Unexpected low energy level

[bebemau]

Hello forum!

My 6 year old is not as active and not playing like he normally does. Everything including eating drinking peeing and pooping is normal, just very quiet. He is one of those cats who would normally knock things off counter, see everything as toys, and do random zoomies. I also notice he is not grooming as often.

Went to the vet last week and did a blood test. Vet couldnt find anything wrong. Does anyone have similar experience with their cats? Any feedback is s greatly appreciated.

 

[Alldara]

Hi Bebemau! Great that you took him to the vet for the subtle change and great that he has a clean bill of health.

How's the weather been where you are located?

Has he been sneezing or snoring?

 

[bebemau]

Hi Bebemau! Great that you took him to the vet for the subtle change and great that he has a clean bill of health.

How's the weather been where you are located?

Has he been sneezing or snoring?

Hi Alldara,

Weather has been mild, stable, some days cooler than others, but nothing too abnormal for this time of the year. No sneezing but he does blow from his nose often which the vet deemed normal. Snoring i havent heard anything abnormal. He does have feline asthma so he breathes on the heavier side.

i just brought out his favorite toy he normally would go crazy and jump up, down and around, he did want to play but he just sat there which is very unusual.

Also want to add he is on appetite stimulant. His appetite goes up and down more so in the past few months. He was at ER in October, found nothing after xray and ultrasound. I really wish i could say he has a clean bill of health

 

[silent meowlook]

Things can change quickly in a cat. I would consider a second opinion to try to figure out what is going on with him. Cats hide pain and illness. If you think something might be wrong, it is. The quicker you get to the bottom of it the better.

 

[Antonio65]

Do your cat's labs include a complete electrolytes panel?
Sometimes these levels have to be specifically requested, they're not always default.
Are they fine? Especially potassium?

 

[bebemau]

Thanks for the replies! I will call the vet today and discuss. Regarding the blood panel, i didnt specifically ask for anything I just let the vet decide, and based on the blood test result, vet said nothing obvious. Here is the report, potassium seems to be in normal range(?)

 

[Antonio65]

The Potassium level is still within the range but more towards the low side, and the CPK is extremely low.
This is a muscle enzyme that marks the level of muscle activity. In all my cats, this level has always been within the range or even over, because it's very sensitive to the stress or tension, and even a simple blood sampling can increase it due to the stress of the moment. This can be particularly visible in less friendly cats.

Due to a past experience of mine with my previous cat (and the difficulty in the diagnosis of her issue), I am always focused on particular levels when a cat shows a reduced energy or activity.
I'd ask your vet for an explanation on these two levels.

My cat was eventually diagnosed with hyperaldosteronism after being less active and with a reduced level of strength.

 

[bebemau]

Thanks Antonio65, that is really good to know!

This is what my vet said when replying with the results:
"Attached is the bloodwork for Mosko. It shows a stress leukogram on the CBC and all other values are normal. This finding is common with a stress response to coming to the clinic.
The urine sample shows a concentration that is higher than usual, but this is not a problem as long as Mosko is eating and drinking normally. Canned food can help with this."

When she says CBC, she meant CPK?

 

[Antonio65]

No, CBC means Complete Blood Count, CPK means Creatine PhosphoKinase.
I'm not seeing a stress leukogram condition in that CBC. The only two levels to focus on, in my opinion, are CPK and Potassium.

Edit: canned wet food can be added with extra water to increase its moisture level. I always add three or four teaspoons of water to my cats' wet meals.

 

[bebemau]

Thank you so much Antonio65, this is really good information, the type of education pet owners need.

I have been calling my vet the whole morning usually they pick up quickly. They must be busy, and i am getting restless calling every 15 minutes.......

 

[Antonio65]

I hope you get good answers and advice to your questions.

Please, note that most vets know nearly nothing, or absolutely nothing, about hyperaldosteronism. I took two months to find a vet who was able to diagnose my cat.
I'm not saying that your Mosko has this disease, but given my bad experience I tend to be wary of this.

 

[bebemau]

I finally called a different vet since my regular vet is still not calling me back.

I know what you mean, it also is true about human doctor I guess, that you dont know if the one you are seeing is good enough to help with the type of issue at hand.

Thanks again Antonio65, I will definitely ask about the low CPK and potassium. Can I please ask a favor, can you describe all the symptoms (early to later) of hyperaldosteronism?

 

[bebemau]

Got a reply from vet, this is what she said:

CPK is only a concern when high. This indicates muscle damage. We will see this value in the thousands after an animal is hit by a car. No worries for Mosko.

 

[Antonio65]

Alright, it makes sense. Any trauma or incident or stress can trigger a high CPK.
Just I never saw such a low level, even in the most cooperative cat.

As for symptoms of hyperaldosteronism.
My cat started with an unusual weakness, tiredness. She started moving less and less, until she couldn't even stand and started wobbling and later on falling on a side.
The top of her symptoms was when she couldn't even feel like walking to the litter box and she would pee and poop in her bed. She had to be hand fed.

She was seen by 12 vets at 7 different practices and clinics over a period of 7 weeks, until I had the luck of finding a great vet who was able to detect and interpret the symptoms as the ones of one of the rarest cat disease ever.

We were running a blood panel at least twice a week. The decreasing level of the Potassium was what helped this vet diagnose my cat.
Thanks to this vet I was able to start the proper course of action and therapy and my cat recovered very quickly.

 

[bebemau]

Thank you for the description, doesnt it feel good you have a good vet on contact list! Also I was hoping to see your location be the same as mine

May I ask how old was your cat when she started displaying those symptoms? Mine is just 6.5, but he already has multiple issues like feline asthma, intestinal issues, hematoma, now whatever this is....

 

[Antonio65]

I'm Italian and live in Italy, sorry for not being of help to locate a good vet, but I am sure you can have some good alternatives in your area.

That vet became my personal hero and I switched to him and that clinic since. I think I would follow him wherever he goes should he change clinic.

My previous cats are no longer with me, I have two young cats now, but I wouldn't trust anybody else.

My cat was a one month short of 16 years when she was diagnosed, though her issues had begun two months earlier.

My cat suffered from asthma when she was a kitten, this issue disappeared shortly before her 7 month of age.
She developed a kidney disease at the age of 6, and she had been on medicine, supplements and sub cutaneous fluids till her last days, aged 17.
She was a FIV cat (we found that out when she was diagnosed with hyperaldosteronism, her previous test at 7 months of age was negative, and she was an indoor only cat...).
She would suffer from idiopathic cystitis.
She had a nasal carcinoma at the age of 11, she won her battle.
These are the major diseases she had.

 

[bebemau]

Oh my, that's tough! Lucky her having you as her human.

I got insurance for both my kitties after that one big surgery that costed me 2 arms and 2 legs. I just got an email from the insurance company that my rates will go up by 30% this year, i guess due to all the claims i have submitted lol. But now I am stuck with them since all other insurances will not cover those "pre-existing conditions".

Gracias for the help!

 

[bebemau]

Update.....

Second vet pretty much said the same thing, he most likely has IBD and I need to change his diet. Also when vet felt his spine he was twitching vet suspected he might have some kind of pain and gave him pain medicine. If changing his diet doesnt help then steroid and biopsy will be the next steps.

I cant say for sure but I feel like the pain medicine might have helped since he already showed signs of being more himself before I fed him the new food. Will check with vet what should be done to confirm and any longer term solution.

The food is the tough one, he is not really interested. Vet suggested Royal Canin Selected which is super expensive and only have two flavors. I tried both and the cat is not loving it.

Overall I think he has become more active so I am relieved, I will just need to figure out the spine and food situation.