Cat losing weight, bloodwork is fine

[photogirl843]

First I want to say that I have taken the cat to the vet. Bloodwork was done and returned normal. Cat is still eating plenty and acting himself for the most part.

I have a 13 year old cat, Sable, who is really starting to worry me. He used to weigh 16 pounds at one point. Currently, he is 11 or 12. (He weighed 11 something at the vet last week and 12 last night when I weighed him.) He's lost muscle mass, mostly around his hind end, and is just looking far too thin. I am starting to feel his spine as well.

I took him to the vet in the hopes that his bloodwork would show a thyroid issue. He was high normal back in May of this year (T4 was 4.4 at that time. Normal range on the bloodwork results is between 0.8 and 4.7.) Last week, his T4 was at 2.9. So the vet office called me and said everything was normal, nothing to worry about. But that doesn't make me feel better. Just "he's normal" but he's losing weight so obviously is not making sense.

He did have an issue with his ears, so I'm medicating for that 2 times a day and we will go back to the vet for a follow up on the 14th. I want to talk to a different vet, as the one I had before had a rather abrasive manner that I wasn't fond of. There have been changes in the vet practise I've gone to for ages. The founding vets retired, so there is one vet remaining who has been there as long as I've been going, and then they have visiting vets come through. The one I was not fond of is one of those visiting. I'm going to call before I go and ensure I see the other remaining vet, as I feel like I can have a good conversation with her without the judgment and such from the other vet.

However, I'd love to get some other thoughts as to what might be going on. All I'm being told right now is basically "he's old" but that doesn't sit right with me. Yes, he's older, but it just doesn't make sense that bloodwork comes back clean, there's no change in appetite or really his mannerisms, but he's losing weight so much.

I really need some other input. I may just not be willing to face facts of he's old and will not be with me much longer, but I just don't want to give up so easily and say "that must be it" when it doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, at 13 years old, no, he really isn't old. Something you might talk to the vet about at the next visit is an additional test.
Feline Thyroid Tests

Can you handfeed him to try and get some of the weight back? Kitten food by any brand, --Purina, Royal Canin Mother and Babycat, can help.

 

[stephanietx]

With his age, my first thought is thyroid. It has dropped drastically, which is why he's losing weight. I would get the thyroid panel done and go from there. If your vet is not willing to do the full testing, then look for a cat only vet if there's one in your area or get a second opinion.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Did they do a complete blood panel, or just check his thyroid? What you describe could also be diabetes or kidney disease, as well as thyroid issues. All three are common in senior cats. But I agree that 13 isn't all that old. Old enough to be developing certain of the above issues, but not old enough to really start muscle wasting for no known reason.

 

[photogirl843]

Did they do a complete blood panel, or just check his thyroid? What you describe could also be diabetes or kidney disease, as well as thyroid issues. All three are common in senior cats. But I agree that 13 isn't all that old. Old enough to be developing certain of the above issues, but not old enough to really start muscle wasting for no known reason.

They did a full panel and everything was either in normal range or maybe a single point out of range.

 

[photogirl843]

With his age, my first thought is thyroid. It has dropped drastically, which is why he's losing weight. I would get the thyroid panel done and go from there. If your vet is not willing to do the full testing, then look for a cat only vet if there's one in your area or get a second opinion.

I did have a thyroid test done previously but this time it was just a complete panel with the T4 included.

 

[photogirl843]

Hi, at 13 years old, no, he really isn't old. Something you might talk to the vet about at the next visit is an additional test.
Feline Thyroid Tests

Can you handfeed him to try and get some of the weight back? Kitten food by any brand, --Purina, Royal Canin Mother and Babycat, can help.

We did a thyroid panel before and this time they just checked his T4. I may ask again next week when I go because thyroid makes so much sense but the numbers don’t add up to that.

I am also giving him more food to try and get the weight back or at least get ahead of him losing. Currently he just gets other stuff but I am going to be finding other foods to add in for more calories.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Just on a chance, have his B-12 checked too (not part of the normal bloodwork). If he is low on B-12, he might not be absorbing nutrients well. There is usually something else behind this, but checking his level is at least another thing to 'check off' the list.

 

[BellaBlue82]

How quickly do you think he has lost the weight, maybe a year or a few months? I went through rapid weight loss a few years back with one of my GA cats. He weighed about 18lbs, and within 4 months he went down to 14! He was acting normal, I didn't notice any difference in water intake, eating habits, or bathroom habits. He was 13 at the time. My vet ran blood work, but also ran a glucose test. All the labs were fine, except his glucose came back as 320!! We just caught him on the front end of diabetes. A few months into treatment, he leveled his glucose and gained back one pound.
I'm not sure if your vet performed a glucose blood test - if not, it might be something worth checking.

 

[photogirl843]

How quickly do you think he has lost the weight, maybe a year or a few months? I went through rapid weight loss a few years back with one of my GA cats. He weighed about 18lbs, and within 4 months he went down to 14! He was acting normal, I didn't notice any difference in water intake, eating habits, or bathroom habits. He was 13 at the time. My vet ran blood work, but also ran a glucose test. All the labs were fine, except his glucose came back as 320!! We just caught him on the front end of diabetes. A few months into treatment, he leveled his glucose and gained back one pound.
I'm not sure if your vet performed a glucose blood test - if not, it might be something worth checking.

Back in I think October last year, we went and I think he weighed 14 something? Now he is down to 12 ish. It was fast enough to be noticable, but I'm not entirely sure how quickly it happened.

Glucose was included in the bloodwork and it was in normal range. Range is 72-175 and his was 106.

 

[photogirl843]

Just on a chance, have his B-12 checked too (not part of the normal bloodwork). If he is low on B-12, he might not be absorbing nutrients well. There is usually something else behind this, but checking his level is at least another thing to 'check off' the list.

You're right, I don't see B-12 on the results. I'll ask about that next week, thanks!!