New owner, Advice please.

cat lover 16

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Hi, I'm new to The Cat Site.

Anyway I have a 16 year old male cat who has been fixed and he's an inside-outside cat he doesn't go out very often. But when he does go out there he eats the grass. I also have a female cat who just had pyro Mitra and he had to have an operation and almost died. Long story short the female who had pyro Mitra got out came back had worms in my male cat who is 16 call the worms also we do want both of them after my female 7 year old cat got better from surgery. My now older cat who is 16 has lost a dramatic amount of weight since you gotten sick and got surgery and they both got worms. I'm not sure if this is because of his age or if there's something wrong with him. I feel his hip and his back bones and it is freaking me out. He's always been a huge cat he was 26 pounds at one time I put him on a diet I think he went down and at least 16 pounds and now that my female cat got sick he seemed to lose a lot of weight. I'm not sure if it's because he's eating grass outside from time to time or if there is something wrong with him he seems to have a good appetite. He eat. I give him GNC senior vitamins. And I also give him GNC digestive vitamins. Not sure what to do how can I get him to gain weight. Please help me my heart is breaking. I can't imagine myself without him here.
 
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flojo75

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First step, I would think, would be to offer her the highest-quality (i.e. grain-free) canned foods you can get your hands on. Nature's Variety Instincts, Evo 95% Meat, some Wellness, Natural Balance, Felidae and Go! Natural are all good choices. A rotation through several of these would be better than a diet of only one or two.

I would also feed her at least three times a day; if you can, four would be even better - cats often consume more in total when they're fed several smaller meals (not to mention, it's just better for them).

Then (looking at this strictly from a nutritional / weight perspective), I'd start adding real meat to her diet. Little bits of chicken, beef, turkey, any non-enhanced meat (which means no deli bits, etc.).

You can add real meat up to 10% of her diet (after that, you'll need to start balancing the raw meat with bone-in meals and organ meats).
Don't worry about your cat eating grass they do it to help them to help them sick up fur balls, all cats do it.
 

margd

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 I have a 16 year old male cat who has been fixed and he's an inside-outside cat he doesn't go out very often. But when he does go out there he eats the grass. I also have a female cat who just had pyro Mitra and he had to have an operation and almost died. Long story short the female who had pyro Mitra got out came back had worms in my male cat who is 16 call the worms also we do want both of them after my female 7 year old cat got better from surgery. My now older cat who is 16 has lost a dramatic amount of weight since you gotten sick and got surgery and they both got worms. I'm not sure if this is because of his age or if there's something wrong with him. I feel his hip and his back bones and it is freaking me out. He's always been a huge cat he was 26 pounds at one time I put him on a diet I think he went down and at least 16 pounds and now that my female cat got sick he seemed to lose a lot of weight. I'm not sure if it's because he's eating grass outside from time to time or if there is something wrong with him he seems to have a good appetite. He eat. I give him GNC senior vitamins. And I also give him GNC digestive vitamins. Not sure what to do how can I get him to gain weight. Please help me my heart is breaking. I can't imagine myself without him here.
Your male cat needs to go to the vet ASAP.  A bit of grass eating will not cause him to lose the weight, although it might be an indication that he doesn't feel well.  The fact that he is 16 years old and losing weight for no apparent reason does mean he needs medical attention.  I hope you find it is nothing serious and that he is easily treated and back to his old weight in no time. 
 
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cat lover 16

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I forgot to also say you have them on a natural or grain-free diet I already have that I give them wet food and dry food of it all I give them one can of wet food cut in between both of them a day and I keep basically down the drive thru all day long for both of them. I give them Purina Beyond. I don't know if that's a good enough natural food for them I know it's all green free or by-product free. So I didn't know if there was any type of Weight Gainer I could give him. All I know is I need him to gain weight. Cuz if you were to get sick at this point I don't think he would make it because of how much weight he seems to be losing. Have you ever given your cats panacur? A neighbor of mine told me maybe I should put panacur in his wet food for 5 days because it kills all types of parasites and everything in any type of worms so since I did warn them both in the past about a month ago she had suggested that maybe I should read the room again and also give him give them both the panacur because it also just parasites. I was afraid if I would give that it might make him lose more weight. I'm at a loss right now.
 

margd

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I just answered your other post but wanted to reaffirm that I think he needs to see the vet.  Because he's getting up there in years, it is a good idea to have the vet check out the weight loss.  It might be something as simple as needing another deworming or a change of diet but you need to test for any of the diseases that tend to show up in senior cats.  Many of these diseases can be treated so don't give up hope yet! Your boy might have many more years with you.
 

donutte

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Agreed, they should run a blood panel and urine test to check the thyroid and kidneys, among other things. Eating a lot - I know you said appetite was good, but is he eating a lot more than normal? - is a classic sign of hyper-t, but the blood work would tell you for sure. Peeing a lot could mean a number of things that the tests should also show.
 
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cat lover 16

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Thank you Margd. I wrote a response on the 1st post that I put up as a response if you wouldn't mind going there reading it I also think I sent you an email. I hope I'm using this site the right way and thank you for all the information you gave me so far.

Thank you also Donutte before the information that you gave me off so I appreciate all of it.
 

margd

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Thank you Margd. I wrote a response on the 1st post that I put up as a response if you wouldn't mind going there reading it I also think I sent you an email. I hope I'm using this site the right way and thank you for all the information you gave me so far.

Thank you also Donutte before the information that you gave me off so I appreciate all of it.
I did get your PMs and am going to answer them later this evening.  I have some stuff I need to take care of first. 
 
 
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jennyr

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Cats often eat grass to help their digestive systems, or if they feel unwell. The weight loss is more likely to be the symptom of another illness, not the illness in itself, so you need to find out what is wrong rather than just putting more calories into him, though keeping him eating is important. If he is eating well and still losing weight it is a sign that something is very wrong. It could be kidney disease (very common in older cats), liver problems, cancer, arthritis that causes muscle loss, worms or a number of other things. He really must have a full medical check.

I feel for you, it is awful to have a cat that has been your companion for many years be obviously unwell and to feel you can't help, but in this case you do need professional advice that we cannot give over the internet. I hope you find the solution and that it is something treatable. Your cat may be suffering - cats hide pain very well, and needs you to find help.
 
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cat lover 16

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I found out what's wrong with my cat I took him to the vet and they said he has diabetes. I have him on fluids at home or put it underneath the skin. He also has a UTI. They gave me medicine for that. Now I am trying to get his insolent that he needs. It is $300 and after all the vet visits and other medicine I don't have the money for his diabetes medicine. Is anybody know of any places that help with that when it comes to pets some type of organization or something I'm in desperate need to get his sugar down his sugar is up in the 600. They also said everything else looks good except for his kidneys but they think that that has to do with his infection from the UTI but they said it is very important that I get him medicine as soon as possible for his diabetes. Is there anybody out there knows any places that help with that please my heart is breaking and I'm trying everything to save my baby
 

catpack

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The only find I know if off the top of my head is the Red Rover fund (http://redrover.org)

I have no personal experience with diabetes; however, I do know that some people have had good luck with putting their diabetic cat on canned-only diets and taking the kibble out. The kibble is high in carbs (regardless if it is grain-free or not.). Carbs are turned into sugar and thus, can contribute to elevated glucose levels.

I know several people have had luck using Fancy Feast pate (called "classic" here in the States) as it it a high protein, low carb canned food.

However, there are plenty of other options, depending on your budget and what is available in your area.
 
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