My cat won't eat and is thin. Should I consider rehoming him?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Wilkie, much like my cat, is spoiled. I would say that the reason he does this is likely because he loves your company and eating is a great way to make sure that you stay around. If your preferred eating times and where you eat coincide with his, you may not need to do anything about this, as you can just enjoy your time together. There are several ways to get your cat to eat independently. Not all cats will respond to these but I have had a good majority of cats respond well. 1. Continue joining your Wilkie for part of his meal but not all of it. Put his food down and stand over him as you usually do, but walk away before he is finished. If he complains or stops eating, rejoin him and repeat. 2. Slowly pull back and extend the times you are away from him. Leave him alone to ignore his food for about 5 minutes, then 10 and then 15, etc. He probably won't like this but it will not hurt him to temporarily have an irregular eating schedule. Most cats will eventually eat their food when they are hungry. 3. Work on bonding with Wilkie during non-mealtimes. Plan regular play sessions and brushing sessions. Cuddle with him while you read or watch TV. If you are hanging out in a different room, peak your head in periodically and say hello to him and pet him. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

You can get a human scale and weigh yourself and then weigh yourself again holding him. Then subtract the two weights and you will get an estimate of his weight. I can tell you, it is VERY rare for a cat to be too thin. You would have to be severely underfeeding him. The biggest issue with pet cats is obesity so I honestly would not be that worried. If you get his weight once a month (as explained above) and you notice he is losing weight then you should get him to a vet for an exam.

Ah, cats. They are all so unique, and many of them don't particularly like humans. It goes against their instincts to be held or petted by humans. The best thing you can do right now is just to love Simon in the way he prefers. That may be playing with a toy, light petting down the back with an open hand, or even rough rubbing on the face/chin/ears. I wouldn't expect a kitten of his age to be overweight since they are usually quite active. You can try to prevent obesity by measuring out his food and not giving treats or human food. I recommend following the feeding guidelines on the bag of food. It is generally close to 1/2 cup per day. You could divide this into 1/4 cup twice a day. And that means using an actual measuring cup and not "eyeballing" it will a drinking glass.

I do think 1 cup per day of dry food is enough for a 2 year old cat. If orieo is getting skinny you can add in wet food. However if Oreo is sick the food will not help him gain weight. I would try and keep tract of his weight at home and if not improving take him to a vet for an exam. Sometimes parasites can cause weight loss in a younger cat.

The exact amount of calories that a cat needs certainly depends on their weight and activity level, but will tend to decrease slightly when a cat reaches an adult age. So, that might be why Baluu is eating less canned food than he used to. If he did not used to eat the dry food along with the canned food, then that would also account for why he is eating less canned food. In general, we usually recommend about 5 ounces of canned food for each 10 pounds of body weight if they are not eating any dry food. Based on that, it sounds like Baluu is eating a sufficient amount since he is also eating some dry food. If it seems like Baluu is losing weight, then I would recommend having your veterinarian examine him to make sure there isn't something going on internally. Otherwise, I would suspect that his metabolism is just slowing down a little and he doesn't need as much food as he did when he was younger. Some cats really desire some variety in their food, and it sounds like Baluu is one of those cats. Good luck! I hope that answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Wilkie is not wanting to eat, there could be medical reasons behind this behavior such as dental disease or a tooth or oral infection. Other possibilities may include something infectious, organ dysfunction, an endocrine disorder, or other causes. If all medical conditions have been entirely ruled out by a veterinarian, then my best advice is to just stick with one brand of food and try not to change the food or add other food items to it to entice him to eat as this will allow him to become a very picky eater. Try giving him only one type of food-if he is healthy and well, he will not starve himself! He will eventually learn to eat what is given to him. I hope this helps and thank you for posting!

Wilkie good stay on the cat food if it all possible as this in shores he's getting the appropriate vitamins, minerals and proteins. If he's been checked out and there's no dental issues going on then you can try continuing with the wet food and may even try warming it up slightly as that entices cats to eat. You could also try adding warm low-sodium chicken broth to his dry food to see if that helps get him to eat better.I would be concerned about tooth root abscesses that can only be detected with the dental x-ray given his history.