Increased appetite & incontinence - ideas ?

selmaallen123

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Hi -
I have a 14 yr old male cat who has had most of his teeth out.
He's always had a healthy normal appetite, liking to be fed regularly but not overeating.
He has always been normal weight, not under not over.

He has chronic infections in sinus or mouth, so from time to time we give him antibiotics - his last round was about a month ago.

This past summer he had a few weeks where he wouldn't eat much so we switched around foods and found some he liked, and his eating improved.

Until a couple of weeks ago - suddenly his appetite won't quit - he seems to be hungry all the time - begs for wet, dry and even table scraps.

He doesn't seem to be gaining weight.

Someone suggested it might be a thyroid issue - does this sound right ? So suddenly ?

Also, in the past few months he has had a few episodes of not peeing in the litter box - some I think were in protest after we were out of town for a couple of weeks, but we added a second litter box and that seemed to help for a while - now, though, he has done it 3-4 times in the last week ! The last 2 worry me because he peed right in his own favorite basket/blanket.

I am looking for suggestions or ideas before I call the vet, because his blood work from the summer didn't show anything too unusual for a cat his age...

Thanks for your thoughts...
 

mom of 4

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Has he had a blood sugar level checked lately? Increased appetite and increased urination can be a sign of diabetes. The increased blood sugar can make the cat more prone to getting infections - including bladder infections.
 

catnapt

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oh poor baby!
yes he needs to have his blood sugar checked, diabetes can cause those symptoms
so can other things, thyroid would cause over eating with wt staying the same or loss of wt
urinating inappropriately is a common problem with diabetics esp, and as Mom of 4 mentioned UTI are common in diabetics (i have had 2 diabetic cats)

unfortunatley a lot of these things can come on pretty suddenly in a 14yr old cat


has he ever had steroids?

well with him urinating outside the box he must be seen anyway, would be a good idea to bring a urine sample when you take him in

i hope its something minor and easily 'fixed'
 

pookie-poo

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Hyperthyroid can happen at any time, but is more common in older cats. Fourteen years old, increased appetite without weight gain....really sounds like a hyper-T problem. Usually diabetes symptoms include increased drinking and urination (polydipsia/polyuria) along with the increased appetite without weight gain. Even though you had bloodwork done this past summer, it sounds like you should probably have it done again. If he continues to go outside the litterbox, it wouldn't hurt to have a cystocentesis done at the same time to rule out any UTI problem.

Good luck!
 
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