Cat not gaining weight... please help!

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Concerned Mother - 04 Sep 2006 07:45 GMT

First, let me tell you about my babies. Simon and Lola were born on March 17,
2005, and they are the loves of my life. Simon, as you can probably guess,
is a beautiful Siamese with white feet and a white patch on his face. Lola,
my beautiful girl, is an orange tabby. Their mother was a Calico that
belonged to my cousin. To look at them, you'd never believe they're from the
same litter. At six months old, Simon weighed in at 10 pounds, while Lola
was a mere 5.5 pounds. At thirteen months, Simon weighed 14 lbs 7 oz and
Lola was only 7lbs 6 oz. At that time, the vet was concerned that she was
small and gave her a worm pill, just in case.

They are now at seventeen months, and Simon weighs 16.5 pounds, while Lola is
still at 7.5 pounds. I'm starting to worry about her. They've both had
problems with food since they were kittens. I started them out on Purina
Kitten Chow, but tried both Science Diet and Iams at my vet's suggestion,
both of which made Simon sick. I kept them on the Kitten Chow until about 13
months, when I changed them to an indoor formula that made Lola sick. I have
finally found a sensitive systems formula that they can both eat without
getting sick. However, every other week or so, I find a pile of vomit. It
always looks like a gooey tube, as if it's been in their esophagus. My
cousin suggested they might have hair balls, so I've given them hair ball
medicine. They've only been on it a few days, so I'm not sure if it's
working.

I'm just worried that Lola has not gained any weight in the past four months.
I only realized this the other day. She's always been small compared to
Simon, but I'm getting worried. She's also started being more vocal,
especially around meal time.

Before you ask, I have never seen Simon discourage her from eating in any way.
They have separate eating dishes, although I have seen them sit next to each
other and eat from the same bowl. They love each other dearly, and often
curl up together to sleep. I feed them canned food once a day and keep dry
food down at all times. I haven't found any evidence of worms in their
litter box.

I'm a poor college student, and having double vet bills every time you go to
the vet gets expensive. Does anyone have an idea of what might be wrong, so
that I can know how much money to expect at the vet? My cats are my babies
and I love them dearly. I take more pictures of them than anything/anyone
else. I will pay whatever it takes, I just need a ballpark figure to scrape
up somehow.

I appreciate any help you can offer!!

Concerned Mother in Arkansas

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tension_on_the_wire - 04 Sep 2006 09:25 GMT

> First, let me tell you about my babies. Simon and Lola were born on March 17,
> 2005, and they are the loves of my life. Simon, as you can probably guess,
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
>
> Concerned Mother in Arkansas

Just a thought...if the wee one has not been gaining weight, but does
like to eat, and maybe even is hungry all the time, and worms are ruled
out, then what about the possibility of hyperthyroidism? Vomiting is a
symptom, my cat just got diagnosed last week. Before any lab work,
which is not cheap, ask your vet what her heart rate is, though it will
always be a bit higher than normal at the vet due to stress. If it is
normal, then hyperT is not likely and you could avoid unnecessary lab
work. If you do need labwork, mine cost $100.00 for a full wellness
panel to check thyroid effects of other organs, because my cat had an
extremely high heart rate and was sick and so she needed it. But I
asked, and they told me that the thyroid panel alone would only have
been $40.00 or so. One month's meds was about $35.00. This is
California.

By the way, don't be too alarmed at the fact that the two of them are
so different in weight, since they seem to be different in several
things, genetically speaking. Given different body types and even
breeds, perhaps, it's possible that this one has a smaller physique, as
some cats can be very lightweight on account of lithe, slender body
frames. Also males are heavier, often, and she is a female (spayed or
no? makes a difference to the weight sometimes). My cat (who is a
Harlequin with an Abyssinian body frame) weighs 6.5 lbs now, but when
she was healthy at her peak overweight, she was never more than 12 lbs.
So essentially, what I'm trying to ask is....does wee Lola look scrawny
or malnourished? Or just small, but healthy, vomiting aside (I think
that hairball med should start showing results within a week or so,
btw).

Anyways, just a few ideas to think or ask your vet about.

---tension

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~*Connie*~ - 04 Sep 2006 13:43 GMT

Just so you know, 7.5 lbs on a cat is not necessarily underweight. Was the
vet concerned about her weight when he saw her? She might just be a small
cat, it happens. Feel for her ribs. If you can feel her bones very
pronounced, then you might have an issue, but if they are well covered and
she just looks sleek, then she's probably fine.

