Cat losing weight

[wrs2]

Another sick cat! All my cats are getting old now and getting sick and passing away. I am now having issues with my 14 year old cat. Over the past year and a half she has been losing weight. The weight loss has been contributed to anything from her mother cat passing away and being depressed, to increased activity when we got a new kitten and adopted a 1.5 year old male cat that was abandoned in our back woods. Again another cat passed away, and while they were not very close Kasey seemed depressed and then we got another kitten. Again she lost weight. All of this has happened in the past 5 months and since her last vet check up in August she went from 7.2 lbs to 6.6 lbs. She's a very small cat, but she used to weigh 8 lbs up until Feb 2018 when all this started. The vet did blood work in August and her thyroid came back borderline high. We had an appointment to check the blood again for the thyroid, as she had lost more weight. She eats a lot, always begging for food, but never puts on weight. The blood work came back and the vet said that everything was perfect! How can her thyroid go from high to perfect without treatment? Is it possible that it could be a false reading? Now she has to go on December 26th for an ultra sound to see if there are any tumors or internal issues that the vet can find that are causing the issues. The blood work came back good, so I am really hoping nothing is growing that shouldn't be. The vet said that it could be anything from anxiety or an ulcer that is causing the weight loss as well. She said to give her Pepcid AC to see if that helps.

She has a sister who is having similar issues, but she had a bad tooth and that really caused her to stop eating much and then the recovery
from the tooth surgery was not great so that was another month of not eating much. Either way, she last about the same amount of weight in the same time period. The vet said she was fat and needed to lose the weight, but the fact that they are both having the same weight loss perplexes me. The sisters blood work came back great as well.

 

[Furballsmom]

Since this is both of them even with all the variables, can you change their food to a different brand in case the recipe was changed in a detrimental way so that it isn't as rich in meats/proteins, carbs et al? Are they getting both kibble and canned?

 

[wrs2]

Yes, they both eat canned food and dry food. They have a variety of food, many different brands of canned food and 3 bowls of dry food with different brand foods. We tried Wellness Core, but they hated it! I have two other adult cats in the home who aren't losing weight though. They are actually quite plump! They eat the same food. I was thinking of getting a high calorie food. They were raised by a cat Molly, not biologically related, but she had cancer and when she had it, the vet said to feed a high calorie food to her. She died in Feb. 2018, which was went this issue of weight lose started, so I can't recall what brand of food the vet suggested. Kasey (the main cat in question) steals kitten food from the new kitten. Not sure if that would have any impact on anything or not.

 

[Furballsmom]

Kasey (the main cat in question) steals kitten food from the new kitten.

Actually, kitten food for the two adult cats that are losing weight, and for your kitten would be great, since the kitten food could help all of them --multiple meals for your kitten daily plus kibble.

Would you want to talk to a different vet?

 

[wrs2]

The vet they have now is great. I am sure she will find whatever is causing the issue.
I just was hoping it was the thyroid. I still wonder if it could test as fine even when it isn't, as 3 months ago it was high,

 

[RangersMom]

We had a senior cat who was losing a lot of weight and he ended up having renal failure. It was corrected with medication though. Not sure if the vet has checked for this?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Borderline reading on a thyroid test usually requires additional testing. Feeby's April test indicated a T4 level of 3.2 (range 0.8-4.0) - so within the 'normal range'. However, the notes on the test indicate that anything above 2.5 could be analyzed further by a "Free T4 by equilibrium dialysis", especially when other signs are exhibited, such as begging for food/being hungry a lot.

This past July, her T4 reading was 2.9 - still within the 'further analysis test range' - but key note here is that Feeby also lost weight in that time. So, her weight loss brought down the T4 count. Feeby does not exhibit the other 'signs' such as begging for food, so we did not do the follow up testing. But, it doesn't mean that there isn't something going on in that regard with Kasey. Look at the specific test results and see how they fall compared to what I have told you - something you might want to ask the vet about.

 

[wrs2]

We had a senior cat who was losing a lot of weight and he ended up having renal failure. It was corrected with medication though. Not sure if the vet has checked for this?

Would the kidney values be check by the blood work?

Hi. Borderline reading on a thyroid test usually requires additional testing. Feeby's April test indicated a T4 level of 3.2 (range 0.8-4.0) - so within the 'normal range'. However, the notes on the test indicate that anything above 2.5 could be analyzed further by a "Free T4 by equilibrium dialysis", especially when other signs are exhibited, such as begging for food/being hungry a lot.

This past July, her T4 reading was 2.9 - still within the 'further analysis test range' - but key note here is that Feeby also lost weight in that time. So, her weight loss brought down the T4 count. Feeby does not exhibit the other 'signs' such as begging for food, so we did not do the follow up testing. But, it doesn't mean that there isn't something going on in that regard with Kasey. Look at the specific test results and see how they fall compared to what I have told you - something you might want to ask the vet about.

I will ask the vet about that when we go in next Thursday. They want to do an ultrasound to see if anything is going on inside her that is causing the weight loss, which I am, of course, anxious about!

How much weight has your cat lost and over how long of a period? In the last 3 months Kasey went down from 7.2 - 6.6. Though we did get a new kitten in that time and Kasey wasn't a huge fan of her at first and the kitten does steal food at times. Now the kitten is put away when the older girls eat so they won't have to worry that the kitten will steal food from them.

Thanks!

 

[FeebysOwner]

A Chemistry Profile would be needed to check kidney values, not a CBC.

Feeby lost 1.5 pounds between April and July, after being in the same ballpark of weight before that for years. No known reason, and she has pretty much maintained her weight since then. But, there were a lot of other things going on with her in the meantime.

 

[wrs2]

I weighed Kasey today and she is up 2 ounces to 6.8. I will keep feeding as often as possible to see if she can gain some more weight. If she can get back to 7.2 I would be happy!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Here's to hoping she gains another 2 oz very soon!

 

[4cats&adog]

My kitty, who’s currently 19 and sitting on my lap, dropped weight dramatically around age 15. It scared the bejeezus out of me. Blood work done & it was the beginnings of chronic kidney disease. The most common two causes are kidneys or diabetes so make sure your vet checked for that. Tux has never really put the weight back on and has remained a very skinny, but happy cat since then. He did stop eating hard food tho, and I had to switch to soft only for him.

 

[wrs2]

I weighed her again and she’s still at 6.8. I honestly want to cancel the vet appointment for the 26th as I think the ultra sound will just stress her out more than anything, especially if she’s gaining weight.