Older cat losing weight, does not seem to be eating enough

[diane0609]

I'm am new to a forum so I am not sure how it all works, so if I should not have posted her I apologize.

I have a cat Chester that we have had for 12 years. A neighbor of my sister moved and left her and we took her in. She's a great cat and even alerted us to our house being on fire in 2008. Because of her the damage was minimal and I owe her big time!!!!

Chester being my first cat I fed her dry food, she started throwing up once in a while after she ate last year and the vet suggested that wet food might be better for her. She was only 8.6 lbs at her heaviest but now is down to 7 lbs. I had her looked at and blood work done and the vet said her blood work was very good. There was no problem. I'm feeding her Fancy Feast, she seems to like the food with gravy, but just eats 1 little can in the morning and maybe 1/2 can in the evening.

I am at a loss as to what to do, I think she is too skinny. On a side note she still has burst of playtime.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[laralove]

The Classics line of Fancy Feast is grain-free, while the other varieties are not. She may benefit from switching to those as more of it will be processed into her system. Are you able to offer her another meal in the middle of the day? Perhaps she would eat another half can then? And does she get any treats? Some healthy treats between meals may help as well.

 

[misty8723]

You might try some Fortiflora, which works with some cats as an appetite stimulant.  It's a probiotic.

 

[diane0609]

Thank you for your reply. Thanks for your advice on the Fancy Feast. I do believe I am already feeding her the other kind. I leave the food out because shes somewhat of a grazer. I also leave some dry Science diet food available for her. that's what she used to eat but wont anymore. I offer her additional food and treats and sometimes she eats them and other times she just snubs her nose at them.

 

[diane0609]

Is Fortiflora something that I would get at the vet or a health food store

 

[natalie_ca]

I would take her to the vet and get some bloodwork done on her. She could be hyperthyroid which causes weight loss, among other things.  My RB Chynna had hyperthyroidism for the last 4 years of her life.

 

[laralove]

I think she did have blood work done recently. That's how I read her first post, anyway. 

Science Diet dry is sort of terrible. Would you be able to switch to a grain-free dry?

 

[cprcheetah]

How recent was the blood work?  Did they run a Thyroid test as well?  I agree Science Diet isn't exactly the best, it's mostly full of corn and other things that Cats being carnivores shouldn't eat.

 

[diane0609]

Shes not eating the science diet anymore, She used to and I guess I leave some out just in case..

Just giving her fancy feast, also tried some other kinds of canned food, but she seems to like the fancy feast the best, She seems to have gotten very picky.

The blood work was done 2 weeks ago. the vet did a full panel to check the thyroid, diabetes, and all her other levels. She went over them with me and said they all looked good. 

Its just so frustrating, she's lost over 1 1/2 lbs and she is a small cat anyway.

I want to thank you all for your help and suggestions.

 

[laralove]

I hope things improve. I wish I had more advice. 

 

[diane0609]

Thank you. I think I am going to buy some grain free dry and try that also.

She's just such a sweet cat, she seems happy, still sleeps on my bed with me, but it worries me

I also am not sure of her age, when we got her the vet thought she was a couple of years old so that would put her around 14. And I know what that could mean...ugggggg

But I guess one day at a time. Again that you for your help and advice.

 

[cprcheetah]

Maybe talk to the vet about possible Appetite Stimulants.  They have helped my older kitty immensely. 

 

[misty8723]

Is Fortiflora something that I would get at the vet or a health food store

I got from my vet, not sure if you need a prescription.

I totally understand your concern about the weight loss.  Cindy has had every test known to cat I think and still losing or at least not gaining.  She's under 5 lbs and I'm scared to death we're going to lose her without knowing for sure why.  Don't mean to alarm you, but last year when she first started to lose weight, it was cancer.  Vet said sometimes weight loss is the only symptom and nothing shows up in the blood.  She was showing other odd behavior though.  Right now I'm scared the cancer is back and microscopic so none of the biopsies would pick it up. 

 

[diane0609]

Thank you so much for your reply.

I'm so sorry about your Cindy. Its got to be so frustrating to not have a answer. I hope that her cancer hasn't come back.

Your right you do totally understand my concern.

I have thought about the cancer thing already and I thank you for telling me about it. I had a dog that passed a couple of years ago and toward the end we tried everything to get him to eat.  So I had been wondering, but Chester is my first cat and I wasn't sure if cats would act the same. Its good to know that information too. I bought some grain free food today and she doesn't seem to like it, but she is eating the fancy feast, I don't feel enough . I just wish I could know how she is feeling, I don't want her to be in any pain or feeling awful.

Im going to look into the Fortiffora

thanks again and good luck with Cindy.

Diane

 

[mattdurkin1]

Hi Diane,

This piggybacks off Cindy's post regarding the possibility of cancer or something else like pancreatitis, IBD, or some type of gastrointestinal disease. My cat, Minnie, is currently at the emergency vet getting a biopsy for excessive weight loss. Chester sounds very much like Minnie: a small cat, suffering from weight loss with the blood work really not showing much of anything. I tried new foods, different medications, everything possible, but nothing helped.

