Low appetite

I adopted a cat a week ago, he’s around 5 or 6 years old and neutered. He has always been an indoor cat. He seems to be acting normal, is very affectionate, seems to be settling really well. But he eats very little food. I’ve tried several different types of food, but he will usually just pick at it, and maybe go back to it later on, but never seems to have much of an appetite. He is a large build cat, but not overweight. He eats equivalent to around one pouch of wet food per day, and a small amount of dry food. He also drinks a lot every day. What could be the reason for him being so thirsty? I was concerned about him having hepatic lipidosis. Do cats always have symptoms with this, or is it often asymptomatic? He was also treated for fleas a few days ago, as he had quite a bad infestation. Thank you

Hello! - and thank you for this interesting question.  Interesting because at first, I thought: "well, if a cat is eating and stopping eating of their own accord, this is a good thing;  they are self-regulating."  I wish I (as a human) stopped eating when I was full; this is a healthy attitude to life and not to be interfered with by giving the cat different / tastier food etc.  After all, if I wasn't feeling particularly hungry but you then put a fatty treat in front of me, I would probably say 'that looks yummy' and start eating food that my body doesn't need.  A lot of people overestimate the amount that their cat needs to eat and therefore put extra, fatty food down in front of them to encourage them to eat more, usually with results that are not good for their health  (MORE TO FOLLOW)

HOWEVER, some cats who come into the vets really are eating less than would be healthy for them, because they are ill.  Some of these cats have liver disease, pancreatitis, hepatic lipidosis, diabetes, hypothyroidism, cancer, active viral infection, an abscess, and so on.

FURTHERMORE, you are perceiving that your cat is drinking a lot, and this can be a sign of seriously ill-health.

The truth is, that I have no objective way of telling whether your cat is undereating or whether your expectations are wrong.  I have no way of telling whether your cat is drinking too much, or whether your expectations are wrong. BUT, if your cat is drinking too much or eating too little, then these symptoms could be serious.  Therefore, your vet needs to see this patient, as a matter of urgency, in order to take objective measurements e.g. blood and urine tests.   Please therefore speak to them as soon as possible (especially if things are getting worse) to arrange an appointment -  and explain to them the symptoms that you are seeing, so that the case is triaged (i.e. assessed for urgency).  I hope that something there helps.

Thank you!