Muscle Wasting

[snowyowl1]

I am very concerned about my cat's low weight and muscle wasting. He has had soft stools since the end of 2015. My vet told me to put myTimothy on Royal Canin Gastro food, which is mainly grains and is a high fibre diet to firm up his stools. It turned out my cat was hyperthyroid and that probably gave him soft stools. My vet had said my cat probably has a hard time digesting protein. I can't believe that I believed that nonesense! It took my vet 1.5 years or 5-6 different vet visits and many series of tests to figure out that he was hyperthyroid ! So in the mean time Timone had alot of muscle wasting from being on a mostly grain diet and being hyperthyroid. Because my vet couldn't figure out what was wrong and treat the underlying cause of his soft stools she decided to put him on a diet that is better suited for a cow than a cat. When I had resisted her advice early on and slowly overtime gave him a protein diet he got diariah and this makes sense since high fibre was keeping his stools firm. My cat is now on Hill's yd wet and dry, another low protein too many grains diet to control his hyperthyroid. He was allergic to thyroid pills and the only other option I seem to have is this awful food which is making his long term muscle wasting of close to two years now so much worse. I am frustrated that some vets don't seem to realize that a cat is a carnivore and not a herbivor and I wish they would stop pushing these awful foods onto vulnerable pet parents who are told that this is what their cat needs to get better. These vet brand food companies like Hill's and Royal Canin need to be held accountable for the times that they make pets sicker. I feel I can't depend on vets anymore to help improve my cat's health.

 

[Azazel]

I feel your pain.

Many cat parents have had horrible experiences with vets just not understanding cats fully or not taking the time to diagnose a situation properly. I always say to trust your gut instincts. If you don’t feel good about a vet find another one. Keep looking until you find one you trust. There are good ones out there, but sometimes it takes time to find them.

 

[duckpond]

Tiki cat the chicken flavors, and Almo nature complete foods, or the supplemental foods for occasional feedings are about the highest protein wet foods i have found. Would your vet ok adding a can of something like this to the daily diet, as a way to up the protein?

 

[lisahe]

I feel your pain.

Many cat parents have had horrible experiences with vets just not understanding cats fully or not taking the time to diagnose a situation properly. I always say to trust your gut instincts. If you don’t feel good about a vet find another one. Keep looking until you find one you trust. There are good ones out there, but sometimes it takes time to find them.

I second Azazel's thought about finding another vet. If there's a cat specialist in your area, S snowyowl1 , that might be something to look into. We had a similar experience with our previous cat at an "all-animals" vet clinic but taking our new cats to a cat specialist is a much different experience. Among other things, she knows how to feed cats!

 

[snowyowl1]

I feel your pain.

Many cat parents have had horrible experiences with vets just not understanding cats fully or not taking the time to diagnose a situation properly. I always say to trust your gut instincts. If you don’t feel good about a vet find another one. Keep looking until you find one you trust. There are good ones out there, but sometimes it takes time to find them.

Thanks Azazal for replying to my post. I've had my Timothy aka Timone at 3 different vet clinics and all 3 vets wanted to treat him in the same way. There is a cat only clinic not too far away from me and I talked to one of their technicians on the phone about my cat's situation. The tech. told me that Hill's thyroid cat food was a very good high quality food for my cat, when that food is mostly plant protein.

 

[Azazel]

Thanks Azazal for replying to my post. I've had my Timothy aka Timone at 3 different vet clinics and all 3 vets wanted to treat him in the same way. There is a cat only clinic not too far away from me and I talked to one of their technicians on the phone about my cat's situation. The tech. told me that Hill's thyroid cat food was a very good high quality food for my cat, when that food is mostly plant protein.

I would look for an integrative vet for diet advice (holistic and conventional). They usually know more about diet. A cats only vet will be better for general medical issues but not necessarily for diet.

 

[snowyowl1]

Tiki cat the chicken flavors, and Almo nature complete foods, or the supplemental foods for occasional feedings are about the highest protein wet foods i have found. Would your vet ok adding a can of something like this to the daily diet, as a way to up the protein?

Thanks for your reply. I would gladly feed my cat almost any animal protein food but because Timothy has a faulty thyroid he can only have Hill's yd in wet and dry. He can't even have his teeth brushed with vet approved toothpaste. Extremely strict diet ! I can only use water and a toothbrush. Hill's has the patent for thyroid cat food so no other company can produce it.

 

[snowyowl1]

I would look for an integrative vet for diet advice (holistic and conventional). They usually know more about diet. A cats only vet will be better for general medical issues but not necessarily for diet.

I second Azazel's thought about finding another vet. If there's a cat specialist in your area, S snowyowl1 , that might be something to look into. We had a similar experience with our previous cat at an "all-animals" vet clinic but taking our new cats to a cat specialist is a much different experience. Among other things, she knows how to feed cats!

Thanks

 

[snowyowl1]

If anyone knows of a animal based protein powder without ANY iron in it at all and made for cats kindly please let me know !