Anything wrong with my cat. Skinnier in the back.

I have a cat named Socks who is 13 years soon to be 14 years old.  He seems healthy, drinks water and eats cat food for urinal track.  When we got him when he was only 5 months old he use to swat in the litter box had trouble peeing.  After we changed his food he is fine.

My question is since last year I notice that he is skinny in the back where is legs are.


Is there anything to be worried about.  He acts normal and everthing.  Also I notice from a earlier picture when he was only a few months old that his fur use to be blacker but now it is more dull.

Hello! It's never a bad idea to get a senior blood panel and check up for an older kitty. I would highly recommend starting there!

Second the senior blood panel! My Skye is the same age as your Socks and she's in pretty good health for a lady of (equivalent to) 72 years old. She has senior lab work and exams every 6 months. So far, so good... but she's also looking a little skinny in the hips and thighs. Many cats, like older people, do lose some muscle mass as they age. It's part of getting older.

New nutritional guidelines for cats no longer advocate "automatically" reducing protein and calories just because a cat is now a senior. Traditionally, senior diets had lower levels of protein and calories because it was thought that a) lower protein levels meant less work for the kidneys, and b) older cats are less active and may be prone to obesity if fed the same amount of calories as a younger active cat.

What has been shown is that older cats often have a harder time absorbing nutrition and energy from their food. A lot of older cats have GI issues like IBD, or other malabsorption issues. They don't utilize the nutrients in food as efficiently as younger cats. So, they really do need more calories per unit of weight than a younger cat. As for protein and kidneys-- it's been demonstrated that phosphates (phosphorus) is harder on kidneys than proteins. In addition, protein helps the body maintain a steady level of glucose. Diets higher in carbohydrates cause a "flare" effect, a surge in blood sugar soon after eating, followed by a more rapid burn-out. Protein, good quality protein, is used over a longer term than fast-burning carbs. Fats also provide a short to mid-term source of energy. Cats process fats differently than we do, and can thrive with a bit higher level of fat in their diets than we can. Fats provide a calorie dense food source for older cats who may not be able to eat as much. Good quality protein in the diet helps slow or prevent the cat's body from "catabolizing" its own muscle

(Catabolism isn't a funny pun on 'cat metabolism'. In this sense, it means the wasting away of lean muscle tissue. Catabolism is the breaking down of things - a series of degradative chemical reactions that break down complex molecules into smaller units, and in most cases releasing energy in the process. It's what takes place when the body begins to consume its own fat and muscle during periods of malnourishment or "starvation")

So a good senior work-up is in order, and based on the results and whether there's an issue found in the testing-- a discussion about a good senior diet is in order. If there is an age-related condition, that can often be helped with a targeted diet and appropriate medications.

Nutrition isn't just about filling a hungry tummy. It's about supporting that complicated, finely tuned purring "machine" we call a cat. 

Thanks.  What about his fur turning grayer?  Looking at earlier pictures his fur was more black than it is now;

reddice said:

 
Thanks.  What about his fur turning grayer?  Looking at earlier pictures his fur was more black than it is now;

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Normal!  Skye is gray already-- but she has little silver flecks and some "bronzing" in her fur now. She was a really clear blue-gray as a young adult but now we see the silver and bronze shades and flecks of white in her muzzle. This "graying" shows up more in darker cats like your Socks and my Skye. Orange cats, on the other hand, often "fade" and turn lighter. Still others don't change much at all, but may get a few random white hairs here and there.

It's just like people... some people's hair will turn all silver (cats don't do this), some folks hair will just sort of fade or turn brassy (a lot of cats fall into this group), some people turn "salt and pepper" (that's like me and my brother... thank you, Grandma!), some never turn white, and a few lucky souls just go bald (generally NOT the case with cats!)

Nothing to worry about...our cats are just "turning silver", so to speak.

I have noticed the same things happening to Artie. I did chock up the thinness between the lower legs/pelvis area as it being to his IBD and weight loss. 

It does make sense that it is from aging.

I have also really noticed a lot more white in his face and head.. I am attributing that to aging. I am now starting to call him, "old man"..lovingly, of course. He does not want to play..only once in a while. I am also giving that up to his age. 

He still gets the zoomies, but not as long as he did before. and he does not want to play with his ball...we used to really have a great time with me throwing it and him running for it; and bouncing it all over. We also used to play hide and seek. I mean real hide and seek. We would take turns hiding, and then finding each other. He used to run away to hide again when he was found...now we do not do that...

He gets his senior screen twice a year and sees the specialist every 4 months or so and his regular Vet once or twice a year......I also noticed a thickening on his collar bone. I am thinking it is a nob of arthritis..It feels just like mine. Iw ill point that out to the Vet...

Artie is 12 years old. When I adopted him, he was 8 years old. I have really noticed these changes since his birthday...

But he has had so many episodes of being sick, that I am grateful for what I have with him....

Artie has also gotten a lot more cuddly.... he does like to sit on my lap a lot more than he did before. 

I also noticed that he is not as vocal as he was.....

All signs of him calming down and slowing down...He is not ancient, but he is aging....just like me....

Thanks.  He is otherwise healthy and very vocal.

LOL, Skye is 14 today and still going up on the roof! That takes a LOT of strength and agility, so I'd say she's doing well for a 72 year old woman... despite being a bit 'cow hipped' these days

Lucky started getting skinnier in the back when he was about 13-14ish also. And DEFINITELY had more white hairs on him than when he was younger. His face used to have a pure-black mask, and when he passed last November (almost 17) he had a couple streaks of white in the black, along with a LOT of white hairs in his black hair on his back. I think it's just something that comes with old age.

But with that said, definitely a good idea to get them him checked out. Now is the time they are more prone to ages associated with old age (like hyperthyroidism and CKD) so best to keep on top of that, for sure.