Cat has lost a little bit of weight, should I be worried?

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

My mother is currently taking care of my cat as I'm in a living situation where I can't have any animals and last summer he got chewed up by fleas horribly. I had to take him to the emergency vet after he lost a lot of weight (luckily he was a mega chonker and was still healthy weight when I found him) and was very lethargic. The vet determined he was severely anemic and may need blood transfusions - he also had giardia. While an exterminator took care of my mothers house I surrendered Mr. Bigglesworth to the local humane society to get him the medical care he needed. They later let me adopt him back once my other got rid of the infestation.

My mother no longer lets the cat out and I ensure he is given flea treatment monthly but what has me concerned is since last October when I got him back he has lost .5 lbs - He was 14 lbs and is now 13.6 lbs. He is free to eat whenever he wants so I know he isn't lacking on that front. I called the emergency vet I took him to late last summer and they said if he continues to lose weight it would be concerning but as of right now don't panic - but given how bad he was a little over half a year a go I can't help but think the worst.

Anyone think this should be cause for concern?

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! How old is Mr. Bigglesworth? Any other symptoms of poor health like vomiting, elimination problems, lethargy? I tend to agree with the ER vet that if this is just a weight fluctuation, it is not a cause for worry. However, as you continue to monitor him, you should see a vet if the weight loss continues. If you need to see a vet, you might want to try to find a cat only vet, or a practice which is not ER only. Some practices run with two teams simultaneously, but most ER vets are more skilled in immediate problems versus anything that might be long term or need a more thorough diagnosis. It might cost you more to bring him to an ER practice as well, as usually the initial fee to be seen is higher.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

He'll be 8 years old next month. No symptoms of sickness. He was his usual self today - Rubbing on my leg, meowing for pets, etc, etc. He seemed to be eating small amounts of feed each visit to the feeder which I am unsure if it is common for him or not. I also noticed the litter box had no fecal matter in it but it also looked to be somewhat recently cleaned before I cleaned it out as well.

The only reason I am worrying is because the vet I took him to as per my Humane Society adoption contract told she has seen Giardia return in animals with severe infections like he had.

 

[FeebysOwner]

If he is still in your mother's home (with how many other cats, I might ask), and her cats go outside, that opens the door to a whole host of potential issues. Can you tell us a bit more in detail about what is going on where your cat is staying?

Tbh, you don't seem to know what/when/how he is eating, nor how the litter boxes are handled. I apologize if I am missing something. The weight loss - albeit not alarming just yet - could mean a whole host of things, like other cats eating his food as one example.

If you can give us more information, that might be very helpful.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

There are no other cats. The cat is no longer allowed outside. My mom is not the best at cleaning his litter box very often, I occasionally have to change the litter when I go over after cleaning the box out. I texter her and told her to be alert to his bowel habits and she claims he is eating well.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Latest update. All I found in the litter box was 3 hard, crusty pale dropping. He appears constipated and is not a healthy color. His food was also switched recently. I'm calling the vet tomorrow.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Good idea to call the vet, given he is heading into his senior years when most cats can start to have health issues. However, it could be the food change. Is the stool color similar to the color of the food? It can have an impact on the coloring and might affect the consistency as well. You can try giving him 1/8 tsp of Miralax, just mix it with a tiny bit of water and then add it to a treat or a bite of food to ensure he ingests it all. It should help with the constipation and shouldn't cause any issues if there is something else going on as well. If you don't see some change with his next BM, give him another 1/8 tsp (2 times per day or increase it to 1/4 tsp once a day).

Can he be put back on the food he was eating before?

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

It is very similar in color to his food. The kibbles are varying shades of brown. Light, regular and dark just like his stool. Problem being my mom wouldn't give him miralax or pumpkin on a daily basis.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It is very similar in color to his food. The kibbles are varying shades of brown. Light, regular and dark just like his stool. Problem being my mom wouldn't give him miralax or pumpkin on a daily basis.

Are you in a position to buy the food he was eating and give it to her to feed him? If I understand this situation correctly, he wasn't having this issue on his 'old' food, correct?

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Are you in a position to buy the food he was eating and give it to her to feed him? If I understand this situation correctly, he wasn't having this issue on his 'old' food, correct?

I'm not 100% sure. I hadn't been by the house for two weeks so I don't know when all this started. If I can find his old food I'll buy some for him.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Vet said to feed him 100% pumpkin mixed with his food for a couple of days and if his condition doesn't improve make an appointment.

So I purchased 4 cans of blue buffalo chicken cat food, 1 can of 100% pumpkin, and 1 7 lb bag of his original cat food. Right now I'm only feeding him the wet food and pumpkin twice a day if he'll eat it at all.

 

[cataholic07]

Is he drinking/peeing more? Is he only fed the dry food and no wet food at all?

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Is he drinking/peeing more? Is he only fed the dry food and no wet food at all?

He's peeing and drinking normally. He normally eats dry food only but I'm switching him to a wet food diet to try and get him to hydrate his digestive tract.

 

[IndyJones]

Boy cats especially should not be fed dry alone. They are prone to blocking and being unable to pee if they get too dehydrated

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Not to be rude but he's been fine for 8 years up until my mother switched his food abruptly. I'll be sure to keep a can of wet per day now to ensure this doesn't happen again.

 

[cataholic07]

Did you get bloodwork done? I would do a full panel just to ensure that he is healthy Given his age I would do it just to make sure he has no diabetes or ckd.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Vet said to feed him 100% pumpkin mixed with his food for a couple of days and if his condition doesn't improve make an appointment. So I purchased 4 cans of blue buffalo chicken cat food, 1 can of 100% pumpkin, and 1 7 lb bag of his original cat food. Right now I'm only feeding him the wet food and pumpkin twice a day if he'll eat it at all.

If all of this started with a change in his food, then your best bet is to give him his old food back before making a series of the other changes. More moisture is good, so feeding him some canned food along with his old food shouldn't be a problem overall. Any extra moisture you can get him to take should help with the hard stools. It is a bit easier to add some new wet food to a cat's diet than it is to do a sudden change to the dry food a cat's system is used to eating.

As far as the pumpkin goes, don't give him much of it (I think I have seen on this site to start out with no more than 1 tsp per day - or whatever the vet recommended) and if there aren't any positive changes in his stool within a day or two - as the vet said - it probably isn't the answer. Pumpkin is fiber and it can work either way - to help with constipation or to help with diarrhea.

And, as mentioned above, a full-scale blood work up (CBC, Super Chemistry Panel including thyroid level) at his age is a great idea. Even if it all comes back 'good', it is a great baseline to use to denote changes in the numbers during future blood tests - it allows for a vet to see subtle changes over time that might indicate an issue might be brewing. The earlier something is caught, the easier it is to treat. Tbh, as he ages, these blood tests become more and more important for that very reason.

Keep us posted, please.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Did you get bloodwork done? I would do a full panel just to ensure that he is healthy Given his age I would do it just to make sure he has no diabetes or ckd.

I will if he doesn't improve by Friday.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

He ate his first can of wet food with pumpkin no issue, just gotta wait and see now if it'll help.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

He's eating, drinking, acting his normal self but his bowel movements have become smaller and smaller. I have a drop off appt with the vet on Friday.