Hi...I'm new here. My 11 year old cat Heeby has always had very soft stool and vomiting at least once every several days..usually soon after eating. I ruled out parasites because her 13 year old companion has never developed diarrhea nor shown any signs of illness. Heeby has always had a great attitude despite her internal problems. Last year she began dripping diarrhea uncontrollably everywhere. I put her on Iams hairball formula dry food and within a week the dripping went away, her vomiting became rare and this pretty much confirmed my suspicions of her lifelong sensitivity to food. I never took her to the vet because, as stupid as this sounds, none of her signs of illness ever affected her bubbly hyper personality..and I knew tests for food allergies were so much more expensive than I could afford.
One thing, however, has not gone away. Heeby's odor. It smells like feces and the odor comes from her entire body, not her backside. She has crusty areas on her body that I assumed was flea bite allergies but now I really don't know.
Has anyone else here ever had an elderly cat that smells really bad? I fear from what I've researched on that Heeby may suffer from chronic renal failure. This might explain the strong odor since I assume it's linked to her body's inability to completely get rid of waste. She has a decent but not overly active bladder (pees several times per day with decent amounts but nothing alarming about this). She still has soft waste but no different than when she was younger. She has a healthy appetite and drinks just as much water as my other cats but not so much as to make me think she is dehydrated or ailing.
Heeby has lost a lot of weight since a year ago. She is a medium frame but weighs only 5.5 pounds, as opposed to her previous weight of 9 pounds a few years ago.. And she does act depressed from time to time but I assumed it's due to the new kitten in our home that has taken center stage.
Any info anyone can give would be greatly appreciated. I love Heebs as if she were my own child and it scares me that she is suffering from a deadly disease/disorder that might be treatable. I know I need to have her tested but for whatever reason I'm in desperate need of preparation of what the outcome of the results could be. Thanks for listening..
- cOOkie -
One thing, however, has not gone away. Heeby's odor. It smells like feces and the odor comes from her entire body, not her backside. She has crusty areas on her body that I assumed was flea bite allergies but now I really don't know.
Has anyone else here ever had an elderly cat that smells really bad? I fear from what I've researched on that Heeby may suffer from chronic renal failure. This might explain the strong odor since I assume it's linked to her body's inability to completely get rid of waste. She has a decent but not overly active bladder (pees several times per day with decent amounts but nothing alarming about this). She still has soft waste but no different than when she was younger. She has a healthy appetite and drinks just as much water as my other cats but not so much as to make me think she is dehydrated or ailing.
Heeby has lost a lot of weight since a year ago. She is a medium frame but weighs only 5.5 pounds, as opposed to her previous weight of 9 pounds a few years ago.. And she does act depressed from time to time but I assumed it's due to the new kitten in our home that has taken center stage.
Any info anyone can give would be greatly appreciated. I love Heebs as if she were my own child and it scares me that she is suffering from a deadly disease/disorder that might be treatable. I know I need to have her tested but for whatever reason I'm in desperate need of preparation of what the outcome of the results could be. Thanks for listening..
- cOOkie -
