Help! My cat is losing weight!

I have a seven year old male tabby (Mr. Dog) who has lost weight over the past several months. I have taken him to the vet several times and they have run all sorts of tests including feline leukimina, aids,stool, checked for worms, etc. The vet did blood work but could not find anything wrong. He gained a few ounces after that visit but lost it after a few weeks. I took him back and the vet ran more tests. He checked his blood again and said his white blood count was elevated but they did not know why. He was given predisone 5mg once a day for two weeks. When I brought him back after the two week period, he had gained five ounces and his white cell count was close to normal but still slightly elevated. The vet decreased his predisone dosage to one tablet every other day. I was relieved he was making progress. This past week end I noticed he looked thinner. I weighted him and he had loss seven ounces (the five he had gained plus two more!) He eats the same as he always has and his teeth are fine. I also give him nutri-cal for extra calories. I have spent hundreds of dollars at the vet, but I don't feel my baby is making enough progress. What can be wrong? Please advise because I want my kitty to be back to his normal self.

Wow..I know how frustrated I'd feel, and am sorry you haven't gotten a clear answer.  My best advice would be to consult a specialist (I have found recently with one of my kitties, a wonderful internist and it really has helped as he co-ordinates with my regular vet - its an expanded team )

Thank you for your response. In the area where I live I don't think there are any pet specialists. How would they be listed? How can I locate one?

This is definitely very frustrating. If your cat is losing weight that is not a good sign, especially if he is eating a lot. I'm sure the vet checked him for hyperthyroidism via the blood test.

Prednisone has a tendency to make your cat feel hungry and it would be natural for him to gain weight while on it. Also it is an anti-inflammatory medication so would help if he had some sort of temporary issue. 

How much weight has he lost? Are there any other signs that something is not right? Is his fur ok? Does he seem anxious? How much are you feeding him, what are you feeding him, and how much is he eating? Is he sleeping normally? Does he cry about anything at night?

I only ask in case talking it over helps to reveal something we might not have thought about in figuring out what could be a symptom. 

A high WBC can signify two things. One is infection and the other is unfortunately cancer. Has your vet tried antibiotics at all to make sure there is no infection? I too think going to a specialist is the answer and I think they'll have to do an ultrasound to see what's going on and maybe a biopsy. Before your kitty loses anymore weight I would definitely get some more tests done and find out for sure so you can start with the proper treatments. So sorry this is happening. 

mskitty07 said:

Thank you for your response. In the area where I live I don't think there are any pet specialists. How would they be listed? How can I locate one?

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We found ours, a hard way..he works at the 24 hour animal emergency center that our vet refers folks to for emergencies and afterhours care.  He works out of there, is one of the er vet docs and is superb.  Our Dee had a crisis back in late March requiring him to be hospitalized  (and he needed 24 hour care, so we couldn't leave him at our vets).  Our vets use him for consults etc.  I'd ask your vet for who they recommend (this fellow is an internist, we've also along the way picked up a cardiologist for Dee).

Thank you

He has lost almost 3 pounds. The only food he has ever eaten is Science Diet. His fur is fine. He does not seem anxious, but he cries out more than usual for no apparent reason. When I check on him, he appears fine and just looks at me. He has an automatic feeder which he shares with his sister. I still put the same amount in it every week and they eat as needed. I hope this helps. Thank you for responding.

Thank you for responding. No, the vet did not give him antiboitics. He ran several test and has ruled out cancer. I will try to locate a specialist or take him to another vet to get a second opinion.

This is extremely serious! Cats losing almost 3 pounds is very dangerous. Cats are notoriously good at hiding illness but this would have had me bringing him to the vet a long time ago. He needs to see someone very, very soon. If he stops eating suddenly he could develop fatty liver disease. 

most cats don't develop hyperthyroidism until after 8 but yours is close enough that i hope they ran the test.  since he is young i'm sure he doesn't have a baseline but the normal range is .08 - 4.0.  my cat developed it when she was 14 and i use methimazole transdermal gel.  hers is very well regulated but initally she lost about 2 lbs.  the first 1 lb. i thought was because of the diet i put her on (lol) but the second pound was very alarming.

i have since switched her diet, all my cats really, to all canned grain-free.  hill's sd is not a good food, no matter what your vet says (you don't have to tell him that lol), and it isn't cheap.  there is far better quality nutrition for your cat at a comparable price.

i hope you find the problem soon!  good luck.

My boy cat does have cancer and I caught it due to his weight loss, but also he was vomiting and his fur started looking not so sleek and beautiful.

If he is sharing the feeder I would think about mixing things up a little bit and giving them each some wet food on a plate in the morning and before bed. I imagine you may already be trying other things to see if you can get some weight on him or ascertain whether it is a sudden aversion to his food. It would be nice if it were that simple, i.e. a batch of food that tastes different than what he is accustomed to. 

I don't know what kind of specialist you would go to- maybe ask for the best diagnostician in the realm of internal medicine? Specialists tend to look for problems within the field of their specialty, which is why I am bringing this up. 

If your cat has lymphosarcoma, I can tell you that it can be very hard to diagnose- with my boy it was not until we did x-rays and an ultrasound. Even then, they had to do exploratory surgery and his first biopsy was negative. With other peoples' cats on this site, it took longer still. The bloodwork can be inconclusive and tumors are not always visible :-(. 

BarbB said:

I don't know what kind of specialist you would go to- maybe ask for the best diagnostician in the realm of internal medicine? Specialists tend to look for problems within the field of their specialty, which is why I am bringing this up. 

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The specialist I mentioned (I believe I specified) was the Internist we found - who co-ordinates with our regular vet. (plus we've had consutls with a neurologist and cardiologist for dee - it's been quite the year!)