I'm a little worried this is slightly long any response is helpful

Hey all. I haven't posted in a few years. I have a nuetered male cat, named Pumpkin. He's 10 in October. He is strictly indoors. I noticed after his winter coat shedded that his fur on his back end is looking unkempt. I can also feel his ribs a little more than normal even though hes a very big boy. He looks otherwise healthy.

However, I'm reading stuff on the internet about how this could be signs of diabetes or kidney issues or thyroid issues and I'm really working myself into a big bit of worry over it. 

He's always been very greedy, vocal and loves, loves loves to eat. I of course have always watched his diet with only the best of foods from the pet store. He gets Blue Buffalo dry senior (mature formula) and reduced calorie wet food from nutro. He does have a tendency to wolf his food down and will occassionally throw up his dry food. He does this about 2 or 3 times a month. He also yacks up the occassional hairball 2 times a month.   I also monitor how much he eats, he never gets to free feed. I adopted him in 04 when he was 2.

He has his yearly vet appt next week where they will do blood work and clean his teeth.   And I'm staring to really worry. He's still active, playful, greedy, and follows me everywhere. He is not weak or lethargic, but I'm still worried. I'm worried when they do his blood work they'll find something wrong with him. sorry this is so long.

Could his unkempt coat be from anything else?

Oh don't worry! The Internet is always scary when you are trying to diagnose your kitty. If it was a kidney or thyroid issue, he would be drinking and urinating a lot more, and be eating less. Take your kitty for the exam next week and keep calm. If the vet finds something, chances are they can fix it. best of luck to you.

Thanks so much I appreciate it. He does like to drink water, but I don't really know what is considered a lot of water for a cat. He drinks about 1/2 a cup a day. He likes to dip his paw in it. I always heard that that was good because its better for urinary health. He urinates about 2 or 3 times a day as well. His urine is not foamy. 

Do you happen to know how much water a cat should drink?

However, I'm reading stuff on the internet about how this could be signs of diabetes or kidney issues or thyroid issues and I'm really working myself into a big bit of worry over it.

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You have a right to be concerned given his weight loss, condition of his fur, and huge appetite (water drinking can also indicate a problem, but the kibble could be making this harder to determine)--this means you are a good kitty mom. It is good you're taking him to the vet to have labs run especially before any procedures where a kitty is given anesthesia, like for teeth cleaning. At his age they should also do (or you request) a 'Senior panel', which consists of blood and urine tests that older kitties are most prone to.

ETA: If my kitties each drank a half a cup of water a day, I would be very concerned, but mine eat a raw diet so they rarely drink water. You might consider going to all canned food? Maybe do a little reading here: http://www.holisticat.com/no-kibble.html and http://www.holisticat.com/commercial.html 

I know it is worrisome, but please try not to worry. None of the above issues you are worried about are an immediate death sentence--there are numerous treatment options for them all, and kitties can live a long time with each of these conditions.

I would hold off on any teeth cleaning until you know if you are dealing with an underlying disease, and talk it over with your vet if the teeth cleaning would be advisable at this time--if he is ill.

Sending you calming vibes and lil headbutts for your sweet boy!

hey there WhollyCat. I appreciate your response.

 so you're saying 1/2 a cup per day is too much water for a cat to drink? He's always been a water drinker for the 8 years I've lived with him. And his blood panel came back normal last year. but his coat wasn't looking shabby then like it is now. He grooms himself as normal. 

Ah well. We'll just have to wait and see. I was planning on leaving my job (which I absolutely hate) once we both had our checkups. But if something isn't quite right with him, I may be forced to stay on here.     If he needs some kind of expensive treatments, I can't afford to not work for the next few months. 

Actually 1/2 cup a day is not too much water for a cat that eats dry food.... A cat is supposed to get 5-6 oz of water a day, and dry food doesn't happen the matter. When a cat eats only wet or raw, will barely drink, or sometimes even not drink at all.... Mine are on raw, and drink very little.... Not even everyday, I don't think. A cat on kibble is a whole other story.
The weight loss, the unkempt fur, combined with the big appetite, could mean thyroid issues.... Which is not too uncommon on his age.... I would run a senior panel. You can do that before the dental; if all is well, you can proceed with the dental. Make sure to only do the procedure after the blood test though, to ensure his kidneys are working properly....
also, at this age, the best thing for his kidney will really be wet food only.... Is that something you can do? That can help to considerably increase his health/life-span....
He is probably fine.... :cross:
Good luck

I would love to put him on raw. I've been doing some research on that for a few years now. I think it would be great. And I wouldn't mind putting him on canned exclusively. I stuck to both canned and dry because he's always been really greedy and I thought he would gain weight more easily on canned alone. Last year, he tipped the scales at 17 pounds and he's a really big cat (not fat, but a large body). I was actually happy to be able to feel his ribs a little better over the last few weeks. But now considering his age and the slightly scruffy appearance of his coat, I've gotten worried.

But if he's on canned or raw, what about his teeth. I thought dry food was supposed to help keep their teeth in good shape. As I've mentioned in much older posts, I grew up with big dogs and we always bought chew toys for them. They don't seem to have those for cats.

