Older Cat Sudden Unexplained Weight Loss

[heyhowie]

I am in a terrible situation and can’t determine what’s happening with my cat. He’s 16 years old and has dropped from 11 to 7 pounds in 5 months.

He’s always had health issues, but amazingly pulls through. Here’s a summary, as it can be quite lengthy.

He’s had nasal breathing issues all his life, since I got him at age 1. He was always stuffed up and would throw up mucus every so often. The stress of breathing so hard, has caused him to develop a Hiatal Hernia. However, the stomach acid does clear out the nasal passages. The Vet thinks the nasal blockage is due to scare tissue from an earlier time as a kitten. We began giving him Pheniramine Maleate, Neo Synepherine nasal drops, Tagamet, and maybe Flagyl. Nothing really seemed to make a difference.

His recent blood work has come back Negative for FIV, Diabetes, Thyroid, etc. He’s had X-rays, a Barium Enema, a Bronchoscopy, an Ultra Sound of his abdomen, and a “Moving X-ray” while swallowing Barium enriched food. The last one did diagnose the Hiatal Hernia since they could see the stomach move up into the chest. The only other diagnosis was an “Enlarged” Esophagus. He was given a special blood test to see if a known, but rare, disease that may be the cause was present….but it came back negative.
The internal medicine specialist doctor said that it was so stretched out, that we’d need to do upright feedings to ensure the food was flowing to the stomach. Perhaps this would be why so much weight was recently lost…nothing is getting down.

However, my cat still uses the litter box regularly…confirming that food is passing. Additionally, I have rarely noticed any vomit and he does not have diarrhea. He drinks plenty of water and has no problem eating his doctor recommended boiled or baked chicken and canned tuna. We also soak his dry food in water to soften it up to make it go down more easily. He eats just as much as the other 2 cats, but doesn’t gain any weight.

His only other symptom is that recently (4 months) started to go outside the litter box, even upstairs near his food area. We are thinking of adding another litter box, since we have only one large box for 3 cats. I guess we’ve been pretty lucky up to this point and at age 16, he might not feel like going up and down the stairs so much.

The vet said that they’ll have to do exploratory surgery to “look” for things that might be going on; one thought is intestinal cancer. I just cannot make any logical sense out of not finding anything with all of these tests and continuing to see such significant weight loss. We do have fleas, thanks to the dog. Could there be a worm, parasite, something else? I’m running out of ideas and have the doctors stumped too.

[TeriM]

Have the doctors checked his stool sample for worms? A weight loss that significant must have a reason, it sounds a lot like thyroid issues to me. If you did the thyroid test a while ago I would definately consider retesting. I would certainly be hesitant to put a 16 year old cat through exploratory surgery and would want to be sure to exhaust all options before.

Good luck .

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by heyhowie

He drinks plenty of water and has no problem eating his doctor recommended boiled or baked chicken and canned tuna. We also soak his dry food in water to soften it up to make it go down more easily. He eats just as much as the other 2 cats, but doesn’t gain any weight.

At this point, no matter what the issue turns out to be, I would want to make sure he's getting the best nutrition possible, which isn't going to come from dry food, unfortunately. What dry does he eat? Have you thought about giving him a quality canned food instead, perhaps with a cat multivitamin added? A balanced raw diet would be ideal, but trying to convert a 16 yr old might be a bit of a stretch at this point. I'm not saying that a diet change will cure all that ails him, but with such dramatic weight loss, he needs all the nutrients he can get. For more related info, please read this: http://www.catinfo.org/

[krdahmer]

If you have fleas you need to treat for those right away and use a product like revolution to treat for mites and worms as well (spray the house/ wash bedding, pet beds etc)... fleas carry and spread all kinds of goodies. Also he may have picked up a tape worm, sometimes you would never know that they had them except for weight loss and an inability to gain weight.... or you may see rice like larvae on or near their rear end, but sometimes they show no other symptom other than weight loss. If he has been tested for other things and you are coming up with nothing, the pill for tape worm might be worth a try, I don't think it will harm him at all if that isn't the case.

[heyhowie]

He's currently eating boiled and baked chicken breasts. He's also getting canned tuna. His dry food is Science Diet CD, due to being prone to crystals. We soak it in water from the tuna or chicken soup, to make it easier to swallow and give it more fat and protein.

He's certainly eating enough, but not sure why the weight is not increasing.

We have had fleas for a while. Although we have not seen the "white" specs in the stool...perhaps there is a tapeworm. We are going to give him the pill for that and see what happens. From there, all pets will get "Advantage" or similar and the dog is also going on the "program".

The doctor wants to put a tube in him to get the food pumped into his stomach. I am hesitant to do this, since I do see him eating...and it's not be vomited back up.

