Help Diagnosing Cat Weight Loss (eating, blood, sleeping, food)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
About 2 months ago I brought Blue in to a new vet after searching long and hard to find a vet that wouldn't immediately see dollar signs. Blue had an allergic reaction to fleas and has since been treated with medication. He was never treated for worms.
After he finished the medication he was fine, then about a week ago he started to loose a bunch of weight. His coat seems fine, eyes are bright, teeth are fine. He is 5 years old.
I brought him back to the vet, however it was a different doctor, who simply told me I need to spend $350 on bloodwoork and the like. I brought in a stool sample that day and she did not look at it, she just turned me away and sent me out the door because I could not afford the hundreds of dollars for ALL the tests right then and there. The first doctor I saw told me Blue had a strong heart and would be with me a long time. The second doctor told me he had a heart murmur? Same veternary clinic.
After reading on line about his condition possibly being due to worms, I have issued him a dewormer (tapeworms caused by fleas). He is eating fine, not overly eating anymore like he was, and he is cleaning and playing and sleeping. He is 5 years old. He is not lathargic or depressed. I wanted to try to see if this helped him first. This is sincerely what I feel is wrong with him.
My question is, how long should it be before I start noticing signs that he is or is not getting better? How long after a dewormer should I notice some weight gain before I go ahead with testing? I am sick to death of being told I need blood work instead of trying to administer simple pills or shots instead of immediate hundreds of dollars in "tests." Can't at least something be told from just a stool/fecal analysis? Do I have to have EVERY test done? All or nothing is what this vet told me.
Please please, I am on a very strict budget and am very poor right now. My heart is sick because I have no ability to pay for such high costs in tests. I would like more options. I'd like to know how much time should pass before I should expect weight gain in Blue. I am also desperate to find a vet that allow payment plans and options instead of looking at me like I'm a bad mom because I can't immediately afford tests.
sympathize with your situation
you don't give location--surely that is important if you want info about a local vet
fleas definitely will cause worms in dogs or cats
should have been something done when pet was treated for fleas initially
just watch your pet--animals can't usually hide their illness--
if they are sick they show it by going off their feed and lack of energy
weight gain might take awhile if your cat is not over-eating
unless he is really thin would not worry about that so much
just make sure that the fleas do not reappear--
make sure you cleaned his bedding thoroughly and his litter box and check other areas where he might have dropped tapeworm segments--ugh--
I know but that happens when pets have worms--they pass them through their feces
so they reinfect themselves
Thank you so much for replying so quickly. I am in San Diego. (sorry, forgot to mention that.)
I agree, I thought it was strange he wasn't treated for worms, especially since all the research I've done say fleas and worms go hand in hand. I am at war with the fleas and have not seen one in at least 6 months now.
He's not scarily thin, he just lost a noticable amount of weight to the point I can feel his spine. Just today I feel like I can tell he has more fluids between his shoulder blades. He also is not heading to the food bowl every five minutes anymore, which is a for sure sign that he's getting better. That's just my opinion. He is eating like he used to again. He is also purring again.
He is doing everything normally, just the weight is still low for him. He was 12 pounds and now hes 7.5. I was just curious how quickly or slowly a dewormer works. Also if I should possibly wait a few weeks and administer a differnt type of dewormer pill? I don't want to make him more sick.
About 2 months ago I brought Blue in to a new vet after searching long and hard to find a vet that wouldn't immediately see dollar signs. Blue had an allergic reaction to fleas and has since been treated with medication. He was never treated for worms.
After he finished the medication he was fine, then about a week ago he started to loose a bunch of weight. His coat seems fine, eyes are bright, teeth are fine. He is 5 years old.
I brought him back to the vet, however it was a different doctor, who simply told me I need to spend $350 on bloodwoork and the like. I brought in a stool sample that day and she did not look at it, she just turned me away and sent me out the door because I could not afford the hundreds of dollars for ALL the tests right then and there. The first doctor I saw told me Blue had a strong heart and would be with me a long time. The second doctor told me he had a heart murmur? Same veternary clinic.
After reading on line about his condition possibly being due to worms, I have issued him a dewormer (tapeworms caused by fleas). He is eating fine, not overly eating anymore like he was, and he is cleaning and playing and sleeping. He is 5 years old. He is not lathargic or depressed. I wanted to try to see if this helped him first. This is sincerely what I feel is wrong with him.
My question is, how long should it be before I start noticing signs that he is or is not getting better? How long after a dewormer should I notice some weight gain before I go ahead with testing? Can I wait a few weeks and readminister a different type of worm dewormer? I don't want to make him more sick.
I am sick to death of being told I need blood work instead of trying to administer simple pills or shots instead of immediate hundreds of dollars in "tests." Can't at least something be told from just a stool/fecal analysis? Do I have to have EVERY test done? All or nothing is what this vet told me.
Please please, I am on a very strict budget and am very poor right now. My heart is sick because I have no ability to pay for such high costs in tests. I would like more options. I'd like to know how much time should pass before I should expect weight gain in Blue. I am also desperate to find a vet that allow payment plans and options instead of looking at me like I'm a bad mom because I can't immediately afford tests.
What medication was Blue given for the flea allergy?
When you say weight loss, why do you think this is a problem? From your post it would seem that you are seeing noticeable weight loss within a week's time, right?
Your story doesn't quite ring true, to be honest....a basic CBC (complete blood count) is about $40, give or take, a fecal float test somewhat less than that. I find it hard to believe that a vet would refuse to do a fecal. yet insist that you spend $350 on....what, exactly?
Need more information, basically. I have a feeling we are not getting the complete story here. And what's the problem....Blue has lost weight over the last seven days, yet is acting fine? Maybe he just needed to lose some weight. Most domesticated cats and dogs in the US are overweight.
The medication is called Prednisoione (sp?) and i gave him 1/2 of a 5mg tablet per day in his food. Yes I am seeing noticable weight loss.
That is why I am asking why I was turned away after I brought in a fecal sample with me to the vet. She said she NEEDED to do blood work, a urinalysis as well as the fecal tests.
Yes he has lost weight over the past week and a half, the amount of time he's been off the medication.
I feed him Iams dry food and 1/2 a can of wet food every morning.
Also, this woman was not the vet that issued Blue the medication nor saw him for the last 3 visits during the flea allergy issues.
She said that the entire amount for all the tests as well as the visit would be around $190 and this was a regular vet, at a scheduled appointment time, during regular office hours. Then the additional treatments would be more depending on what the tests showed.
I have an appointment on Tuesday and I am expected to be bringing in $230 total for just the tests and exam. If they need to administer medication that will be the additional $50-80.
Try using diotemashious earth for blues fleas....it's all natural and is not toxic.....you can give Blue the worm medicine yourself, but don't give it more than once. I would wait a little longer to see if blue starts to gain back his weight, he may have had an allergic reaction to the flea meds.I personally do not like vets, besides the fact that I can't afford to even put my big toe in their door.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes yes! Thank you:
