Smoky losing weight...

My cat, Smoky, is about 15 years old and I have had her since she was four weeks old. She has always been a healthy cat and very active. About 10 days ago, we noticed that she was not eating as much as usual (we give her canned food in the morning and dry at night). Then, she stopped pooping for several days. My husband took her to the vet and, after examing her, he thought it might be kidney problems so he took some blood. He called the next day and said that her blood work was fine. He gave us some medication to stimulate her appetite and that seemed to work almost too well for a day or so (boy, was she hungry!).

I thought it might be a hairball stuck in her digestive tract and talked to the vet about it (she had that once about 10 years ago). He gave us some mediatoin for that, but it didn't seem to improve things at all.

However, she went back to not eating much after that, although she did make a poop the next day (Saturday). This past Sunday she was really bad. She didn't eat any of her breakfast and spent the entire day laying on one of the beds. She has lost a lot of weight over the last week and I was really worried about her. On Monday morning, though, we found that she had eaten her breakfast during the night and made another poop.

I called the vet yesterday and told him all this and he said that, as long as she is producing at least one poop a day and eats something every day, he is not too worried. Easy for him to say, right????? She did eat all of her breakfast yesterday (canned food), but none of her dinner (dry food).

Smoky does have a lot of tartar on her teeth and I was wondering if dry food might be getting too hard for her to eat now. Just guessing, though!!
I'm just so worried about my baby! She's been around longer than my husband and both of my dogs and it was just the two of us for a long time. Does anyone have any ideas?? (Sorry this post took so long!)

Yes. Get a second opinion.

It may very well be that she needs dental work done. This can cause problems eating. This is something a vet can check during a visit, but it seems a dental appointment is also in order.

But given how much you love your baby and the fact that her behavior has changed so much, I would definitely get a second opinion, and another set of blood work done. Let them know you need a Senior Panel done on your cat. Also tell the new vet about her behavior changes and her weight changes.

Laurie

In addition to getting a senior panel done to check for other possibly illness, try switching her to just canned food. Older kitties can definitely benefit from the extra moisture in the canned food as it is better for their kidneys. It also may be easier for her to eat, which is why she's finishing one meal but not the other. Or, maybe she simply prefers it. Either way, it is very important to keep her eating sufficient food, and canned seems to be her preference.

It is very important that the senior blood panel and a dental be performed. Last year my Kali had lost a little weight. I didn't realize he wasn't eating as much, but there was a lot of food left over every morning. He had FORL lesions and ended up at the emergency vet with one of his canines hanging. He lost five teeth, but no problems since and his bad breath is gone. All of my vets have only done dental as needed and he had never had one. Unfortunately until the cat is sedated and they can really get a good look in there anything could be going on. Hope your kitty feels better soon.