My cat is always hungry and losing weight. Should I be concerned?

I adopted a cat that weighed 28 pounds. I measured his diet food and added in several tablespoons of plain canned pumpkin to his food twice daily. It took almost two years but he is now 12 pounds. He still gets canned pumpkin daily to maintain his weight. Most cats enjoy pumpkin. The cats may lose weight better on an all meat canned diet or Hills metabolic diet. With pumpkin, canned food, or the metabolic food most cats are not as hungry, and can still lose weight. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Miso.

Greebo is probably just hungry. Even if he wasn’t overfed before he may be feeling the effects of dieting. Make sure he is being fed twice daily. You can also add water to his food in order to bulk it up. One thing that may be extra helpful would be to get interactive toys that dispense food as he plays with them. This will give him exercise as well as a treat reward for playing. You can use his diet food as the treats in the toys. This will keep him entertained as well as give him small bits of food as he plays.

Significant weight loss is always a concern, especially if his appetite is good. Hormonal conditions such as diabetes and thyroid disease or poor absorption and digestion of his food is possible and I would recommend a full physical and blood panel as soon as possible in order to stabilise his condition before he becomes too frail

The amount of food they eat depends on how many calories are in that food. Pets should eat enough to maintain a normal body condition. You should be able to feel their ribs like your fingers on the back of your hand. They should have a waist from above and 'Tuck' from below. Adding regular dry food to the canned will only increase the calories they are getting and make them gain more weight. If pets are gaining weight, there are pet foods that are formulated for weight loss and to maintain an ideal body condition that are available from your veterinarian. Ask about weight loss foods and see what they suggest. Unfortunately, housecats are prone to becoming overweight as a lack of exercise and read access to food make a perfect situation to pack on the weight.

This kind of dramatic weight loss is almost always due to an underlying medical condition. Ask your vet if he has checked Frida Katio's thyroid levels to rule out hyperthyroidism and performed full body X-rays to scan for any masses. He should also perform full mouth dental X-rays to rule out any dental disease that may be preventing her from eating. If all of these diseases have been ruled out, you could consider switching Frida to a higher calorie canned food such as Hills Science Diet AD.

Some cats have voracious appetites and although possible medical causes such as diabetes and hyperthyroidism would be quite rare in such a young cat. I recommend using a specialised diet such as hills metabolic or royal canin satiety fed in small meals frequently or better still using a puzzle feeder or treat ball to stimulate normal hunting instincts and both mental and physical stimulation.

If Julian's weight seems appropriate and your vet has confirmed that his body condition is ideal you should not offer more food. Some cats have big appetites and will continually beg for food even though they are getting enough calories. If ignoring the begging is difficult you could look into using an automatic feeder for the dry food, or try hiding smaller amounts of dry food around the house so he has to 'hunt' for his meals.