P.S. he's up in my face right now as I try to type this. I swear, he's probably wanting more food.

I had a cat with an overactive thyroid and it was really no big deal as he was fairly easy to pill.  Sadly just as he was getting back to normal he started losing weight again because of liver tumours, but he was 15 1/2.  I also have a friend with a diabetic cat and he is doing really well.

Don't put yourself in a panic, visit the vet and find out what is going on.  Hopefully if he is ill it will be easily treatable.

Vampyre88 said:

I would love to put him on raw. I've been doing some research on that for a few years now. I think it would be great. And I wouldn't mind putting him on canned exclusively. I stuck to both canned and dry because he's always been really greedy and I thought he would gain weight more easily on canned alone. Last year, he tipped the scales at 17 pounds and he's a really big cat (not fat, but a large body). I was actually happy to be able to feel his ribs a little better over the last few weeks. But now considering his age and the slightly scruffy appearance of his coat, I've gotten worried.

But if he's on canned or raw, what about his teeth. I thought dry food was supposed to help keep their teeth in good shape. As I've mentioned in much older posts, I grew up with big dogs and we always bought chew toys for them. They don't seem to have those for cats. :indiff:

P.S. he's up in my face right now as I try to type this. I swear, he's probably wanting more food.

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Cats actually tend to gain weight easier on dry because it has to has a good amount of plant matter in it to keep it together and keep it from spoiling, and its all those carbs that make kitties fat.

As far as his ribs go, it may actually be that because he was a bit tubby before, you may just not be used to what his normal body weight looks like. But I would definitely ask the vet when you get there. :bigthumb:

When it comes to canned I could understand the concern, it certainly doesnt have the same rough texture as dry, but raw absolutely cleans the teeth! They have to gnaw and slice and tear at the meat to pull it apart, and if you feed bone, thats even better! :nod: However, though dry may seem good for their teeth, it is not so. Not only do most cats just swallow the pieces whole, but even if a tooth happens to sink in, the whole thing just gets mushy and crumbles and if anything just leaves little bits inbetween them. My FIV cat who is supposed to be prone to teeth problems eats only canned and has the prettiest teeth.


Like everybody has been saying though, don't worry yourself too much. Just take him in, get him a senior panel and go from there. Even if its thyroid, one pill a day will do the trick. Good luck with Pumpkin!!

Weight loss can be caused by any number of things.  In my household with my cats, it is always a concern.  That is how I really know when things are not right.  I hope when you go to the vet that he blood test will give you the answers you are looking for and that whatever is causing it can be treated.  Good luck.

Thanks everybody for the responses. I will definitely bring up my concerns with the vet on Tuesday.

Of those of you who feed a raw diet, can you recommend an online retailer who ships the food pre-made. The only animal products I personally eat are honey and cheese. So I'd like to avoid having to buy meat to fix for him if at all possible. If it isn't possible, then I'll just deal with it. But I'd really prefer a pre made diet if I can find it.

Thanks again. I feel better. And the Orange Menace and I are enjoying some play time as I write this.
 

http://www.petfooddirect.com or http://www.onlynaturalpet.com When ordering from OnlyNaturalPet, it seems to be better to call them to place the order and have them calculate the shipping costs for you than placing the order online.

Rad Cat (available at OnlyNaturalPet) is the best and best liked by cats when introducing raw food. But you may want to check out the raw feeding forum and resources thread there.

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-feeding-for-cats
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240809/raw-feeding-resource-thread

And here's a thread that when a number of us were transitioning, we discussed commercial raw foods: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/239950/questions-about-commercial-raw

Rad Cat is an excellent food.  I just had BooBoo's 6 month check up with blood work and chest x-rays and everything came back better than her last tests when she was eating canned and dry.  Could it be a coincidence, possible but I don't think so.  The benefits are amazing and well worth the extra cost.

here's a quick video I took of him when I got home from work today. You guys can check out his coat and see him for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=xIFlzpm_Itg

That link won't work for us because it links to your videos page and not the video itself.

lets try this one. sorry about that. 

Vampyre88 said:

hey there WhollyCat. I appreciate your response.

 so you're saying 1/2 a cup per day is too much water for a cat to drink? He's always been a water drinker for the 8 years I've lived with him. And his blood panel came back normal last year. but his coat wasn't looking shabby then like it is now. He grooms himself as normal. 

Ah well. We'll just have to wait and see. I was planning on leaving my job (which I absolutely hate) once we both had our checkups. But if something isn't quite right with him, I may be forced to stay on here. 

   If he needs some kind of expensive treatments, I can't afford to not work for the next few months. 

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1/2 cup of water is not too much if your kitty is on an all kibble (dry) diet.  My concern might be the weight loss and possibly the coat.  But, if he is acting normally and his usual self I would wait to see what the vet says first.  There is so much data on the Internet and some of it is suspect anyway.  I would wait to get a diagnosis, if any, since the visit is so close.  But yes, be concerned and maybe write down everything you are concerned about so you don't forget to tell the vet everything during the visit.