Monday, May 24, 2010

My 15yr old cat has lost a lot of weight, why?

He has lost weight over the last 4 months.He has still a very good appetite, in fact I would say he is greedy.He is occasionally sick straight away after eating and then goes straight back to his dish for more.
Otherwise he seems healthy and is active apart from he has gone deaf.
Answers:
Could be alot of things going on with an older cat, vomiting is not a good thing, esp in older kitties, some cats vomit their whole lives due to a sensitive stomach, but I suspect this is not the norm for him, and with him losing weight I would take him to the vet and have some bloodwork done on him. this will tell if he has diabetes %26 that his kidneys and liver is ok, alot of older cats get kidney problems, and if you have not ever tested him for leuk/aids, I would have that run also. Hopefully all is ok .. Good luck with him
Check his stool. He may have worms. This is common with cats that have worms. If you find anything in his stool, take him to your veterinarian for de-worming medication.
Take him to the vet right away. This could be anything from worms to fleas to cancer.
I would strongly suspect that your cat has a growth on his thyroid which is flooding his system with hormone and he is hyperthryoid. A ravenous appetitie and weight loss are some the most apparent symptoms.

So he definitely needs blood work done by a vet to determine is this is the case. There is a medication he can take to counteract the excess thyroid in his system. It is very important that he be treated for this condition - his blood pressure is up, his kidneys and heart are strained and without treatment the condition will lead to his death. The longer you wait to treat it the more apt he is to develop serious kidney problems, retinas of the eye can become detached leading to blindness and he will suffer because he cannot eat enough food to compensate for his increased metabolism.
When cats usually start losing more and more weight is when they start getting older. Sometimes it may be worms or some sort of bladder thing, so take him to the vet just to do a check-up.
You should take the cat to the vet. He'll do blood work on him. It sounds like it could be diabetes. My cat lost alot of weight in a short amount of time also, it was diabetes. he's on insulin now and is fine.
If you can't see any medical problem on the outside - a wound infection or fleas - it is probably an internal problem. Losing weight and still eating is usually an indication of some kind of medical problem. Note if there are any other symptoms, such as an increased intake of water. Your vet will do a physical examination and possible bloodwork to pinpoint any medical problems.

As for vomiting after eating . maybe he was coughing up hairballs while his stomach was full. Or maybe he ate his food too fast and it upsets his stomach. Again, my best suggestion is your veterinarian.
Sounds to me that a trip to your vet is in order. Good Luck.
When is the last time your kitty has been to the vet. At his age it is a good idea to take him in for a geriatric check up. They will run some bloodwork and make sure everything is functioning. Olders cats can start to have a lot of problems due to age: liver and kidney failure, thyroid problems, cancer, etc. Best to find out what is wrong so you can stop wondering and get him the proper treatment he needs.
my cat did the same thing, he went from 12lbs to 8, I can't remember in how long, but at the same age. he lived to 18. when we put him down he was 8lbs, the vet said he was literally skin and bones. The last few months his eyes went from green to yellow, turns out his liver was failing.
I think you should take him to the vet to get him checked out, maybe some blood test if you can afford it.
But one thing I would recommend for older cats is better quality food. avoid foods that have corn, it's a filler. and by-products, that's feets and beaks. Nutro has a senior formula that 10 time better than your regular whiskis for a little more money, or you can go to high end food like Inova or Wellness. He'll eat less food cause there no filler, he'll benefit from the nutrients and maybe stop throwing up afterwards. just make sure you change his food slowly

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