My 13 yr old cat is very sick

[johnstonn3]

I am new to this community and am looking to see if anybody might have an idea what is wrong with my cat. Snowball is 13 and we have had her since she was 1. She is an indoor/outdoor cat and has been her entire life. She has always been petite, but in the last 6-12 months she has lost an abnormal amount of weight. We live right next to the woods and she has always enjoyed hunting, she would catch chipmunks, squirrels, etc (sorry if that bothers anyone, not much you can do when she’s outside), but lately her mobile skills have declined enormously. She has been to the vet 3 times in the past month, at first they thought it was allergies, then they gave her steroids. They have taken bloodwork and tested a stool sample and said everything looked fine. She is to the point where she is having trouble walking, she almost moves in slow motion. 100% different to the way she was just a year ago. Other than that her symptoms have been cloudy eyes, gunk/build up around her eyes, nose, and mouth. A very harsh cough that comes and goes. Extreme weight loss. I refuse to believe this is just allergies, as quite honestly it looks right she’s ready to fall over and not get back up. I am going to attach 2 pictures I took the other day before she went to the vet. She has since been cleaned up but she goes back to the vet this weekend so if anybody has any idea on what this could be please reply. My family and I love Snowball and I do believe if we figure out what she is sick with and if there’s a way to treat it that she could have several more good years in her. Any information would be much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[maggie101]

If she is having trouble walking she needs to stay inside. It will be hard since she's been outside most of her life. You can build a catio. What do you feed her? Are her litterboxes inside and uncovered?when I took my old cat in,the vet could not find anything wrong with her so she went to a specialit,specialist, an ultrasound, and concluded she had IBD. I am surprised the vet doesn't consider URI

 

[johnstonn3]

We voiced that concern to the vet and she said if she has been going outdoors her whole life to continue letting her out or else she could experience shock and make it worse. She eats Purina One tender selects blend with chicken. I recently started mixing in some purina one wet food to try to make her gain some weight, she likes the wet food. Her litter box is in the laundry room, indoors and uncovered. Thank you for your reply

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I'm having trouble understanding your vet, since it's entirely possible that what's going on here is something she came into contact with outside.

You will want to provide her with more wet food so that she gains more strength. There are other things to give her as well, such as a little butter, Tomlyns nutrical, Wellness Core Pate, and some ideas in this article;
How To Get A Cat To Gain Weight – TheCatSite Articles

Would your vet be willing to consult with other vets or a university medical veterinary department? Has she ingested something she shouldn't have? Did they take xrays? What's causing the cough? etc etc - do you have a different vet you can talk with?

 

[johnstonn3]

I am going to look into to some of those weight gain options. As far as ingesting something she shouldn’t have, it is likely however this problem has been ongoing and slowly progressing since the beginning of 2021. It started with weight loss and just looking skinnier in general, then she started walking slower, would not move as much in general, and the facial symptoms that you can see in the picture have all been in the last 30 days. I can’t say there have been any times I have been aware that she has ingested something she shouldn’t have, but over her life if she has had diarrhea or something (does not happen often), she is usually fine the next day. We do have a couple other vets in the area that we have used in the past so I will be looking for other opinions if this weekend is not promising.

 

[maggie101]

When my cats were kittens they ate wellness core chicken,turkey,chicken liver pate. Unfortunately very expensive now.

Wellness Core Paté Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver Review
Wellness Core Paté Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver
Quick Analysis
Ingredients:
Nutrition:
Potential Allergens: seafood
Est. Calories: 114 cal/100g
Price: $$$$$
Overall, Wellness Core Paté Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver is a significantly above average cat food, earning 9 out of a possible 10 paws based on its nutritional analysis and ingredient list. For more information on our cat food analysis techniques, please click here.

Please note that CatFoodDB may earn a small commission on purchases made via links on this site. Thanks for your support!

Ingredient Analysis
When evaluating a cat food, the first five ingredients can tell you a lot about the quality of a product as they make up the bulk of the product. Ideally, you're looking for quality protein sources with a minimum of cheap starches, fillers or by-products. Continuing down the ingredient list, look for ingredients that resemble real food with a minimal number of unpronounceable chemicals - the same as you would for human food.

