Weight Loss

[weemomma]

I am a complete helicopter car mom. Hariette just went to the vet about 2 weeks ago and al of her blood work was perfect. She weight just shy of 9 lbs.

Yesterday, I noticed that she hadn't eaten her food. I ran out of her specialty diet food and gave her kitten food in the few days that it took to get her specialty food. When I weighed her last night, she was 8.2lbs. I am absolutely terrified. Should I bite the bullet and take her back into the vet?

She is back to eating her specialty food as of this morning. She is drinking, pooping, peeing, but we are dealing with a nasty flea infestation. She is covered with fleas. I just gave her the between the shoulders treatment this afternoon to help with this. Her skin is also a little on the flaky side, which I think is due to fleas.

She seems a little mopey, definitely not like herself. This has all happened in the course of a day and a half, so I know I might be panicking for nothing.

Should I give her another day or two or take her in ASAP?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The fleas and the flea treatment can throw them off for a short period. Give it until tomorrow, and then if she is not significantly or totally better, call, then take her in if advised. I've seen severe flea infestations cause weight loss, as the cat was just more preoccupied with scratching than with eating. IF, however, she become more lethargic or won't eat at all, get her on in. PLEASE keep us posted on this!

 

[weemomma]

Well, she has shown some improvement today. No fever (the thermometer really perked her up!), she wanted to play a little, the fleas seem better, and she has put on a few precisious ounces. There was pee in the litter but no poop. However, after not eating for a day, she probably has noting to poop.

Will keep monitoring her!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH GOOD! Thanks for the prompt update. I'm laughing just a little about the thermometer...yes, a stick up the fanny will get your eyes opened, all right!

 

[weemomma]

Well, she has maintained the 8.3 lbs from yesterday. Still about 6 ounces below what she was. No signs of pooping in her litter box. She doesn't seem to have eaten anything since I was at work. Not sure if she's not interested or if she just slept all day. No sign of fever. Everything is nice and pink.

We are going to do Feliway tomorrow to see if this helps. If she's still not eating like she normally does on Monday, we're going to the vet.

 

[weemomma]

I'm sick with worry tonight. She just wants to sleep. She ate a little bit of canned tuna fish earlier. She peed in her box but still no poops. Her temp is a little on the high side, around 103.5.

I honestly don't know if I'm making mountains out of molehills, but she really has me concerned.

 

[weemomma]

I'm nearing 24 hours since I have seen her eat anything willingly on her own. I just woke up and her kibble is untouched. She is asleep in another part of the house. She ate some tuna fish for me last night. I am so nervous as far as HL goes.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Time for the vet now. With the drastically decreased appetite and not pooping, you want to make sure something very serious isnt' going on. Cats can't go too long without eating due to the danger of Fatty Liver Disease. You are NOT at that point yet, BUT...the sooner you know what is going on, the better off you will be. KEEP US POSTED, and let us know what the vet says. I'd go today, just to be on the safe side.

 

[weemomma]

She ate some kibble today. Not sure how much but she made a dent in the food bowl. She also managed to pee in the litter box at some point but still no poop. The vet was closed today but I will be calling in tomorrow to talk to them about the situation.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That's right...It's Sunday. I always know where I am, but sometimes forget when I am. It is excellent that she is eating, now we just need POOP!

 

[weemomma]

No new good eaten since this morning. No poops. We've had a wee but nothing else. I'm very concerned.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Let us know what the vet says today. I'm fretting.

 

[weemomma]

She has lost 1 lb for unknown reasons. The vet said that she has turned anemic and she might have a secondary infection that is making her feel poorly. Feeling bad has made her not want to eat. BUT liver, kidneys, and pancreas still come out beautiful in the lab work. She felt that we are not in danger...yet.

They are treating her with fluids and Cerenia and we might try and appetite stimulant. I'm considering having them keep her over night for more fluids and observation just to make myself feel better about this whole thing.

The vet felt that she might be in early stages of kidney disease but they were going to send a test off to confirm. She said that it didn't mean that she was but she wanted to cover all of her bases.

We think this could be the byproduct of a very bad flea infestation that Hariette suffered last week. As of today, there are not fleas on her, which means that the meds she were given finally worked. The fleas turned her anemic, she felt bad because of the anemia, and that in turn made her turn away from food.

I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm also very aware how fast a cat can turn from being fine to being dead. I lost my soul cat to fatty liver three years ago this month, actually, so all of this pain is multiplied ten fold.

Keep her in your thoughts because this isn't over just yet.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Not yet, but the earlier anything is caught, the better off your precious cat is. And she is eating. This is very good news, indeed.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Just out of curiosity . . . why so many fleas? She's not an outside cat is she???

 

[weemomma]

She is 100% indoors and has been for 10 years. My dog was the flea culprit to start with. He brought them in when he went to his kennel one day. That was about a year ago. Winter came and the fleas went dormant, leading me to believe we had beat the issue. They hatched back out come summer and it has been terrible trying to get rid of them!!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Fleas are the WORST! I had an infestation a few years back that drove me to distraction! I bombed, mopped with Murphy's Oil soap, ordered Precor 2000 and sprayed the whole house...it was the Precor 2000 that finally got rid of them for good.

The worst flea infestation I ever dealt with was in Florida during a time when I didn't even have animals. We had had a very wet, warm spring and early summer, and fleas were everywhere! I finally sent the kids to my mom's house for a few days and sprayed the entire house and yard with malathion. It danged sure killed the fleas and every other crawling thing on the property. Horribly dangerous stuff and I wouldn't use it with animals in the house, but the fleas were so very, very dead!