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My 15 year old indoor cat has been losing weight over a 6-month period and the vet is offering suggestions - but so far nothing is working. Here is his history:

  • he used to have 3 fixed meals when his brother was alive. Felt very stressed - but ate. Had to separate the two (the other was food fixated);
  • when his brother died about a year and 1/2 ago - let cat graze. At first OK;
  • now, he eats 1/2 of his food during the day and other 1/2 at night. When cat sitter comes in when we are on vacation - all is OK;
  • when we are home - cat will eat very little at night (regardless of whether we have him in the bedroom or keep the door shut (with him outside);
  • have tried putting another food bowl at night upstairs; also extra brushing (can't do treats because of food allergies).

Suggestions?

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4 Answers 4

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I see you have consulted a vet about this. If the cat hasn't had a full check-up, it's important to do that now, especially given his age.

If there are no health problems preventing him from eating enough, I do have one possible suggestion. Perhaps your cat feels torn between eating food and spending time with the people he loves. Being close to you may be more important than ever now that his brother is gone. So you might try putting his food dish near where you hang out in the evening. That way he can eat and be with you at the same time.

This may explain why he eats more when you're away and the cat sitter feeds him - he doesn't have to make a choice between being with you and eating.

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I would suggest you to take your cat to a vet and do full his health scanning. Losing weight can be because of a lot of diseases: liver, kidneys, parasites, heart, etc. No one can make a diagnosis through the computer monitor.

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If a cat is noticeably losing weight and you don't already know why: Vet. Now.

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If your cat is not eating, like he was eating before, it's may be stress or anxeity.

Please try changing his food. Sometimes, all cats want is a change in taste. They get bored with same food everyday.

But make sure to consult your vet before making any change in your cat's diet.

I've also highlighted this issue in one of my blog post in details... Please check

Cat Not Eating Much But Acting Normal? (5 Surprising Reasons)

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  • Hi, answers should be as self-sufficient as possible, of course it is always preferred to include external references to support your answer, but in case of this post it is different - and on SE it is considered bad practice to write only a partial answer and then send readers elsewhere through links to get the full answer. In this post you have disclosed you affiliation with your blog, so this post is not spam; but it is still sub-optimal, this is your second post linking to your blog and excessive self-promotion is discouraged; could you please include the full answer in your post? Thanks.
    – lila
    Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 19:56
  • And also please include your affiliation with the same linked blog in your other answer pets.stackexchange.com/a/28624 to make sure that answer isn't flagged or removed as spam in the future, thanks.
    – lila
    Commented Oct 15, 2020 at 19:58

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