Large weight gain and other symptoms - HELP

[neversilence]

Hey guys,


What a cool place. I have a cat, he is the best, of course. His name is Niko he is 8 year old male. For his first 5 years he was an outdoor cat mainly and was pretty thin as far as a cat goes. Over the last couple years I Have become worried as he has a huge belly now, people think sometimes he is prego which obviously would not apply to a male cat. He never did eat a lot really, but it seems he eats even less and is getting fatter still. So that worries me. Maybe it is just him getting older and metabolism slowing down and not as much activity as when he was outdoor. He also does a tail twitch for sometime it is like he is trying to spray or something it just twitches back and forth but not far like an inch each way back and forth a bunch for a few seconds every now and then. I was wondering if this could be FD....He does drink a lot of water but he ALWAYS has.... he just sits in front of it drinking like mad sometimes, he also uses it to bath...... I am going to get him to a vet as soon as I can but it might be another 2-4 weeks depending. I love the guy, he seems healthy for the most part he will play fetch with me and stuff like that. Now and then he just runs wild around the apartment which my roomie thinks is weird I think it is odd because he does is a lot more these days, but I thought probably cause he used to have the whole outside as his space and now just this apartment. Any suggestions? He also likes to stick his tongue out... I read about that but I Think for him it is communication he usually only does it if he has not seen me or anyone for awhile or there is someone new around. It is cute I gather but have fear what if it is a health issue. Guess He is due for a check up it has been 4 years since last vet visit.

 

[Deb & Wink]

There are some things you can do at home to test for diabetes.

First, there are some clinical signs.
1. drinking lots of water, like 1.5 to 2 cups a day
2. peeing big puddles in the litter box. Think lake size puddles, really sticky clumps.
3. starving. Diabetic cats can not process their food properly due to not enough insulin so they are literally starving.
4. weight loss
5. walking on their hocks, instead of their tippy toes. Mainly on the back legs
6. fur looks dull, matted, giant flakes of dandruff, losing patches of fur even sometimes.

Are you seeing some of these signs?

If so, go to your local drugstore/pharmacy/chemist and buy urine test strips to test the urine for sugar and ketones. You want the test strips that test for both of these. They will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of around $10-15 dollars for 50 test strips.

You could also go to a Wal-Mart if you live in the US and buy a Relion Confirm or Micro glucometer, matching test strips, lancets and some yummy treats. We could teach you to home test over the internet. You might also know someone that is a diabetic and would be willing to loan you a meter and supplies for testing.

What do you think of doing these two kinds of tests at home?

There are lots of other conditions that could be going on. A vet visit after none for four years would be a good idea.

 

[neversilence]

I am not really seeing those signs no other than he does drink a lot of water and does not eat much despite gaining weight. Thank you for your quick reply.... I think it might just be a classic case of fat cat.... he would not be the first. I will follow your steps though it is greatly appreciated and I will still get him a check up cause I love him enough he deserves one at this point regardless

 

[BJM]

My signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools has some tips on urine testing, as well as some other assessments which will give you clues to his health, diabetic or not.

Obesity is very common in cats fed dry food. For information on good nutrition for the cat, plus tips on managing obesity, go to Cat Info. Dr Pierson discusses how to safely reduce weight in an obese cat. I found that switching to low carb canned food reduced the weight in 2 overwieght cats that I had, without even trying to control portion size.

Please do save up for a vet visit. Cats age faster than we humans and can develop many of the same health conditions as they age - renal disease, thyroid disease, heart disease, arthritis, and so on. Plus, there may be laws where you live requiring rabies vaccinations. Yes, even for cats that are indoor only.

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

I even hesitate to bring this up but feel like I MUST....this also sounds like fluid building up from possible heart problem. The other thing it might be is something like Megacolon or just backed up hard poop. My Snowshoe has the poop issue - he'll go from slender looking to fat and tight in 2 days when he starts backing up.

BIG HUGS!!! Thank you for loving sweet baby!!

 

[neversilence]

Thanks guys..... I am just going to take him to the vet. My roomie offered to pay for half of the check up bill which is 69.99. If something is wrong there really is no sums of money.... I do not know what I will do. I am just about to return to school and I am not working and wont have my loan for a couple months. Hoping I am just paranoid as I mean he seems to be getting by other than being very odd. I have to move in with my sister while I am in school who has two cats that don't get a long with other cats. So my cat is going to my moms. I just started thinking all the things he is doing and how I should have had him to the vet sooner than I have just for a check up. Crossing my fingers he is in good health. I love him a lot.

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

It could be so many things, minor or more serious, a vet visit is really the only way to tell. Let us know what they say and we can help, many members have experince outside of diabetes.