16 year old cat underweight?

[tajana340]

Hi. My name is David and I have 4 cats. Diva is 16, Spice is 14 and Diabetec(and I use the other forums), Zayla is 8, and squeeky is 4. My question is my diabetec cat had some health issues and in the last few days, I removed all the dry food from their diet. I am currently free feeding them wet canned Friskies Special Diet Beef and Chicken and I put a little water in it and mix it up, they all love it. Tonite my 16 year old Diva had a bm and started dragging her hiney on the floor by the litter box and meowing like I have never heard a meow before. I got a look and it looked the waste was not coming out like it was stuck. About 30 mins ago it finally came out and she is asleep and relaxed. I am just concerend because of her age and the switching of the food may be stressing her out. She had no problems eating today. She actually ate while all that commotion was going on. I don't think she is diabitic because i home test and i actually had to test her to see if my monitor was giving me an accurate reading. And I believe that it is.
The other problem that i have been concerned with is that Zayla and squeeky tend to pick on her alot and i don't know if that when i am at work she isn't getting any water or they will not let her eat. She looks like she might be dehydrated but I can't really tell.

Let me know what u think. Thanx

 

[Lisa and Merlyn (GA)]

Older cats tend to have more sensitive tummys regarding food changes. If you notice the problems pooping continuing you can add a little miralax to soften the stool. Its also possible however that since you have changed them to wet food, they can use more of that food, and there will be smaller poops.

My guys can scoot on the rug for diarrhea and constipation.

 

[JGinMA Lindy (GA)]

Hi,

Is it possible your cat is allergic or sensitive to beef? I seem to recall reading some about this in the past from other cat owners/lovers. Is there a way you can feed just chicken for a bit and see if there is any improvement?

Janice (who has changed her small 15 1/2 year old civie from wellness grain free turkey to wellness grain free chicken to see if it suits her better)

 

[JJ & Gwyn [GA]]

As the others have said, it may simply be the food change. However, if the problem continues, or whenever you next see the vet, I would explain the problem to the vet and ask them to run a kidney panel on Diva. The kidneys on older cats don't work as well as those of a younger cat. The median age that kidney problems are diagnosed in cats is 9 (half are diagnosed before age 9, half after), so lowered kidney function would be not-unexpected in a 16-year-old. With lowered kidney function, dehydration can become a problem, and any degree of dehydration can contribution to constipation.

The good news is that, if Diva *does* have kidney problems, she can still live a normal, healthy life. Treatment for kidney problems generally consists of a diet change (yes, there are possibilities for diets that are both diabetic- and kidney-friendly), and may also include potassium supplements or subcutaneous fluids. (I know the fluids sound daunting at the moment, but they're really just as easy as home BG testing.)

In the short term, try mixing some water in with the wet food to help Diva get more water in her. Give the bowls or fountains a really thorough cleaning (including motors if it's a fountain -- and change the filters), replace the water with fresh water at least once a day, and add additional water stops elsewhere in your house apartment -- for example, one on each end of each floor. That'll encourage the cats to drink more water and can help with constipation. If you don't have a pet fountain, you might try adding one. You can also try putting ice cubes in their water bowls -- some cats really really like that.

While I'm a huge fan of Miralax, in this particular case, I wouldn't use it for more than a week or so. While you want Diva to be able to defecate easily, you also want to determine whether the problem is a food-change issue (in which case it should clear up on it's own), a diet-content issue (in which case you'll want to move to another food that's easier for Diva to handle), or a symptom of an underlying health issue such as kidney disease (in which case you'll want to treat the underlying problem and not just one symtom).

If you do use Miralax, remember to give extra water when it's being used; extra water is needed for Miralax to work properly. Most folks just add Miralax and extra water to the food being given but, in this case, I'm not sure how you'd give it to one cat without affecting the others. (Sorry, we're a single-cat household at the moment.)

 

[tajana340]

I think it might have been the food change. I do add a little water to their food and Diva seems to like that. I haven't seen her have any constipation issues or that same incident yet. I will have to remember that about being sensitive to the beef.
She seems ok for now.

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

I don't know how much water you add. You said "a little".

May I suggest that you add more water to the food. This will also keeps things flowing and moving.

For example, I fill the empty Friskies can with water and split that among 3 bowls. (Friskies in one bowl, NV raw medallion in another and 2 large spoons of EVO95% in the third).