Dr. Janet Jackson Answers Your Question About Eating Habits
My cat Phoebe (4 years old) is too skinny! Her hip bones are clearly visible, and I can easily feel her spine and ribs through her fur. The two vets I've seen both say she's healthy. I free feed Purina Kitten Chow and try to add doses of wet food, but all she does is just nibble. What else can I do?
A:
Dr. Janet answered:
How much an adult cat eats depends on many factors including individual metabolism and activity level. Similar to many people that can eat almost anything and not gain an ounce, some cats can eat more than others and not gain weight. This is just individual differences in how different cats digest and metabolize food into energy. Similarly, activity level and individual energy requirements will dictate how much food a cat requires in a day. If you have a cat that sleeps on the couch and only periodically awakens to go eat or play for a few minutes, the energy requirements for this cat will be very low and food amounts minimal. In contrast, if you have an outdoor cat that is constantly active, running, hunting, etc., this cat will require much more energy and must eat more to meet his energy needs.
The best gauge to determine if your cats are getting ample nutrition is to assess their body condition scores. The Ideal body condition for cats is described as, "well-proportioned; observe waist behind ribs; ribs palpable with slight fat covering; abdominal fat pad minimal." To read the descriptions of all the body condition scores go to http://www.purina.com/cats/health/BodyCondition.aspx. Once you've read the chart and assessed your cats, if you determine that they are too thin or too heavy, you will want to adjust your feeding amounts and regimen to bring them into ideal body condition.
If your veterinarian has already checked and determined that your cat is healthy then all you need to make sure is that cat is consuming enough amount of food.