2 yr old neutered male lost 2 lbs in 2 months

[saharahoshi]

My cat Jellybean went in for dental cleaning and exam end of March and was 12.5 lbs, blood work was good. Hes been having diaherra he is on hill z/d wet and dry has multiple water bowls and a fountain. Besides the diaherra he acts fairly normal.

At the vet Monday he was 10ish lbs, the vet did a physical exam and did not want to pursue additional bloodwork so he got a steroid shot and we are monitoring for improvement before exploring biopsy and more testing. I am trying to figure out if I should get a 2nd opinion bc 2 lbs is a lot and while his stool is getting firmer it is not where it needs to be. I'm calling them in the morning for sure.

 

[SundaesPerson]

I'd definitely get a second opinion. 2 lbs in a month without trying is concerning.

 

[saharahoshi]

I just called the feline specialty vet and they are not taking new patients.

 

[fionasmom]

I does not necessarily have to be a feline specialist, although that would be preferrable. You might try another vet at another practice; don't go to the same practice. Use an app like nextdoor.com to ask people in your general area for experiences with vets. In your area, there might be another feline only vet who is within driving distance even if the first one you located is not taking patients.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Did he start on the Z/D just two months ago? Could it be he doesn't like the food and isn't eating as much as usual? Do you have more than one cat, so it's possible another cat is eating his food? Is he on the Z/D because of the diarrhea or is the diarrhea new? If the Z/D is new, compare the calories of it to what he was eating. It's possible he's simply not getting the same calories as before since cat food varies in calories depending on what you are feeding.

 

[daftcat75]

That much weight loss is concerning. Please follow up with another vet if you need to. I would seek a Diarrhea PCR to rule in or rule out a gut bug like clostridium. My angel Krista struggled with diarrhea for many months. I thought it was her managed IBD becoming unmanageable or worse (e.g. lymphoma.) The vet recommended a Diarrhea PCR and we discovered she had a clostridium overgrowth. I was making her bone broth for her IBD and I guess I did not cook a turkey drumstick all the way through. In any case, the metronidazole didn't work. But a summer of saccharomyces boulardii eventually did the trick. Besides the PCR, I would also strongly recommend an ultrasound and a biopsy if called for. He's still young and otherwise in good shape. You'll want to get to the bottom of this now. Because cancer has a tendency of showing up where there is chronic and uncontrolled inflammation. It may be something simple now that could become worse later. Krista's IBD did eventually become lymphoma when I fed a favorite food of hers (tuna) and also an IBD trigger food after she had her remaining teeth removed to put an end to her tooth resorption struggles. Poor old girl! My good intentions of keeping her eating through the recovery period reignited the inflammation fires in her gut and what I thought was a return of her clostridium was in fact a progression of her IBD to lymphoma. The point here is that I was wrong twice and only through the vet's help of ordering the correct tests were we able to identify what was really going on and put her on the correct treatment plans. I should also mention that Krista and I went through several vets until we found answers.

In the meantime, s. boulardii may help stabilize his diarrhea while you are looking for vets, tests, and answers. It can't hurt.
My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

Vitality Science also has some products that can help stabilize the stools. You still want to pursue answers. But stemming the flow will be a good thing for potentially stopping the weight loss. I would start with either the Pet Flora or the Feline Comfort Plus. Feline Comfort Plus is like a superset of everything else they offer. But neither flavor has been particularly popular with either of my cats. On the other paw, Pet Flora has been something that neither of them have minded. Luxolite and lithothamnium are two others I would recommend. Just put together a Finnicky Cat Trial Pack. I would probably round out the five sample pack with the super food supplement to see if you can get more nutrients in him. He's probably losing weight to poor absorption. Speaking of which, you may also want to have him tested for folate and B-12.
Finicky Cat Trial Pack - Vitality Science