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Do cats eat less in the winter?
I always thought animals would eat less when it's hot but every winter it seems like my cat goes for a week or 2 eating less food than normal. He's eating about 20-30% less than he usually does. Does this ever happen to your cat? He eats only wet food so I'm concerned about him not getting enough water. I put out an extra water bowl. Any other advice or ideas? Thanks.
3 Answers
- 6 years ago
I've read that cats eat more in the winter, and that would make sense. However, we have 9 cats total, six inside and three outside. It's early December right now and the outdoor cats have begun eating about half as much as usual. The indoor cats are eating about the same amount, perhaps a little more, except for the oldest cat who has kidney problems - he's still eating a lot (he's on appetite-stimulating prescription food) but less in one sitting. None of this is abnormal behavior for any of these cats - the outdoor cats go though periods that last several weeks where they just eat less for some reason. It happens in the winter and summer . I think there is more going on here than seasonal differences (which appears to be one of the few studies done on cat eating habits).
- 7 years ago
A couple thoughts...
My experience has been that cats eat a little more during winter. Food is fuel, and the cold should make them burn a little more to keep warm. Our cats tend to cling more to their cozy beds (or us) for heat retention during winter months. But they definitely tend to keep more distance during summer heat.
Is your cat CONTINUALLY slowing food intake? Hopefully you have a digital scale and can monitor weight. I'd be a little concerned, especially if you don't see an uptake in between the "week or 2." But if this is a pattern ("...EVERY winter...") I wouldn't be overly worried.
I wouldn't worry about the lack of water during the "slow" period due to food type. Cats will always supplement their intake. Just make sure it's fresh water, they like that a lot. We have one cat who almost always ONLY ate dry (98%). No problem.
- 7 years ago
Colder environment can slows down the metabolic reaction and this happens to all organism, that's why we prefer to sleep all day when it's raining, and so does the enzymes inside our body. Maybe you can try to play with your cat to warm her up so that she'll be hungry and thirsty. You can try to change her food periodically so that she won't get bored, wet cat food tastes better than dry food though
