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My boy cat will be 14 in April. He weighed nearly 16 pounds until November. He has lost four pounds since, and no one knows why. It is not kidney disease, thyroid, lymphoma, IBD, pancreatitis or a heart or respiratory condition. We've done two rounds of blood tests, an echocardiogram, x-rays, and an abdominal scan. I've spent over $1500 trying to figure it out. Everything comes out normal.
The vet gave him an appetite stimulant last week, and he's been eating like a horse, but he does not appear to be gaining any weight back.
He does not seem to be in pain, and he's not hiding or acting as if he's sick. He is not vomiting, he's pooping and peeing normally.
Wow. This sounds crazy! Did the vet prescribe an appetite stimulant to increase his calorie intake, or had he not been eating as much before?
Maybe this sounds silly, but have you had his stool checked for parasites? This could cause weight loss. I've heard about stories that even indoor cats can get parasites. Worth a try at this point.
Wow. This sounds crazy! Did the vet prescribe an appetite stimulant to increase his calorie intake, or had he not been eating as much before?
Maybe this sounds silly, but have you had his stool checked for parasites? This could cause weight loss. I've heard about stories that even indoor cats can get parasites. Worth a try at this point.
My first thought too. Perhaps a tapeworm ? But surely your vet would have checked for that early on.
I, too, can't believe the vet wouldn't have checked for a tapeworm.. but definitely bring in that stool sample.
When my black cat had worms, you could easily see what looked like grains of rice hanging around on the fur near his behind. (it's little pieces of the worm - ewwww!)
I, too, can't believe the vet wouldn't have checked for a tapeworm.. but definitely bring in that stool sample.
When my black cat had worms, you could easily see what looked like grains of rice hanging around on the fur near his behind. (it's little pieces of the worm - ewwww!)
Yep, that's a tapeworm alright. My cats have had one on occasion but didn't present the weight loss the OP described. I've heard that's possible though if the tapeworm is bad/big enough. The OP's cat could have another type of worm/parasite going on too. I suspect that the vet in question likes to default to the more expensive tests first, then go from there.
Until I read the OP more carefully, I was thinking diabetes. But that would involve not just weight loss, but also drinking and peeing constantly. Just sayin', don't let your cat get or be fat, they will become diabetic, never mind how I know this.
If anyone ends up with a diabetic cat, DM me, I have managed one before, it's not all that hard, if you know what you are doing.
Maybe he has hairball? I read once they can cause that food / calories are not getting absorbed properly. Maybe feed him lots of hairball treats (max dose or even more) for a few days and see what happens. Our sick cat lost also weight (lymohoma). I started feeding him as many treats as he wanted in the hope of fattening him up (with Hills A/D and kibble and baby food). After a few days of treats he threw up three gigantic hairballs (dofferent days). For him it doesn’t solve the weight loss problem as he has an actual illness, but I was still amazed that he has so many hair in his stomach.
Until I read the OP more carefully, I was thinking diabetes. But that would involve not just weight loss, but also drinking and peeing constantly. Just sayin', don't let your cat get or be fat, they will become diabetic, never mind how I know this.
If anyone ends up with a diabetic cat, DM me, I have managed one before, it's not all that hard, if you know what you are doing.
No, he was checked for diabetes. Blood sugar's OK. I've had cats with kidney disease, with IBD, with hyperthyroid. Both the vet and me were sure his thyroid levels would come back whacky, but no.
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