? Losing a lot of weight

[Nadja]

Hi all,
It's been a while since I've been here because my Phillip has been doing so well! After a year of insulin twice a day, the vet and I moved him down to once a day (as he was starting to have insulin reactions at night) and his sugar levels have been amazing, hanging around 80-115 all day long, consistently.

I took him in recently for a check-in with the vet and because he had started to lose weight again for no apparent reason. The vet ran a bunch of tests and said that everything looked great! However, he continues to lose weight. He's eating the same amount, his energy level might be a little low, but not really THAT noticeable. But he's becoming skin and bones. He eats about a can and a half of wet food (Friskies Pate) a day, and won't touch anything more than that. He eats enthusiastically, but spreads his eating out over the day on his own.

I looked into getting some supplemental weight gain stuff (eg,Tomlyn Nutri-Cal for Cats), but I'm so worried that it will spike his blood sugar up when he's been doing so well, as the main ingredient is corn syrup. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!!

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Has any imaging (ultrasound preferred over x-ray) been performed on Phillip?
How do Phillip's feces look/smell?

 

[Nadja]

No imaging. The feces thing is tough because I have three litter boxes and two cats. But all the feces seems to be normal - nothing runny, not too hard. I have to be honest and say that I have no idea about the smell thing. When I'm cleaning the litter boxes, I try and do my best to avoid smelling anything. I suppose I could try to isolate his and get back to you.

What are your thoughts around the imaging?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Could be cancer. Imaging, especially ultrasound is best for most cancers.

 

[Critter Mom]

Did your vet do tests for thyroid function? An overactive thyroid can cause weight loss. I think it's a test that you may have to specifically request (i.e. not included on standard test panels). Indeed, a full assessment of all endocrine function might be beneficial, plus B12/folate.


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