Declining cat

[brian.rose]

Hi,

This message is an attempt to see if someone out there knows what is wrong with my cat.

I have a 7 year old british shorthair cat called MINK. A year ago he was a 14lb cat, now he is down to 10lb.

We've spent £400 at the vet on him, including ultrasound checking. The only thing found has been an enlarged right ventricle of the heart.

Mink's symptoms are loss of weight, reduced activity and loss of brightness.

Does anyone have any clues about his problem?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Brian

 

[buttercup429]

At 7 your cat might be starting to feel some age. I'm glad you have taken him to the vet a lot of people put it off until absolutely necessary which is usually to late. I hope you will be able to get a more qualified answer soon.

 

[gayef]

Hi,

I am sorry your cat is declining. What other symptoms does Mink display? What about eating/drinking? Litterbox habits? Any changes in those areas?

During all of the testing your vet performed, did he ever do a metabolic blood panel? With such a radical weight loss, my first guess would be diabetes, which could be diagnosed from looking at the pancreatic functions in the blood and urine.

After spending so much at the vet, I am certain blood and other lab work was done, but since you didn't mention it, I couldn't be certain.

I hope you find out what the problem is soon!

Gaye

 

[brian.rose]

Dear Gaye,

Thanks for your reply ( thanks also to Buttercup for hers).

Yes all the blood work was done and apparently nothing unusual was found. Didn't ask about a metabolic blood panel, all I know is that searching blood work was done.

As far as Mink's habits go all seems unchanged, save for the reduced level of activity. Appetite is good and he seems to drink enough.

By the way Mink is 11 not 7. We have a 14 year old tabby also, he still jumps in through the sitting room window, a 4ft leap from ground level, in contrast Mink finds jumping onto the window ledge a challenge.

I feel sure the Vet will have considered diabetes but I'll check. In the meantime if there are any other ideas out there I will be glad to
hear them.

Thanks

Brian

 

[gap]

Brian,

I am probably one of the least knowledgable about medical problems.

Just like people, kitties age differently. So while your 14 year old may be able to do certain things, your 11 year old may not.

With his decreased activity he would naturally need less food. I sincerely hope this is just his way of aging. Perhaps the heart problem accounts for the lack of energy and weight loss??

By the way Brian, what did the vet finally say about these things? After all that money I hope he gave you some kind of explanation! If he didn't, I would certainly ask him to venture a guess based on all the tests.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[elinor]

Brian

I dont have any ideas as I dont really have that much experience. I just wanted to extend my best wishes for Mink and hope you find out what could be wrong with him and to welcome you to the forum.

 

[dvanguilder]

Hi Brian,

Hope your cat it doing better. I just lost one of my three to liver problems and the first sign of it is weight loss. With mine it happened very quickly (few days) and I had her in a animal trauma center for two weeks - they did everything but she didn't improve. I won't go into details.

I just want to make sure that you had blood work done. That is the way they can tell if it is the liver. I think it costs around US$50 not including office visit. But since you have spent what you have so far, I know that cash is not the issue. You love your baby and I am sure she/he knows that. Do the blood workup if not done and try finding a feline specialist. They are out there although sometimes hard to find. (When you find one, you can have your current vet talk w/that specialist to stop the possible double tests on the kitty. )

Good Luck! Hugs to kitty.
Dorina

 

[brian.rose]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. We seem to have done everything we should with the vets so all we can do is keep an eye on him..

As a thank you to everyone here is a jpg of Mink 6 months ago.



Brian

 

[dvanguilder]

Brian,

Mink is a beautiful cat.

He sure is lucky to have someone who cares so much about him! Although I'm sure he thinks your the lucky one [and he is right]!

Dorina

 

[elinor]

Brian he is absolutely gorgeous. Again I do hope he will be back to himself again soon.Thanks for sharing the pic

 

[hell603]

Brian:

Mink is precious!!!

Food for thought - did the Vet mention the possibility that the heart problem might be causing the symptoms you mentioned? Is he being treated for that or are you just keeping an eye on him? Has Mink seen a heart specialist? I am throwing this out there because this is the most obvious cause I can think of.


All my best to you and Mink

 

[gap]

Brian, your Mink is absolutely beautiful!!

I will pray that your baby gets better and bless you for being such a caring 'parent' to your furbaby.

 

[dodo]

Hi brian. That much money makes almost a $1000 ! Either Mink had been checked up thouroughly or the veterianary expenses are very much higher in UK

I don't know which test were done on him but, could he have something with his heart ?? Heart problems may not be apparent in blood works. "Sitting upright or seeming reluctant to lie down are classic signs of fluid building up in the lungs as the heart starts to actually fail. These postures help keep the fluid away from the heart and the top of the lungs. Other signs of heart failure can include lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, gagging, or labored, rapid, or very shallow breathing"...And sometimes feline hepatic lipidosis disease is associated with heart disease in senior cats (and other diseases such as hyperthyroidsm & diabetes)?? ..

How about stress ?? Are there any changes in his enviroment; such as a new home, a new cat (or pet), new baby, new person at home, change of his litter or food etc ?? But this would affect his appetite & you already said that he didn't have any appetite problems ??

 

[dvanguilder]

Just a little note to the guy from Texas - Dodo - the vet bills look right in line from here in NJ. I am sure that Brian has had a lot of tests done on his pretty furball...they do add up. (I know from personal experience. . .mine are like my kids and I wouldn't skip on keeping them healthy and happy.)

 

[mimi61]

I have a cat 3 years old. She get declined recently. I brought her to the vet. He gave her injection. Then she began to eat a lot. I think if you can care for her diet to improve her ingestion, your cat would recover.

 

[brian.rose]

Dear Mimi61 and everyone else that replied,

Thanks for your replies. Mink has a good appetite and we vary his food. I went to see our vet on Saturday. I complained that we had spent more than £400 on treatment and we still do not know what is wrong with him.

Anyway there is good news. We have given Mink no more treatment but he is getting better. He is gaining weight and he is more active.

I have attached a picture of Mink taken a few days ago.

Thanks for all your replies.

Brian

 

[raychull]

My cat had similar symptoms about 6 weeks ago. One day he just refused to eat but continued to drink water. He then refused to use his litter box which he has never done before. So, the vet suggested a dental cleaning because his gums were swollen and red and is teeth full of tartar. Baxter is still recovering or so I thought. I brought him to the vet today and found he has Kidney Disease. Symptoms - urinating a great amount but taks a long time, hardly eating only drinking, lethargy, weightloss, depression, purring very quietly, not grooming himself as much, stopped talking as much as he used to, etc. Baxter is normally an 18 pound cat, he is now 15 pounds. He's lost one pound in one month. Anyway, I don't want to scare you. The vet could see that it was Kidney Disease just by feeling his abdomen and an x-ray. He also took some blood. I'll find out the results tomorrow. My advice is, don't wait too long.