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Question
My 7 yr. old neutered male cat, lives exclusively indoors. About 6 weeks ago he was treated, successfully for urinary tract blockage and put on a new diet of canned Royal Canin SO (about half a 6 oz. can twice per day). He had been overweight, eating dry Wellness Core brand food (and probably too much of it). Since the change in diet, he has lost a noticeable amount of weight. He seems quite healthy, active, alert, playful, but I am surprised by the relatively rapid weight loss. I am wondering if it is simply due to the change in diet, and if half a can is enough per feeding. What amount do you recommend?
Submitted: 149 days and 16 hours ago.
Category: Cat
Value: $13
Status: CLOSED
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Pet's Sex: Male
Pet's Age: 7
Posted by
Drew
149 days and 16 hours ago.
Info Request
Hi, thanks for your question. Is he drinking more water than usual? Is he urinating significantly more than he used to?
149 days and 16 hours ago.
Reply
no, he is not drinking more water than usual, in fact, I don't notice him drinking water (I'm told by his vet that he will get a significant amount of water from the canned food.) He is not urinating significantly more either, I notice him urinating a good amount about once per day. He may be urinating one other time that I don't catch. He seems normal to me, except the weight lose, which only began with the diet change.
Accepted Answer
Your vet is correct, canned food has a lot of water in it, and not as much water will need to be consumed by drinking. I suspect that the weight loss is associated with cutting out the carbohydrates in the dry food he used to eat. Cats are known to pack on a lot of fat when eating dry diets, because of all the excess carbohydrate, which is not processed for energy in cats very efficiently.
As long as he's acting normally, and isn't getting "too" thin (bones and spine easily visible through the fur), then I would not worry about the weight loss -- his body is just starting to operate closer to what was intended by nature, with most energy coming from protein rather than carbohydrates.
Expert:
Drew
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Answered:
10/21/2009
Veterinarian
Small Animal Medicine and Surgery
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