Suspect parasites... maybe?

[Tuckamukk3]

Hi. I have a cat who I'm having an increasingly hard time keeping weight on. I should mention that my 3 cats live in a building separate from the house so that I cannot witness everything that goes on in there. But I have seen more frequent vomiting that correlates with the weight problem - it is mostly just liquid btw - at least by the time I see it. Monkey is the cat with the issue. I have tried to feed him more. First I tried increasing his normal meals - I feed twice a day. The second time I instead tried to feed a small snack sized meal (30 grams) in the middle of the day. Both times, after a week to a week and a half the vomiting in the shed increases from once or twice a week to seemingly daily, like the extra food is causing a problem. This leads me to assume that Monkey is the one vomiting. Ive never seen him vomit but have no reason to think it is one of the other two. When I back off on the extra food the vomiting lessens but he gets thinner again.
Extra info - he is 7. They all are - they are siblings. I feed homemade raw but they have never had any real issues with that, except my girl needing some tweaking of bone %. Currently using feline nutrition's recipe (though I use a little more omega 3 and vitamin e). Previously used Alnutrin.

I'm wondering if this could be a parasite problem, though I see no evidence of the kind that crawl out of their butts and get in their bedding and poop and all over the place. Are there parasites that don't show themselves that way?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would think if one had parasites, the other two would as well given they all live in the same space. If the other cats aren't experiencing the same issues, and you can pinpoint the problems being with Monkey, then I am guessing something else is going on - either with a health issue of some sort or inability to tolerate your homemade raw diet.

You can take a stool sample for testing to the vet and see if they can find any parasites, which is what I would recommend as the first step. They can do a more extensive test called a full fecal PCR test, which would look for a wide array of different parasites, as well as various bacterial/viral issues.

Secondly, given their ages - they are headed into their senior years, and all should have annual full-scale vet checkups, including blood work and urinalysis. If you find nothing in the fecal PCR test, you could focus on Monkey first since you think he is the one with the issues, and have these tests run on him - including a thyroid check. Losing weight and vomiting can be a sign of hyperthyroidism.

 

[Tuckamukk3]

Thank you for the response. I don't see any problems with the others. Monkey has always been hyper and eaten a little more than his brother and still been thinner, and I always just thought it was his personality/ and the appetite from being high strung. Now I'm wondering now if he hasn't had a problem for awhile. Unfortunately I can't afford to take them in for annual exams because I have had no income for years (long story). But pretty much all the money I get for birthdays/ Christmases I save for vet visits (after other cat accessories) so I do have some saved up for when something is wrong with one of them. But it's a limited supply. I hope it's not something like thyroid but I was thinking about that. I'll take him in. I guess I'll just have to see what happens. I just hope they don't need to run endless tests or put him on expensive medication.

 

[Tuckamukk3]

Hi, just wanted to follow up. I took Monkey to the vet and they did a fecal, full blood work which included thyroid, and urinalysis. No parasites, no thyroid problems, his kidneys were fine. The only issues were very minor - slightly high cholesterol (kinda funny, just like people) which I can lower fat content in food for. He had the tiniest bit high glucose which the doc said could be from stress (he was very stressed - they had to gas him to get his fluids, apparently he got mean); he eats no carbs so it must be. And slightly concentrated urine - so they're all getting more water now.
But the vet said his weight was ok at 9lbs. He's pretty slender but not emaciated. But he's not real big. When I back off on trying to feed him extra he stops vomiting regularly, so the vet said to just feed him what he can tolerate and make sure he doesn't lose weight. He said some cats are just more slender than others - I just always figured since most people's cats are overweight my little kitty should be able to eat a bit more without puking especially since he's my foodmonger of the three. Vet also said if a cat pukes once a week or two it's not necessarily abnormal.
I don't think he has any food sensitivities to their food since he doesn't actually puke up food or react to one type more than the other. But he has been fine (no puking) since I backed off on the extra oz. of food. It's just that when it gets really cold out here I was trying to feed him extra to make sure he didn't lose weight because they live in an uninsulated building. Maybe I was overcompensating slightly. Don't know... He's kind of a freak - he's gotten into the trash twice (some time ago) and ate all kinds of garbage (like chicken styrofoam and rotten meat and God knows what else) and didn't puke at all (which was terrifying both times, as I waited for the signs of impending emergency surgery)... I feed him a little more food when it's bloody cold outside and I reason he needs the calories and he pukes. Go figure.
Anyway I finally know what's NOT wrong with him and I always learn valuable info from labs... and we're finally getting his ears cleared up! I always thought it was ear mites and I would have to treat all 3 cats - turns out it's an infection and I'm pretty sure he's the only one with the problem so he'll be a lot more comfortable.