How long does the tapeworm pill take to kill the parasite? How long do you think it will take for the weight to come back if it was a tapeworm?

Thank you all.

[krdahmer]

Well unfortunately when our Smoke had tapeworm, she had two treatments, they were gone I think in a matter of a few weeks, but she never did gain any of the weight back. She is still a very very thin cat (healthy but very skinny compared to my others).

I have to add my about advantage... although its great because it deters the fleas from biting in the first place it is a pesticide and not good for you or the cats/dog. Revolution isn't a pesticide, works really well and covers more things all in one. I think Revolution is only a dollar or two more and if you get it put on by the vet (mine sends the stock one home with me becuase I have 6) it's only 4 bucks a treatment. Oh and the spray I've used is called Siphotrol VetChem spray, about 9$ for 1000 sq ft. That way the fleas eggs around the house are killed and they fleas the dog may bring in have no where to live.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by heyhowie

He's currently eating boiled and baked chicken breasts. He's also getting canned tuna.

I hope this doesn't make up more than 20% of his food as this is not a balanced diet.

Originally Posted by heyhowie

His dry food is Science Diet CD, due to being prone to crystals.

Hate to tell you this, but dry CD is an awful food and completely inappropriate for cats. Please read the link I gave you above as to why cats should be eating wet food, and especially one that is prone to crystals:

Veterinarians often prescribe Science Diet dry c/d and x/d for urinary tract problems but again, these diets are only ten percent water and contain a high level of species-inappropriate ingredients and questionable preservatives. They are also very high in carbohydrates with dry c/d containing 42 percent of its weight as carbohydrates. Please note the first few ingredients in c/d while remembering that your cat is a carnivore:

Brewers rice, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, pork fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), chicken liver flavor, taurine, preserved with BHT and BHA

Originally Posted by heyhowie

We soak it in water from the tuna or chicken soup, to make it easier to swallow and give it more fat and protein.

Do not leave moistened dry food out for longer than half an hour. Believe it or not, it's a much better idea to leave canned food sitting around - it has far less bacteria to begin with. Also, adding tuna or chicken water is not actually adding any protein, just flavour and possibly too much sodium.

Dry food has a high bacterial content. Mold is also often found in dry food. There have been many deaths of dogs and cats secondary to eating mold mycotoxins, vomitoxins and aflatoxins which often contaminate the grains found in dry food. If you want to try the trick of wetting down the dry food to alter the texture, please leave it out for only 20-30 minutes then discard it. Bacteria and mold thrive in moisture.

Originally Posted by heyhowie

The doctor wants to put a tube in him to get the food pumped into his stomach. I am hesitant to do this, since I do see him eating...and it's not be vomited back up.

Feeding tubes can be life-savers, but are usually used in cases of anorexia. If you're really sure your cat is eating as much as he should be and he's still losing weight, the feeding tube doesn't address the underlying issue. I still urge you to try a good quality, high calorie canned food. Wellness kitten is a good one.

[heyhowie]

The cats & dog are all at the vet today getting flea baths and deworming pills. I will look into the Revolution flea control....

How critical is the timing of all of the treatments? If fleas remain in the house for a day, week, month...can they possibly get tapeworms again. Does the tapeworm pills have any residual effect for a day, week, month? How soon can the tapeworms come back? Do it take just one flea bite?

The wellness kitten formula is a good idea. I'll stop wetting down his dry food... seems pointless if I can get him better nutrition elsewhere.

I really want to see him gain some weight back. I can't imagine it being healthy having lived 16 years at 11 lbs and now at 6.5,

Thanks and I'll update shortly.

[krdahmer]

My understanding is that they have to eat the flea to get the worms/parasites, so the less fleas the better. And if you treat them for a few months and then treat the house too, that should lick the problem. Although if the dog goes out, which I'm sure she does you would have to treat them all every flea season.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Did your vet check his kidney functions with a urinalysis? If not that would be an excellent place to start.

[lee collins]

I have read that canned tuna is not good for animals....I am also having a sudden problem with my cat Femme loosing weight...urine and blood have not shown anything so thinking about x-ray...had general x-ray done and nothing..has us all wondering what is next? She eats, no vomiting, temp 100, a little blood in urine but has had before, she grooms, just no apparent signs of anything wrong. No lumps etc. Any suggestions?

[rainbow]

Originally Posted by lee collins

I have read that canned tuna is not good for animals....I am also having a sudden problem with my cat Femme loosing weight...urine and blood have not shown anything so thinking about x-ray...had general x-ray done and nothing..has us all wondering what is next? She eats, no vomiting, temp 100, a little blood in urine but has had before, she grooms, just no apparent signs of anything wrong. No lumps etc. Any suggestions?

Welcome to pets.ca ......you should start your own thread so it doesn't get confusing with the replies.