Minnie has been suffering from weight loss and then weight gain, then weight loss again but then without the regain for the past few years. Unfortunately, this led to her losing roughly 3 lbs, and then just recently, a dramatic drop of a lb in less than a month. With her only being around 7 lb at the time, that's a pretty sharp drop. She was excessively lethargic, non-talkative - she talks all the time - barely eating, and vomiting pretty regularly, almost like clockwork. We took her to the vet who immediately recommended we take her to a specialist which we did. He also told us something that seems like a "duh" comment, like everyone should know this but have a hard time grasping: he said that it is better to treat them now rather than a few months from now when they are only 4 lbs. At that point, it is pretty much impossible to help. She stayed overnight and, as I stated at the beginning, is currently getting a biopsy. We spoke with the vet this morning who indicated that it is mostly likely either IBD or small-cell lymphoma; both are treatable and cats tend to live healthy, happy lives while being treated. So regardless of whether it is IBD or small-cell, Minnie will receive treatment that will hopefully give her her life back.

I'm saying all of this not to frighten you, but to ask your vet for advice regarding the possibility of these diseases. I understand that weight loss on its own doesn't automatically presume that Chester suffers specifically from either of these two diseases but it is something to keep in mind. But it is also important to keep in mind that they are treatable. So if you have the funds - I know that is something that tends to prevent owners from receiving more invasive treatment - as well as the services there, I recommend you taking Chester to them. I think we just want answers, not guesses, as to what is harming our pets. So by taking Chester to the vet, especially a specialist, you'll receive something that will then help you along with helping him out.

 

[jacktoby]

I had the same thing with my cats, they are picky eaters. I was lucky that I had several friends bring me in some samples of various foods, mostly dry foods. I was able to find several that they liked.

 

[raintyger]

You could try feeding higher calorie food. Wellness and Evo are higher calorie. Or kitten food.

 

[jacktoby]

I can mail you some small baggies of about 6 different dry foods? Worth a shot.

 

[jill-e]

FortiFlora is a probiotic and is very expensive, especially if you buy it from your vet, but no prescription is needed. You can use Proviable-DC instead, which is an even better, more complete probiotic, is also cheaper, and both are available online. I did a lot of research on probiotics for cats after one of mine was on antibiotics for a long time and lost 1/4 of her body weight. Both my cats are small, under 8 pounds. The one that lost so much weight has a difficult time staying over 7. They are both 13 or 14 years old too now, and both have feline herpes virus so they get sick often enough that they need to be on antibiotics and therefore also probiotics.

If you took your cat off dry food, that's great. Dry food is like crack for cats. It's also terrible for them as it dehydrates them and is generally loaded with crap ingredients. Cats aren't always big water drinkers, though mine are, but it's so dry here in Colorado. Taking your cat off wet food with grains and/or vegetable protein substitutes is great too. It's not unusual for them to loose some weight when they eat their natural diet, which should be 100% meat (not by-products, not meal, no pea proteins, no soy or other vegetable proteins either). The wet food must have the added supplements they actually do need though, such as taurine (they can go blind without it and will die), calcium, etc.. She'll loose some weight if she isn't eating those extra carbs that she doesn't need. Also carbs, such as corn, rice, etc., can lead to diabetes as most of it is GMO grown and not good for any animal, including humans, so it's great if you have her on strictly wet or raw food. If she getting pickier, that's not unusual either. Cats can get tired of the same food, day after day. Flavor variety is good for them, but be sure that when you switch her to another flavor or brand she's never eaten before to do it slowly by mixing in the new with the old, slowly decreasing the old by a little bit each day. That will prevent the cat from getting sick from the new food.

My cats both used to be over 8 pounds when they were younger, but when I took them off the dry food completely, and switched them to a 100% organic, grain-free wet food only diet, they both dropped some weight. However, all their urine and blood work is normal for cats their age. One cat developed epilepsy though last summer (2013). The medication she's on for that makes her sleep more, so I think that's partly why she dropped 1 pound, but she's stable. I went to feeding mine 3 times a day, but they still don't seem to eat as much, now that they are on a very high quality canned cat food called First Mate, to which I add a little extra hot water as I have to add in L-lysine for their feline herpes, and they like the extra water too. But, you should see how much they are peeing now! At least there's no chance of them being dehydrated

Read the ingredients on all the cat food cans. If you see by-products or meal, pea or soy protein (which are cheap protein substitutes), don't buy it. Meal and by-products are things cats don't normally eat... ground up bone, feet, beaks, feathers, etc.. Also, you should stick to things that fly or swim (duck, turkey, chicken, salmon). Fish should be limited too though (especially limit tuna!) as it's been found fish have high levels of mercury and other toxins in them.

I had been feeding my cats Newman's Own Organic canned foods (only 4 flavors), and some other organic cat foods. Recently, I noticed Newman's Own was adding pea protein, so I switched to canned foods that don't have it. Stay away from all Purina brands (which is now owned by Nestle's) too. Read the labels!

Read thecatsite.com forum on cat nutrition. A raw diet is best, if your cat will eat it, but not every cat will.

Also, read the ingredients on any cat food can before you buy it. Sometimes, though whatever the cat will eat is going to be better than nothing.

 

[jill-e]

Meant to add...
If your cat is loosing too much weight, meaning getting sickly thin, fur is dry and coming out easily, their skin is flaky, dry, itchy, claws seem to be flaking and cracking, you need to add in more healthy, natural fats in their food, over calories from carbs. If your cat is just looking leaner, and yet, is still healthy, you don't need to be too concerned.

Duck is higher in fat content than most any other cat food. Salmon also has a really good amount of healthy fat, so try feeding a little fresh, raw or canned salmon once a week. Stay away from the fish oils you can buy at the pet store though. These are way too often rancid and not very pure. You could also buy human grade cod liver oil from a good natural food store. If the cat's fur feels soft, not itchy or dry skin, likely they are doing well.