Cat has lost a little bit of weight, should I be worried?

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

She's got an electronic scale that is sensitive enough to pick up his weight. He went from 14 lbs down to 13.6 lbs so I think he'll be ok. If he loses anymore it's off to the vet. I think the issue may have been that he didn't really enjoy the food that my mom picked up for him. It was Iams indoor hairball control. He usually gets the orange bag of food.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

His weight is down to 12.1 lbs. Have an appt with the vets for next Monday. Expecting parasites or cancer.

 

[fionasmom]

Please let us know.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

It's looking more and more like gastrointestinal cancer.

Today dark tarry stools and another half a pound shed. I'm probably going to end up saying goodbye on Monday.

 

[fionasmom]

I am sorry that it might be going this way. Have a conversation on Monday with all questions you have. Intestinal lymphoma can be treated and managed. While you certainly need to make your own decision based on what you find, cats do tolerate the chemotherapy (pill form) in that type of cancer without too many complications.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

My main concern is that I am unemployed and living off a personal injury settlement from a car accident. I'm not sure how much the pills cost but I can't really afford intravenous or intramuscular shots every few months. I'm seeing they run up to $500 a pop.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Just did a quick search and found out Chemo pills for dogs run $1k for a 30 day supply, there's no way I can afford cancer treatment for the cat. Even if I did he would waste away before there was any noticeable effect with the rate at which he's dropping weight. He's almost down to 10 lbs as it is.

If Xrays show tumors I'm just going to say my goodbyes and authorize euthanasia before he ends up emaciated like my last cat. It's just a shame he only made it to 8 years old.

 

[fionasmom]

I absolutely understand what you are saying. The chemo pills are expensive, prednisolone (which is often used in intestinal lymphoma) is much less expensive; however, the very quick weight loss is not a good sign and your decision to allow him to pass before anything progresses further is certainly made with his welfare at heart.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Spending quality time with my boy. The scale wouldn't even register him today which means he's less than 11 pounds.
View attachment 20220408_102159.jpg

 

[fionasmom]

He is a beautiful boy, and that is a very loving picture of the two of you. He has clearly had wonderful care in his life. Yes, spend quality time with him. To be honest, that is the most important thing to him...that he can be with you.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

Ah boy this is embarrassing, apparently my mom's scale isn't very consistent with low weight. I weighed him holding him this time and he's 13.2 lbs.

 

[fionasmom]

It is hard to weigh in that manner and inconsistencies are not unexpected. You aren't doing anything wrong.

 

[FeebysOwner]

What prompted the idea that your cat might have gastrointestinal cancer - the tarry stools and weight loss? Well, you now know the weight loss is not as worrisome as you thought - so, that is good news. Could the coloring of the stool be related to the food he is eating?

You might collect a sample of his stool to take with you so the vet can test it for various issues. If you collect the stool, you can bag it (it won't hurt if there is some litter on it) and refrigerate it for several hours ahead of the vet visit and it should still be viable for tests. You can ask the vet about a fecal PCR test which looks not only for various parasites, but for bacterial/viral issues as well.

Also, know that if something does show up on the x-rays, it does not automatically mean cancer. If something is seen, it could lead to an ultrasound and a fine needle aspiration (FNA) can be done if there is any 'suspicious' looking tissue - which may be very helpful in determining what is going on with your cat. Although, the ultrasound and FNA are not cheap.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

What prompted the idea that your cat might have gastrointestinal cancer - the tarry stools and weight loss? Well, you now know the weight loss is not as worrisome as you thought - so, that is good news. Could the coloring of the stool be related to the food he is eating?

You might collect a sample of his stool to take with you so the vet can test it for various issues. If you collect the stool, you can bag it (it won't hurt if there is some litter on it) and refrigerate it for several hours ahead of the vet visit and it should still be viable for tests. You can ask the vet about a fecal PCR test which looks not only for various parasites, but for bacterial/viral issues as well.

Also, know that if something does show up on the x-rays, it does not automatically mean cancer. If something is seen, it could lead to an ultrasound and a fine needle aspiration (FNA) can be done if there is any 'suspicious' looking tissue - which may be very helpful in determining what is going on with your cat. Although, the ultrasound and FNA are not cheap.

I had a few people on Facebook tell me that it was most likely caused by the miralax.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I had a few people on Facebook tell me that it was most likely caused by the miralax.

What was caused by miralax? The tarry stools, weight loss, and/or cancer? Never heard of that before. I am not going to say it is impossible, but highly unlikely. Weight loss might be if one were to give their cat too much miralax causing continual diarrhea, but that is about as far as I could venture any possible issue with using it.

 

[Bigglesworth'sDad]

What was caused by miralax? The tarry stools, weight loss, and/or cancer? Never heard of that before. I am not going to say it is impossible, but highly unlikely. Weight loss might be if one were to give their cat too much miralax causing continual diarrhea, but that is about as far as I could venture any possible issue with using it.

The black sticky stools. They've since returned to a normal brown color.