Hi there! Long time, no post.
My 12 year old cat, Oliver, is having issues. I have about 2 weeks until the next vet appointment, and I am looking for anything: ideas or past experience. Trying not to worry, as that won't help him.
I had thought for quite awhile he felt too thin when I would pet him, but he never matched pictures of underweight cats. I kept pushing it off, thinking I was just too used to the bigger, furrier boys in the house. I finally took him to a walk in clinic last week.
The vet said she never saw another cat like him. Apparently the reason I couldn't figure out if he was underweight is that he really doesn't fit the normal profile. He does have a layer of fat on him, what he is missing is muscle. She was actually very fascinated by him. He's had a funny gait for as long as I can remember, and I have never really questioned it.
She was certain a simple blood test would come up with an answer. Well the blood work came back- more questions than answers. It is a bit of a mess, but he doesn't really have any correlating symptoms.
He is low on: WBC, RBC, HGB, HCT, platelets, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and has a slight amount of poikilocytes.
From what I read online, this cat should be listless, tired, not eating, and looking generally rough. He is none of these things. He has energy, eats well, and generally acts like a normal happy cat. His only real symptoms appear to be muscle wasting. And maybe a small amount of hair loss( a tiny bald spot just popped up last week, but he may have been scratching. He stopped scratching after a bath to sooth it) The only other thing they flagged him for was a bad tooth.
The clinic vet was throwing around scary sounding words, like cancer and blood marrow disease. As he needs more advanced testing, it is off to the normal vet in a couple of weeks. They have the initial results, but don't want to give any opinions until they see him.
So, long post. Any ideas or similar sounding experience is welcome. Just trying to get an idea about what they might look for. Hoping there is something non-scary sounding this can still be.
My 12 year old cat, Oliver, is having issues. I have about 2 weeks until the next vet appointment, and I am looking for anything: ideas or past experience. Trying not to worry, as that won't help him.
I had thought for quite awhile he felt too thin when I would pet him, but he never matched pictures of underweight cats. I kept pushing it off, thinking I was just too used to the bigger, furrier boys in the house. I finally took him to a walk in clinic last week.
The vet said she never saw another cat like him. Apparently the reason I couldn't figure out if he was underweight is that he really doesn't fit the normal profile. He does have a layer of fat on him, what he is missing is muscle. She was actually very fascinated by him. He's had a funny gait for as long as I can remember, and I have never really questioned it.
She was certain a simple blood test would come up with an answer. Well the blood work came back- more questions than answers. It is a bit of a mess, but he doesn't really have any correlating symptoms.
He is low on: WBC, RBC, HGB, HCT, platelets, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and has a slight amount of poikilocytes.
From what I read online, this cat should be listless, tired, not eating, and looking generally rough. He is none of these things. He has energy, eats well, and generally acts like a normal happy cat. His only real symptoms appear to be muscle wasting. And maybe a small amount of hair loss( a tiny bald spot just popped up last week, but he may have been scratching. He stopped scratching after a bath to sooth it) The only other thing they flagged him for was a bad tooth.
The clinic vet was throwing around scary sounding words, like cancer and blood marrow disease. As he needs more advanced testing, it is off to the normal vet in a couple of weeks. They have the initial results, but don't want to give any opinions until they see him.
So, long post. Any ideas or similar sounding experience is welcome. Just trying to get an idea about what they might look for. Hoping there is something non-scary sounding this can still be.
I remember that panic feeling well. Sounds like you have a good vet though. 
)
