Anal gland issue/weightloss?

I have a female kitty who is almost 6 years old. She was limping some on her right leg and just not as active as normal. (still eating and drinking.). I took her to the vet and she didn't find that Tornado had anything wrong with her leg. It was noted that she had lost a pound from her previous visit which was 2 months ago. The vet did some basic blood work which came back normal. The vet found that my kitty's anal gland was impacted on the right but not infected. The vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory for 3 days for any pain also.

I guess I am wondering if I should be concerned with Tornado's weight loss? She has perked up some from Monday. Or should I press to have thyroid tests and xrays and all that?

I bought a baby scale and am going to start weighing her on a regular basis. I had another cat get really sick quickly and pass away from cancer so I am not sure of I am being overly paranoid.

Thanks for any input [emoji]128522[/emoji]

How much does she weigh? What foods are you feeding her? What types of blood tests did they do? 

She was 12.5 pounds at the beginning of March. Weighed 11.4 lbs on Monday. She gets wet food in the morning and around 4 (fancy feast). We typically give them dry around 9 (4health brand). There is usually dry food left in the morning. We also have two other cats. We typically split two cans a day between them. They did a basic panel with cbc,wbc,glucose and kidney fun too that I remember off hand. She said that if we really wanted to we could do xrays and other tests but didn't think they were needed at this time.

She was limping on her right back paw. Her anal gland on the right was really full so she thought that might be the issue. Gave me 3 days of Onsior which she finished today. She isn't limping anymore. Doesn't seem to have her normal energy level but seems to be drinking like normal. I am not 100% sure of her potty. There seems to be the usual amount in the boxes and nothing unusual looking.

I have wondered if I give them enough food. But there is dry left over. Also two are on the heavier side and my male is slim but of a normal weight.

I guess with past experience I am a little hyper sensitive, so I am pretty much over analyzing every move she makes!

Welcome to TCS!   We'd love to get to know you and your kitties better, so do start a welcome thread at the New Cats On The Block forum when you're up to it 

As for Tornado, her decrease in appetite and lack of energy could be a side effect of the Onsior and unrelated to the initial problem. I would call the vet and report her current condition. The vet may want to report that back to the company that makes Onsior and it could also affect future treatments with NSAIDs for Tornado herself. Hopefully, she's feeling better today? It takes up to 24 hours for Onsior to get out of the body so see how she's doing today and let us know. 

I think she is doing somewhat better. She played some last night and came for some love this morning which she hasn't been doing too much. I weighed her just on the scale I have now and she weighed the same as the doctors office. Should be getting the other scale soon. She ate well this morning.

I will continue to monitor her. I didn't even think of side effects of the Onsior! She finished yesterday and she does seem to have perked up this morning!

I was thinking about starting to add pumpkin or probiotics to all of their food. So that she wont have chronic issues with her anal glands. How much pumpkin do you feed them normally? Or is there a recommended probiotic that people use?

If you suspect the anal glands problem was caused by constipation, there are some great tips for preventing that in this article - 

 [article="33339"]Everything You Need To Know About Constipation In Cats​[/article]  

I'm not a huge fan of probiotics myself. I don't think it's harmful thought. You can read more about it here - 

 [article="30671"]Should I Give My Cat Probiotics​[/article]  

And some of the brands our members like are covered here - 

 [article="30716"]Nutritional Supplements For Cats Used By Our Members​[/article]  

lismo said:

I think she is doing somewhat better. She played some last night and came for some love this morning which she hasn't been doing too much. I weighed her just on the scale I have now and she weighed the same as the doctors office. Should be getting the other scale soon. She ate well this morning.

I will continue to monitor her. I didn't even think of side effects of the Onsior! She finished yesterday and she does seem to have perked up this morning!

I was thinking about starting to add pumpkin or probiotics to all of their food. So that she wont have chronic issues with her anal glands. How much pumpkin do you feed them normally? Or is there a recommended probiotic that people use?

Click to expand...

A pound is a lot of weight to lose in that short a time period, i would be concerned, and weighting her regularly on a baby scale is an excellent thing to do, keep a written log with weights and dates.  I How has her appetite been since the weight loss started?  I would absolutely have her thyroid tested for hyperthyroidism, particularly if she has a good appetite.  If her weight loss can't be explained by loss of appetite (itself a problem that needs more investigation) then there is probably a problem.

I also thought a pound of weight was a lot for a cat to lose in 2 months.  She is eating well.  I am going to continue to weigh her  and log everything down.  If she loses any more weight I will have her thyroid tested for sure.  They also said that if we really wanted we could get xrays/ultrasounds, but the vet didn't think it was necessary quite yet.  I want to make sure if something is really wrong with her, that it gets caught early.  I made that mistake with the kitty we got at the same time as her.  By the time I really figured out something was wrong it was too late.  :-(

lismo said:

 
I also thought a pound of weight was a lot for a cat to lose in 2 months.  She is eating well.  I am going to continue to weigh her  and log everything down.  If she loses any more weight I will have her thyroid tested for sure.  They also said that if we really wanted we could get xrays/ultrasounds, but the vet didn't think it was necessary quite yet.  I want to make sure if something is really wrong with her, that it gets caught early.  I made that mistake with the kitty we got at the same time as her.  By the time I really figured out something was wrong it was too late.  :-(

Click to expand...

How is her appetite?  Normal, greater than usual, or lower?

Her appetite seems normal. Nothing out of the ordinary really. She even wanted to go outside and explore yesterday. (she is with me on a leash in our back yard only)

lismo said:

Her appetite seems normal. Nothing out of the ordinary really. She even wanted to go outside and explore yesterday. (she is with me on a leash in our back yard only)

Click to expand...

ok well blood work is indicated.