My cat is thin and not eating. How can I help him gain weight safely?

Cats can be thin for a variety of reasons. Make sure he has been checked for parasites or dewormed recently. Some cats will also become thin due to kidney disease or hyperthyroidism. Sometimes this can happen even before kidney disease begins. Any GI disease will also cause a thin body. Lastly, some cats have a fast metabolism. Make sure Choo Choo's bloodwork is all normal and that parasites are not a concern. Then you may try focusing on nutrition. I recommend the brand Royal Canin. It's diets are all tested and formulated to contain appropriate protein levels that are high quality and easy to digest. Feed one of the higher calorie diets available. This may help to put weight on him. You can also supplement with a high calorie canned like A/D or R/S.

Have you had Skittle checked out by a vet for this weight loss? It could be due to something serious like kidney failure, liver disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or even cancer. She needs to see a vet asap for this weight loss, and I would recommend getting a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis. Please take her into her vet in the morning. I would not give any supplementary food until after she sees her vet. Best of luck.

Dog food is not formulated for cats nutritional needs, so he really needs to be on cat food. First of all, I would get him seen by your vet to find out why he has lost so much weight and get him started on a treatment plan. Based on his medical condition, it may be necessary to feed him a special diet for whatever is causing his illness. If he doesn't require a special diet, it may be that he prefers wet food now and you may need to offer that primarily and leave dry out for nibbling during the day.

Wet food actually helps cats lose weight. It has a higher moisture content, so it takes more of it to give a cat their daily caloric requirements I would have him seen by a vet today or tomorrow. In a senior cat, this weight loss can not only be caused by dental problems, but also diabetes, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, or cancer. I recommend having a physical exam, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis to diagnose what is causing his weight loss. Once the cause is found, the vet can discuss treatment options.

I would recommend having some blood work performed on your cat. Hyperthyroidism is a common disease in middle aged to older cats that causes an increase metabolism so cats are often very hungry but unable to gain weight. I would also recommend having your vet check a fecal sample to ensure that Koda does not have any intestinal parasites as this can cause weight loss as well. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Unfortunately it is impossible to know what is wrong with Tom without a physical exam and bloodwork. There are many conditions which will cause cats to become thin. Kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, cancer, liver disease or parasites can all cause pets to lose weight. Bloodwork and an exam is needed to determine the cause. At home there may not be much you can do because you don’t know what’s wrong. Certainly feeding a high-quality cat food and ensuring water intake will help but it may not be enough. I recommend to have Tom examined by the veterinarian a soon as you can. Best of luck.

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.