Can rear muscle loss be reversed in senior cats?

[angeladw]

My 17+ Casper has significant muscle loss in his hind quarters. He is on Miritaz to help keep his appetite up. While I've been able to keep his weight stable he can't seem to get back any muscle. Any recommendations or advice?

 

[FriendofFerals]

Does he have CKD? Muscle wasting in cat that old is hard to reverse. That said, I have one that went from 13lbs to 9lbs in a year thanks to hyperthyroidism, CKD, and hypertension. We fought our way back up to 10lbs and he's re-gained some muscle but it's due to prednisolone (steroid) which stimulates appetite, Miritaz (which you're doing), and feeding reasonably high protein, low phosphorous food including:

Young Again Mature ZERO LID (carb free dry food in very small amounts because it's nutrient/protein dense and can worsen IBD)
Weyruva Mideast Feast (lower phos, higher protein, low carb)
Weyruva Press My Lunch chicken (as a topper because it's a little higher in phos but he goes for it)
Rawz Shredded Chicken Breast and Egg pouches.

All of this has kept him interested and while none of them is the holy grail of all good things, they're all lower in whatever value and higher protein. The problem is most are not specifically calorie dense. So, we're gaining slowly instead of fast, but we are gaining. He's estimated by the vet to be "easily 18-19 yrs old) and is weighing in at 10.2lbs tonight which is a big improvement for this year.

 

[Furballsmom]

Would a little exercise help? Something as gentle/mild as having him follow you around the kitchen once or twice, initially, while you hold his food bowl, and then gradually increasing the distance, using stair steps to feed him on so that he has to climb, that sort of thing.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Of course, it depends on what is impacting the muscle loss, if anything, other than old age. Significant muscle mass loss is likely due to other conditions, in addition to aging. If these conditions are corrected, perhaps some muscle might be regained. If there is an underlying cause for a cat to need Mirataz, getting them to eat more is great and an appropriate step to take, but it really isn't addressing what caused the need for it to begin with.

It happens to humans too, and as noted above, exercise is always part of the recommended regimen. However, I am not sure there is an exercise plan for cats that would work, because you can't get a cat to do the kinds of exercise that would be needed. As the medical field professes to people, lifestyle also impacts the degree of muscle mass loss, but that means creating a lifestyle at a young age that would help ward off the progression.

If Casper has any arthritis that discourages him from being as active, that needs to be addressed as well. At his age, he no doubt does.

 

[epona]

If Casper has any arthritis that discourages him from being as active, that needs to be addressed as well. At his age, he no doubt does.

My old boy is on a monthly Solensia injection so I'd like to recommend that for arthritis, it is really expensive though
It's a new antibody treatment for arthritic pain.
He's been on it for about 6 weeks and he jumped onto the desk the other day, which I've not seen him do for over a year
It's also OK with his CKD as well because it's not removed via the kidneys.
He also has very little muscle mass left these days due to having CKD for nearly 3 years, I don't think there is much that can be done to reverse that.