Mysterious Weight Loss and Odd Behavior

Hello,

I'm really concerned about my cat, Stella, and was hoping someone could give me some insight as to what could be going on. So far, our vet is coming up with nothing.

Stella is a small tuxedo DSH who has a gravely loud voice and a passion for my husband that almost competes with my own (he jokingly calls her "the other woman"). That aside, she is usually an aloof cat who avoids me and our female petsitter like the plague (we think she prefers men...and babies). Still, I am very attached to her and would be heartbroken if we lost her. She is nine years old, and had been very healthy until recently.

About two months ago, she started throwing up regularly and peeing outside the litterbox. I also noticed the other cat (Mini Mew) harassed her a lot more. The vet discovered she had the very beginning of kidney disease. We put her on kidney diet, and while she's not been thrilled with the stuff, she eats it.

Her kidney values are back to normal and the vet said she doesn't have a UTI either, but she has continued to very slowly loose weight. At night, we put her in my studio with a litterbox so she gets a reprieve from our other cat picking on her so she stopped peeing outside the box too (we added the box). I originally thought her accidents were because Mew was picking on her, but now when I hear her using the box I hear her crying.

As I mentioned earlier, she is usually a very aloof cat—even though she loves my husband and now our baby (I think she was in a home with one before we adopted her 4 years ago). However, lately she is acting very clingy...almost like she's trying to tell us she needs help. This really scares me, because one of our cats did that right before he died of a blood clot.

She's been tested for UTIs twice. One of the tests was more extensive. The vet found nothing. She's been X-rayed. Nothing. So, we're taking her to get a sonogram on Friday...

Does anyone have any idea what could be going on?

I keep hoping I could just be paranoid, but I have this annoying trait of being the first person to pick up the slightest illness in our pets.

Has a full blood panel including thyroid and pancreas function been done?

I know they checked her thyroid, but would a CBC blood panel include her pancreas? I know they ran it twice.

no .. different labs include different things in blood work ups... were other organs beside s kidney s checked? did they recheck for infection?

They did recheck for infection. She came up infection-free. I believe they looked for abscesses in her other organs when they x-rayed, but I'm not totally sure about the bloodwork. I will call and ask them tomorrow as it's a good thing to know since we have to see a different vet for the sonogram.

How frustrating for you and sad for Stella. But being intuitive is not an "annoying trait"! Your instinctive understanding of cats will help you prevent suffering and catch problems before they become worse. You've got a gift, even though it doesn't feel great.

Let's hope the sonogram reveals the problem. You and your vet are taking the right steps, although it's hard to be patient when your cat is miserable.

Would there be any harm in putting Stella on an antibiotic even though the UTI tests are negative? If she is crying in the litter box, there must be infection, inflammation, or blockage. See if there are ways the vet can treat for those, without risk, if you're still stumped after the sonogram.

When I have UTIs, cranberry juice helps me until the antibiotic kicks in. You might ask your vet if there is a way to alter the PH of Stella's urine to make it less painful for her to urinate. There could be some holistic, herbal remedy that might help.

It sounds like your other cat is taking advantage of Stella's illness to assert itself and become top cat. That's typical behavior for cats who are territorial with each other. Keep protecting Stella and give her all the love and attention she wants. And let us know how things go.

Yes USING an antibitotic with NO infection detected could cause Major issues now and later...

Possibley talk with your vet about a anti inflamatory

Well, we got the sonogram. Stella has a small mass in her stomach.

It's in an inopportune place to have removed right away so first they are going to scope it to see if it's an ulcer or if it's a malignant tumor.

I have a really bad feeling about this... If Stella only had one or two symptoms, it wouldn't be so scary, but she has quite a few.

-She developed kidney disease (just a few months shy of turning 10), and the vet said her kidneys look a little small.
-She's losing weight, but always acts hungry.
-Her breath is rancid.
-She has pain using the litter box.
-She walks with her back a little arched sometimes...like in pain
-She is very needy lately

I'm really scared this could be cancer, and it's spread to multiple organs in her abdomen. I know this is really jumping the gun, but we had a cat who had to be put down due to stomach cancer (Salty). Salty had "symptoms" for a long time (a very sensitive tummy), but his x-rays and ultrasounds showed nothing until it was too late. One month he was healthy and his films were nice and clear at his Senior workup... But the next month, he was emaciated and his little body showed up full of masses.

I know I'm being really negative, but I am so worried and have such a bad feeling. I feel terrible she's in such pain and I feel terrible thinking we could lose her. We just lost her "brother" a few months ago from a blood clot.

I am sending for Stella. Try not to compare cats. Every case is unique. I hope it is something that can be managed. Keep us posted.