Not Neutered And Skinny

[catconfused]

So I have 9 cats. Yes, nine. All s/n except 2 boys, both brothers. All indoor cats. I never got around to it and they don't spray or howl so I figured just leave it be. Problem is they're both thin. One is downright skinny and now he's sick and lost a few pounds and he looks like a walking skeleton cat. I have him on AD from the vet, and he's on meds as well. He's severely anemic and isn't putting on weight, that I can see. Blood transfusion in my area is 2500-3000 so that's out of the question. Just gotta hope the meds work.
Question is, if/when he gets better should I have him neutered in case this happens again, to get some extra weight on him? He's 6 so not sure if neutering would even help him gain a few pounds at his age, or do the older ones still gain a little?

 

[Daisy6]

Welcome to TCS.

 

[Dr. Phil Bushby]

So I have 9 cats. Yes, nine. All s/n except 2 boys, both brothers. All indoor cats. I never got around to it and they don't spray or howl so I figured just leave it be. Problem is they're both thin. One is downright skinny and now he's sick and lost a few pounds and he looks like a walking skeleton cat. I have him on AD from the vet, and he's on meds as well. He's severely anemic and isn't putting on weight, that I can see. Blood transfusion in my area is 2500-3000 so that's out of the question. Just gotta hope the meds work.
Question is, if/when he gets better should I have him neutered in case this happens again, to get some extra weight on him? He's 6 so not sure if neutering would even help him gain a few pounds at his age, or do the older ones still gain a little?

A six year old male cat who is thin and anemic has a serious medical problem. Obviously it is not possible to diagnosis something like this over a website, but how much water does he drink, does he seem to urinate more frequently than the other cats (might be difficult to determine with 9 cats)? I ask this because kidney failure is a common cause of weight loss and anemia in cats. But there are lots of other causes as well.

The bottom line is, I doubt that having testicles is in anyway related to his problem. Neutering will not help. You need to find out what is really going on with him.

 

[catconfused]

I think you misunderstood. I know him not being neutered has nothing to do with what's wrong with him now. The vet thinks it's a blood illness, according to all his bloodwork.
My question is, if he makes it through this illness will having him neutered help him put on weight at 6 years old? Hes always been shinny so even losing a few pounds has had a big effect on him.

 

[Dr. Phil Bushby]

I think you misunderstood. I know him not being neutered has nothing to do with what's wrong with him now. The vet thinks it's a blood illness, according to all his bloodwork.
My question is, if he makes it through this illness will having him neutered help him put on weight at 6 years old? Hes always been shinny so even losing a few pounds has had a big effect on him.

The primary reason that neuter cats gain weight is that they are not roaming looking for sexual partners. If your cat is strictly an indoor cat, neutering him will most likely have little effect on his weight.

 

[catconfused]

Ahhh ok. Thanks. That's what I was wondering.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I think you misunderstood. I know him not being neutered has nothing to do with what's wrong with him now. The vet thinks it's a blood illness, according to all his bloodwork.
My question is, if he makes it through this illness will having him neutered help him put on weight at 6 years old? Hes always been shinny so even losing a few pounds has had a big effect on him.

We took in a kitten neutered at 4 months that had a blood disease in later life, resulting in anemia. He was never a heavy cat, but I have noticed with our own that intact animals are usually (not always) leaner. Neutering doesn't make them "lazy", but hormones do more than drive sex, kwim?
Did they mention hemobartellona? (I don't know if I spelled that right), or immune mediated hemolytic anemia? Do you remember what his red cell count was?

 

[Daisy6]

On that note, when was his last blood test?

 

[catconfused]

Yes, she mentioned hemobartellona (sp as well) and everything on his bloodwork was in range except
RBC 1.08 normal range is 5.00 - 10.00
HCT 5.3% normal range 30.0 - 45.0
Vet said she didn't think he would make it. I now know that 5% is crazy low after reading online. She suggested blood transfusion and the only vets in my area that do that are emergency vets, and they're crazy expensive (2500 -3000) He's on doxy and pred and it's been 6 days and he's a lot better, just still super skinny. Gums still very pale. He fought me today over the meds, and actually laid a couple nails in my hands. So he's feeling better, just still looks terrible.
But he's always been skinny so the weight he's lost has had a huge effect on the way he looks. Thought maybe getting him neutered in the future would help him put on a few extra pounds so if he should get sick again the weight loss won't be so extreme.

 

[catconfused]

He just had bloodwork Wed Aug 8th. I noticed a few days prior he wasn't acting himself then, boom, he was on deaths door Tuesday night. He goes back Wednesday to have the vet look at him.

