Civvie cat gradually losing weight

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ohiogal

ohiogal

Member Since 2012
Hi all,

I have a 16-year-old civvie cat, Kennedy, whose health has generally been excellent. He was at the vet about a month ago and they did blood tests that all came back great - no diabetes, no cancer, teeth look great, organs all in great shape etc.

He's eating, pooping, peeing, purring, and overall seems in fine fettle.

But, he's losing weight. Not drastically, and he's always been a small cat, but he was 7 lbs. at the vet and I just weighed him yesterday on my bathroom scale and he was at 6.4. You can feel his bones through his fur.

But, like I said, he's acting normal, has a normal appetite (for him) and isn't doing anything I would consider troubling, like throwing up or drinking a lot of water.

So, is it just he's an old kitty who doesn't have the appetite he used to? Should I call the vet? Has this ever happened to anyone else? Just thought I'd put it out there and see what y'all think.
 
Might try a bit of Forti Flora (many cats like this), plus feeding kitten food which has a bit more protein and fat. Also, there are some prescription high cal foods which may help keep his weight.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Cancer is not diagnosed by blood tests. An ultrasound is very useful.
What do his feces look and smell like?
Click to expand...

They look normal, about 3" long, brown, firm, and don't smell like much of anything. He poops every day. I give him a little Miralax with his cat food every day because he's had constipation issues in the past.

I guess I should have said leukemia, not cancer. But the vet said she couldn't feel any lumps either.
 
BJM said:
Might try a bit of Forti Flora (many cats like this), plus feeding kitten food which has a bit more protein and fat. Also, there are some prescription high cal foods which may help keep his weight.
Click to expand...

Thanks, BJM! I'll try the kitten food - his appetite's been normal, eg not huge - it never has been. That's never been an issue until now.
 
Bumping - Kennedy is down to 6.2 lbs. I talked to the vet and they don't seem to think there's a problem since all of his bloodwork was OK, that he's just losing mass due to being older, but he's really starting to look skinny! But he's acting totally normal, and his habits haven't changed. It's really weird.

I tried feeding him other stuff but he won't touch any of the kitten food, expensive alternatives, etc. that I've tried. I haven't tried FortiFlora yet because it isn't available anywhere where I can just go in and buy it, and it's too expensive to buy off of Amazon if it turns out Kennedy doesn't like it - I'm not sure I can return an opened container.

I have vacation days next week, I might just take him in to the vet just to make sure there isn't something going on. But any suggestions in the meantime are appreciated!
 
Your vet may carry some Forti Flora.
Warming the food may help.
A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese may help.
 
Maybe try feeding him some higher protein food. Older cats will loose muscle mass if they are not getting enough protein in their diet.
Either look for some higher protein canned food or supplement present diet with cooked chicken or some meat or an egg cooked/scrambled. Don't give raw egg white though as it inhibits the absorption of Vit B...cooked is fine.
 
I am going through the same thing with Tiger right now and previously with Mischief. They think it may be because Tiger needs a dental and that is causing her not to want to eat. They have put her on pain meds until it can be done that seem to be helping.

With Mischief, she has IBD. She takes one pill of Budesonide a day and since she started, she has gained all of her weight back and acts a lot younger than her 15 years.

You may want to check with your vet to see if these may be causing it.
 
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