Why Is My Cat Suddenly So Skinny?

Your cat’s weight loss is a serious issue that requires immediate attention to determine its cause. There could be several reasons why your cat is suddenly skinny - ranging from inadequate diet to poor health. If your cat gets sick, it may respond similarly to how you would feel when you are sick. 

How to Check Your Cat’s Weight

Investing in a quality digital pet scale will help ensure your cat stays healthy and the scale will make you aware of weight loss issues requiring a vet's attention.

Checking weight can be done at the vet using the body condition score, comparable to a human's body mass index (BMI). 

Otherwise, you do a hand check to determine if your cat is skinny, average, or obese. Using the hand test is a more straightforward method of checking your cat's weight. 

Run your hands through the cat's ribs, located behind their front legs. If it feels like the back of your hand, then your cat is doing just fine. If it feels like your knuckles, then your cat is skinny, but if it feels like the palm of your hand, then your cat is probably obese.

Given that a healthy indoor cat is about 10 pounds, it is highly recommended to monitor your cat's weight when it is a kitten to the time it is a full-grown adult cat. 

Checking the weight should be done every couple of weeks, which will help you understand your cat's regular weight pattern.

Causes of Weight Loss

There are two leading causes of weight loss in your cat. They include not eating enough due to external issues and possible disease. 

There are several reasons why your cat may not be eating. Your cat may experience anxiety, stress, or depression due to introducing new food items or simply because you don't properly clean your cat's food bowl. 

Yes, your cat will be a fussy eater sometimes.

Your cat may avoid eating when it is shocked and traumatized due to loud noises in the house or the neighborhood. For example, if there's ongoing construction near by your home. 

If this is the case, make sure to relieve their anxiety by cleaning their feeding bowl, avoid loud noises, or introduce them to a quiet environment with your home. 

Avoid anything out of the ordinary, and your cat will be fine. Trying as much as possible to keep your cat's daily routine constant will alleviate your furry friend's anxiety and stress levels. 

Illnesses such as cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and feline infectious peritonitis are diseases that can cause your cat to lose weight drastically. 

The difference between anxiety and disease is that when your cat is sick, it becomes depressed, less playful, and their mood is always dull. 

Most diseases will cause your cat not to eat, which contributes to the massive drop in weight.  

As noted, using a digital pet scale, you can accurately measure your cat's weight and monitor its health. You should weigh your cat every 2 or 3 weeks.

Regular weighing sessions and vet visits will also help you note any increase or decrease in your cat's weight and catch any possible diseases in time for effective treatment.