
I'll keep weighing him, and if he does start losing weight he will have to have a blood test :scared:
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It could be that he is enjoying the new food more, or if there is less carbohydrates in it, it's less filling (don't be put off by this as a better quality diet has to be a good thing).
If there are no symptons whatsoever, I'd try weighing him one a week for two weeks and see if he puts on any more. If the weight is still increasing or there are any symptons, then I would certainly get him checked out.
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you've given me an idea now, Catmad - the recommended daily amounts for Bozita and A Taste of the Wild are higher than for the more common cat foods, so presumably they are less calorific
which would mean eating more of them is in fact to be expected
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That could well be the case. I think Bozita has a high meat content which could mean less calories and carbohydrates. As said before, just keep an eye on his weight and general health and review things in a few days.
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This may or may not help ... It just popped into my head. With canine nutrition the higher quality the food the less they need of it. The higher quality it is the more nutrients they absorb from a smaller quantity. So with a canine if you were to feed the same amount or more of a high protein food as a cheap food they will put on weight very easily. Also guidlines tend to be on the high side.
So if Felines are similar I'd expect weight gain unless activity was increased or food amounts decreased to match activity levels.
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I think I may have solved the mystery of the newly found appetite
it coincides with my connecting a Feliway diffuser, and apparently an increase in appetite is a side effect in some cats
has anyone else found this?
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I have not found that with feliway.
I was going to suggest that he just likes his food and is a greedy little piggy ;D Jaffa is a greedy little piggy and he'd have a meal every hour if he had the chance.
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I've never heard of an increased appetite due to feliway....i think i will look into that!
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I would imagine that it is a side effect cos when cats feel more relaxed they will be aqble to enjoy their food more ;D
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I would imagine that it is a side effect cos when cats feel more relaxed they will be aqble to enjoy their food more ;D
That is what sprang to mind when I saw the title, but I read through all the answers in case someone else had already suggested it :evillaugh:
Although it could just be a combination of things. I usually leave food on my plate but if it is an Indian takeaway, my plate is so clean it could go back on the shelf :drool; :evillaugh: