Any ideas? Cat is skinny, unkempt, otherwise fine

[Willowy]

Something is wrong with Sammy. He's 11 years old, I guess almost 12. Lately he's gotten really thin and his fur (he's longhaired) is nasty. He's not eating a lot, so clearly that's why he's skinny, but he eats enough that I'm not afraid of him starving himself, maybe half of what he should be eating. He is excited about meals, eats right away, and I've even made him special meals (baked chicken, baby food, etc.) but he'll only eat a little, kind of like his stomach shrunk and he's full after a small amount, but I've tried more frequent small meals and he just acts not hungry. Otherwise he's acting normal---active, playful, affectionate, nosy, into everything, and he likes to door-dash and that hasn't changed. While he looks and feels too thin, he still weighs 9 1/2 pounds (I believe he's about 12 pounds at a healthy weight) so he's not wasting away.

I took him to the vet, and Doc said he had a fever so he gave him a Convenia shot (now, reading up on that, I probably should have gone with oral antibiotics :/). But I'm not sure if he really had a fever or was just overexcited about going to the vet and worked himself up so his temp was higher. It's been 10 days and no change at all. Doc said to give it a couple weeks to see if the antibiotics work and we'll try something else, so I guess I'll be bringing him back sometime this week. My vet is a small-town farm vet so he doesn't have a lot of diagnostic tools, but he can run bloodwork and all that, and if it goes beyond his capabilities I'll take Sam to a vet in Sioux Falls with a more advanced clinic.

Doc doesn't think it's hyperthyroid because his heart rate is normal. And his teeth have been checked and are fine. Abdominal palpation felt fine. Temp was 104-ish but like I said, could have been excitement. He didn't feel hot to me before I took him in. None of the other cats are showing symptoms. He's not visibly anemic. His eyes and nose are clear. He hasn't vomited at all and is drinking normally. Litterbox output is normal.

He actually did the same thing a couple years ago but recovered before I got concerned enough to get him to the vet. He didn't get this skinny.

So, any suggestions as to what I should bring up when I take him back? I've already decided to ask for full bloodwork. Maybe a fecal. . .could be a parasite? Anything else I should suggest?

 

[stephanietx]

Did they check his thyroid and for diabetes?

 

[Willowy]

No, we haven't run any bloodwork yet. The vet doesn't think it's hyperthyroid because his heart rate is normal (I guess hyperthyroid causes a fast heartbeat?) and he was never fat so I doubt it's diabetes. Plus he's not eating ravenously like a hyperthyroid cat and not drinking/peeing a ton like a diabetic cat. But of course I'll ask to have those included in the bloodwork.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I'm inclined to worry more about the fact that he is "unkempt" rather than the fact that he's losing a little weight, although from 12 lbs to 9 1/2 is quite a bit on an overall percentage basis. 

I don't really have any idea's of what it might be, since he doesn't appear to have any of the symptoms of things like kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism... the "usual suspects" when they start losing weight, but would definitely get a complete blood test run.

 

[goholistic]

I'm sorry you're concerned about Sammy, @Willowy. Actually, I did a double-take on your thread title. It is very similar to the one I created for Caesar some time ago, although Caesar wasn't eating. He did have a "silent" UTI totally unbeknownst to me. Litter box habits were completely normal. I agree about getting the blood work done, and I'd probably want a urinalysis, too...just to be sure. Cats are masters of disguise.

I've never really heard of listening to the heart as a way to determine if a cat is hyperthyroid. I'm only aware of the T4 blood test to diagnose it. 

Sending lots of vibes for Sammy! 

 

[Willowy]

Well, my vet is super old-school, lol. In his 60s, farm vet, etc. He loves cats though, so he's a good choice for us for regular things. Rapid heartbeat, plus the usual symptoms, was probably how they diagnosed hyperthyroid before the blood test was available.

Sammy just begged for my dinner (chicken) and ate more than he's been eating in a day, and wanted more but I didn't give him too much because I was afraid he'd barf. Ugh cats. It would be just like a cat to recover suddenly and pretend nothing happened :lol3:.

Hmm, shouldn't the antibiotics have done something if it were a hidden infection? I'll ask about that too.

 

[equestrian06]

Hyperthyroid can cause weight loss OR weight gain, though the latter is more rare. It usually results in a slightly elevated body temp as well as higher heart rate and breathing. Its also known for more fatigue, bodily fluid issues.

On the same token, hypothyroid can be seen with weight gain or loss (again, less common for the latter). Usually results in lagging life signs (slower HR, slower breathing). Fatigue, more fluid balance issues.

Sometimes older kitties start losing their sense of smell, is it possible he's just not getting the food you're feeding anymore? Maybe try a smellier wet food for a bit and see if that helps? Particularly if he was going after your just cooked chicken, he may have smelled that more easily.

 

[Willowy]

We got his bloodwork results today. Apparently he's in fine health. Thyroid, liver, kidneys, everything is terrific. The vet was kinda surprised HOW good considering Sam's age. But it indicated he has a bacterial infection. I guess some infections aren't affected by Convenia. So we're going to give him a round of cephalexin.

He's barely eating . I've had to assist-feed him the past 2 days. I hope this antibiotic makes him feel better soon. He hates being assist-fed.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well I'm glad to hear he doesn't have any long term illness (like kidney, thyroid, that type of thing)

Hopefully the antibiotic will kick in and his appetite will return quickly

 

[equestrian06]

With your antibiotic, try to get in a probiotic a few hours after giving the prescription. Antibiotics can cause some digestive upset, probios help combat that.

I try to give a probio about 2 hours after. Goats milk kefir is awesome and most cats LOVE it (goats milk = no lactose, perfectly fine dairy for kitties). There are also powdered probios you can buy or caplets - refrigerated is best, keep in mind.

ETA - I think I caught all the auto-correct oopses... but just in case, auto correct was changing "probios" to "probes" 

 and probiotics to probation... fill in the blanks LOL

 

[catwoman707]

Funny but I have had that happen as well, that some things the covenia just doesn't work on.....

How's he doing now since getting the antiboiotic?

What caught me most of all was the unkept fur.

If you see he IS still grooming himself, I usually feel it is related to malnourishment, whether due to a starving cat, diarrhea, or internal issues like malabsorption.

Many kittens and adults I've rescued came to me with ratty looking, rough, or sparse, coarse type fur, and by the time they leave me they have heavenly soft fur again.

Nutrition.

Checking in to hear how things are coming along.

 

[Willowy]

Not much change. He still isn't eating much and I have to force some baby food into him to keep his caloric intake up. It might be my imagination but I think he looks a little better and seems slightly peppier, and I saw him licking himself yesterday. I know it can take a while for the antibiotic to kick in so I'm hopeful this will do the trick. Not sure what to do if it doesn't :/.

 

[chromium blues]

The Wellness pates (except Turkey for some reason) work well for syringe feeding and he'll get his full nutrition out of it. I've been syringe feeding Bear for ages now, and the only thing that works better than the Wellness is the a/d from the veterinarian. In four meals each day, we get the entire 12.5oz can into him. Smash it up, nuke it for fifteen seconds, smash it again, and it works nicely. I hope your cat is on the mend soon!

 

[Willowy]

Well, he's no longer "otherwise fine" . He has lost more weight, is very lethargic and stopped drinking on his own. I took him to the emergency vet Tuesday night and he's been in the pet hospital ever since. They've been giving him IV fluids and antibiotics. We did bloodwork again and his white cell count is insanely high (50, high normal is 20). They ran an x-ray and nothing really showed up, except that his colon was full of gas. I can't afford to do full diagnostics and the vets aren't even sure where to go from here anyway. I gave permission to start him on steroids (understanding that it could make things worse) and they said they got him to eat "a fair amount" this morning, so that's an improvement at least. I'm going to pick him up tonight and we'll see what happens, I guess.

The vet said that it's likely something is Very Wrong inside of him. But they don't know what. Best case scenario is that it's something like IBD that's normally treated with steroids. But if it's cancer I guess there isn't much else to do .

 

[jcat]

Oh, no, I'm sorry to hear that. Mega that it's something treatable and he gets through this.

 

[stewball]

The Wellness pates
(except Turkey for some reason) work well for syringe feeding and he'll get his full nutrition out of it. I've been syringe feeding Bear for ages now, and the only
thing that works better than the Wellness is the a/d from the veterinarian. In four meals each day, we get the entire 12.5oz can into him. Smash it up, nuke it for
fifteen seconds, smash it again, and it works nicely. I hope your cat is on the mend soon!

has anybody heard of recovery? It's wonderful and does

 

[stewball]

I'm hoping for a full recovery

 

[goholistic]

Well, he's no longer "otherwise fine"

. He has lost more weight, is very lethargic and stopped drinking on his own. I took him to the emergency vet Tuesday night and he's been in the pet hospital ever since. They've been giving him IV fluids and antibiotics. We did bloodwork again and his white cell count is insanely high (50, high normal is 20). They ran an x-ray and nothing really showed up, except that his colon was full of gas. I can't afford to do full diagnostics and the vets aren't even sure where to go from here anyway. I gave permission to start him on steroids (understanding that it could make things worse) and they said they got him to eat "a fair amount" this morning, so that's an improvement at least. I'm going to pick him up tonight and we'll see what happens, I guess.

The vet said that it's likely something is Very Wrong inside of him. But they don't know what. Best case scenario is that it's something like IBD that's normally treated with steroids. But if it's cancer I guess there isn't much else to do

.

I'm so sorry to read this, @Willowy. 

  I was really hoping this would turn out to be something minor that would resolve with a little TLC.  The fact that's he's still not doing well, and actually declining over the past month, is very concerning.

Which one of the WBC was high?

When Sebastian was hospitalized for the first time with pancreatitis, his WBC count was that high. As I look back to your original post, it reminded me that Sebastian behaved similarly with food prior to his full-on attack. I first attributed it to bad teeth, and then being "picky". While an elevated WBC count can be attributed to many things, perhaps pancreatitis is worth mentioning? 

  There's a special blood test for it to confirm diagnosis, but it's not cheap.

 

[catwoman707]

 
I'm so sorry to read this, @Willowy. 

  I was really hoping this would turn out to be something minor that would resolve with a little TLC.  The fact that's he's still not doing well, and actually declining over the past month, is very concerning.

Which one of the WBC was high?

When Sebastian was hospitalized for the first time with pancreatitis, his WBC count was that high. As I look back to your original post, it reminded me that Sebastian behaved similarly with food prior to his full-on attack. I first attributed it to bad teeth, and then being "picky". While an elevated WBC count can be attributed to many things, perhaps pancreatitis is worth mentioning? 

  There's a special blood test for it to confirm diagnosis, but it's not cheap.

I think we are both starting to lean towards ibd, and also wanted to know which wbc in particular is elevated.

@GoHolistic  sure rang a bell when she said he went through this a couple years ago but recovered. Pancreatitis/ibd could very well explain it all.

One thing you CAN do is stop all foods, and ONLY feed baby food for 3 days. This is meant to settle his overacting immune system and tummy down, which is the same thing that is done with pancreatitis/ibd. 

 

[Willowy]

I didn't ask for a printout of the bloodwork this time :/. I should have. . .forgot about that. Maybe I'll ask the next time I'm in the city, in case they keep the results on file. On his last one it was the ones abbreviated GRA and MO%.

On this test, from what I remember, his kidney values were low, but not by a lot, just out of range, and bilirubin was slightly high, but again, just out of range. Calcium and potassium were a bit low as well. Everything else besides the WBC were in range.

He's home. He hasn't eaten anything here but the vet tech said he ate right before I picked him up. He did drink some so I was glad to see that.

He never seemed to have an upset tummy or poopy trouble before. Nothing I would have suspected IBD from. But I do know that for humans, they can have IBD with few obvious symptoms so I guess cats can too.