Wellness Core Paté Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver includes the following:

Quality Ingredients
chicken
turkey
chicken liver
chicken meal
turkey liver
Questionable Ingredients
guar gum
Potential Allergens
salmon oil
Note - a bolded ingredient in the above tables indicates it is one of the first five ingredients listed by the product manufacturer.

In this case, Wellness Core Paté Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver's most plentiful ingredient listed is chicken, which is considered a quality protein source. It also contains turkey, chicken liver and chicken meal as additional quality protein sources.
Additionally, it's worth noting that this product does not list either by-products nor bulk-adding fillers within its top ingredients. By-products are considered inferior, lesser quality ingredients. Common fillers typically used to add bulk to the product are not required in your cat's diet. Together, their combined absence may be indicative of a higher quality product.

Please also be aware that this product contains guar gum, which is an additive that some experts claim may be a possible contributor to certain medical conditions in cats.

Allergen alert: This product contains salmon oil which may be problematic for cats who suffer from seafood food allergies.

Nutritional Analysis*
Compared to the other 3126 cat foods in our database, Wellness Core Paté Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver has:

more protein than average
significantly fewer carbohydrates than average
significantly more fat than average
less fiber than average
In general, cats have been shown to do better with a higher protein, medium fat, lower carb diet with sufficient moisture. However, specialty diets as recommended by your veterinarian may prioritize a different nutritional breakdown.
Calorie Breakdown
Using the calculations provided by the AAFCO, Wellness Core Paté Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver has approximately 114 calories per 100g (32 calories/ounce), which is considerably more calories compared to the average of the other wet cat foods in the CatFoodDB.

 

[Furballsmom]

Unfortunately very expensive now.

The OP could rotate it with other options, that could help with cost.

she could experience shock and make it worse

since the beginning of 2021

Got it.

There are lots of methods by which to help your cat adjust (noting that if she's feeling this yucky, she may not really notice that she's not allowed out). You could even set up an outside enclosure as mentioned above and also in the article I'm linking for you so that she can't go out of your sight. She doesn't have the energy right now to spend/waste on long distance roaming.

The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside – TheCatSite Articles

Ways to help her adjust could be a calming product whether treat, spray or diffuser, and cat music could be a wonderful thing for her during this time. There's Relax My Cat, MusicForCats, and spotify et al have harp music and other selections for cats.

This thread's intent is different from your situation but there are some things mentioned that may be of help for extra tempting things to add for the weight issue;
What else besides FortiFlora?

 

[Furballsmom]

Poor sweetheart, my thoughts and prayers are with all of you

Here's one more thing, even though your baby is eating, with ideas to help regarding food. I realize that the weight loss may be challenging to overcome.
Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!

edited to add this link

WELLNESS CORE Signature Selects Seafood Selection Variety Pack Canned Cat Food, 2.8-oz, case of 8 - Chewy.com

 

[maggie101]

My apartment is somewhat catified. Also feed lots of wild birds for them to watch and a cd with animals

And a variety of wand toys I play with them

 

[johnstonn3]

Thank you. I am going to take a look at those links and take all of your advice into consideration. We really just want to figure out what is causing this so hopefully we get some answers soon

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things go -

 

[silent meowlook]

It may have been already answered and I missed it. Did they do chest x-rays to look at the lungs? Did they do blood work, or any other diagnostics?

I hate to even bring this up, but Squamous cell carcinoma is seen more in white cats, especially ones that go outside. The following is the link to information from the MERK Vet manual

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01652176.1996.9694655

 

[silent meowlook]

I am sorry your cat is not doing well. I hope for the best for both of you.

 

[fionasmom]

I see your point that these symptoms are ongoing with no relief or improvement. You said that your vet did something about allergies, or supposed allergies, used steriods, and checked blood and stool. I assume that these were the most routine type tests though and I think that further diagnostics should be done. I am not trying to spend your money; a good vet will have some instinct as for which type of tests will show the most or give the strongest clue as to what is wrong. Can you consult with another vet not in the same practice, or ask your vet to interface with a teaching university or referral clinic as was suggested?