 

[Daisy6]

Based on that information, I hate to say it, but unless Dr. Bushby knows a reason to get your cat (what is his name?) neutered with such a low RBC and HCT count, I would not do it if he was my cat.

 

[catconfused]

His name is Walter. It would be months before I would consider having him neutered. He may not even make it through this illness/anemia. But if he does, I thought it would help to put some much needed extra weight on him.

 

[Daisy6]

That is what they say, and I also wanted to know where the idea cats gain weight after the surgery came from. Obviously Dr. Bushby knows there is no link unlike a lot of ordinary cat lovers.

 

[catconfused]

I guess it's part "urban legend" part observation from pet owners. My 2 non neutered boys are super lean, borderline underweight. My neutered boys are a good solid weight.

 

[1 bruce 1]

His name is Walter. It would be months before I would consider having him neutered. He may not even make it through this illness/anemia. But if he does, I thought it would help to put some much needed extra weight on him.

If my cat were this sick, neutering (provided they were kept away from girls, as there's no doubt in my mind there is SOME genetic link to this type of illness) would be the last thing in my mind..
His RBC is very low. It's great he's acting stronger but monitor the ever loving crap out of his intake (food, don't free feed this guy, monitor EVERY MORSEL) output (same with the litter box, monitor!) be an obsessive gum checker and monitor color and his activity.
Be obsessive. This type of problem is nothing to mess around with.
I'm not a blunt person by nature and don't wish to scare you but this kind of thing can be deadly if you're not hyper vigilant to the point you question your own sanity in monitoring a cats eating, how much, how little, calorie #'s, and their litter box habits.
If you haven't already, sharing a communal food bowl needs to stop ASAP as does sharing a communal litter box, not for the worry of spreading disease but this kind of situation you NEED to know the exact amount of food eaten and the exact amount of litter box leavin's and don't want to guess that he's eating enough, pooping fine, etc.

 

[Daisy6]

Is your other unneutered cat otherwise healthy?

 

[1 bruce 1]

I guess it's part "urban legend" part observation from pet owners. My 2 non neutered boys are super lean, borderline underweight. My neutered boys are a good solid weight.

Our neutered dogs are more solid, heavy around the middle, than the intacts.
The intact dogs (and females) are leaner and more muscular and have a very different body shape/feel to them when you actually put your hands on them.
I can't describe this. Leaving them intact, at least til maturity, seems to be a good thing provided you're hyper-responsible, but the neutered ones leave little to worry, which is good for the majority of busy folk.
(This is not any of that crazy anti SN crap for cats, we have no intact cats, just intact dogs.)

 

[Daisy6]

So you disagree with Dr. Bushby's claim that there is no link between spaying and weight gain?

 

[catconfused]

Is your other unneutered cat otherwise healthy?

Yes. It's his brother and he's very lean, but otherwise healthy. I've had Walter (sick one) and Tony for 5 years, they're both 6 years now, and haven't had any problems until now. And it seemed to have happened so fast. Although cats are good at hiding illness so maybe by the time I noticed he was a very sick kid.

If my cat were this sick, neutering (provided they were kept away from girls, as there's no doubt in my mind there is SOME genetic link to this type of illness) would be the last thing in my mind..
His RBC is very low. It's great he's acting stronger but monitor the ever loving crap out of his intake (food, don't free feed this guy, monitor EVERY MORSEL) output (same with the litter box, monitor!) be an obsessive gum checker and monitor color and his activity.
Be obsessive. This type of problem is nothing to mess around with.
I'm not a blunt person by nature and don't wish to scare you but this kind of thing can be deadly if you're not hyper vigilant to the point you question your own sanity in monitoring a cats eating, how much, how little, calorie #'s, and their litter box habits.
If you haven't already, sharing a communal food bowl needs to stop ASAP as does sharing a communal litter box, not for the worry of spreading disease but this kind of situation you NEED to know the exact amount of food eaten and the exact amount of litter box leavin's and don't want to guess that he's eating enough, pooping fine, etc.

He's been in the kitty recovery suite (the guest bathroom) since I took him to the vet Wednesday. He's on the canned AD from the vet and has been going through a can a day for the past 2 days. I've been keeping a very close eye on him. He seems like himself at this point, except he's still super skinny and his gums still pale. He's gonna be upset when/if he gets back to normal. No more 2.50 canned food, towels with heating pads, all the special attention, etc...... lol

 

[Daisy6]

Um, shouldn't Walter be happy when/if he gets back to normal? Then he would be allowed to do whatever he wants.

As I write that, Daisy carries a toy in her mouth and runs out of the bedroom.