Are you feeding wet or dry? Lots of cats have issue with dry food, but if
you switch them over to a high quality low carbohydrate (most cat
sensitivities are to the grains) canned food, you might find that your
little one will put on a little weight, while your heavy cat might loose
some. (14lbs on a standard cat is considered overweight)

Check out http://catinfo.org/ it is a web page about cat food by a
veterinarian..

> First, let me tell you about my babies. Simon and Lola were born on March
> 17,
[quoted text clipped - 57 lines]
>
> Concerned Mother in Arkansas

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blkcatgal - 04 Sep 2006 15:05 GMT

I agree with Connie. 7.5 lbs may not be underweight. Female cats usually
weigh less than males. You cat is over a year old and will not be gaining
weight on a regular basis (like a kitten would). She may be at her maximum
weight now. And I agree about the dry food....you may want to switch to
canned food. Also, give the hairball med some time to work...it may take a
few days. If you are really concerned about your cat's weight, ask your vet
about it. He/she will be able to tell you if the cat is underweight or not.

Sue

> Just so you know, 7.5 lbs on a cat is not necessarily underweight. Was
> the vet concerned about her weight when he saw her? She might just be a
[quoted text clipped - 75 lines]
>>
>> Concerned Mother in Arkansas

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Rhonda - 04 Sep 2006 19:54 GMT

Hi there,

It almost sounds like your biggest cat is overweight, and the little one
is fine! 16.5 is a BIG cat! I can understand how you'd think the littler
one is too small if you are comparing the two.

Does Simon look too heavy? Does Lola look emaciated? Several of our
fully grown cats are 7 pounds and that is their natural weight. When you
pet Lola, you should be able to tell where her spine is but not feel
every single bone. When a cat is too skinny, you can feel every boney
bump on the spine (where there normally is somewhat of a cushion,) and
you can feel and see all of the ribs, and feel the sharp angles of bones
on their head (between the ears.) If you are unsure, just have a vet
take a quick look at Lola, but take a look at her alone again and think
about her as a single cat, not in comparison to your (very) large other cat!

We have a 14 lb cat and our 7 lb cats look like kittens when around him
-- but they are in good health.

You can tell when they throw up hairballs because you can actually see
clumps of woven hair. It's not like food, it's normally tightly packed.
Sometimes it almost looks like wool. Take a closer look next time -- if
you can stand it, put it in paper towel and try to pull it apart and
check for hair.

Good luck,

Rhonda

> They are now at seventeen months, and Simon weighs 16.5 pounds, while Lola is
> still at 7.5 pounds. I'm starting to worry about her. They've both had
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> medicine. They've only been on it a few days, so I'm not sure if it's
> working.

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Concerned Mother - 04 Sep 2006 20:57 GMT

Thank you all for the help you've given. I noticed that the vomit seems to
be more like slightly digested food than hair, so this makes me believe it's
something other than hairballs. I'm going to give the medicine a few more
days to see if it helps.

As for Simon, when he weighed 10 lbs at six months old, the vet told me that
he would grow to be a very big cat. He's not fat, he's just huge, and
actually quite sleek for his weight.

Thanks for the help!

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Professor - 04 Sep 2006 21:19 GMT

> First, let me tell you about my babies. <snip>

Our girl is 4 years old and weighs only 4 lbs despite her ravenous appetite.
You have nothing to worry about.

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Wayne Boatwright - 08 Sep 2006 04:47 GMT

Oh pshaw, on Sun 03 Sep 2006 11:45:30p, Concerned Mother meant to say...

> First, let me tell you about my babies. Simon and Lola were born on
> March 17, 2005, and they are the loves of my life. Simon, as you can
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> the vet was concerned that she was small and gave her a worm pill, just
> in case.

There may not really be a problem. It's not at all uncommon for two cats
from the same litter to be different in many ways, including weight.

We have two cats from the same litter, both tuxedos. One weight 12.5
pounds, the other only 7.5 pounds. Even though their markings are quite
similar, their physiques are quite different. The heavier cat is very
solid and muscular, the other quite delicate. They are about 18 months
old.

In our case, our heavier cat is the one with an extremely sensitive
stomach, but we've managed to find good solutions for feeding all of them.
We have three other cats as well.

It is even possible that cats from the same litter can have different
fathers, which can account for many differents among the litter.

I don't think I'd be that worried unless there are more obvious symptoms of
illness.

Signature

Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what
you've always gotten.

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