We have a Russian Blue cat. His name is Napoleon. He was born in March 1991 (we’ve had him since May '91) so he’ll be 12 soon. He has always been an indoor cat. He is fixed, nd has always gotten at least 1 check up per year at the vet. He has never, ever had any health problems. And, because we spoil him, he has always been fat. We nick-named him “Rolly Poly”
His peak weight was 26 pounds, but for the last 4 years or so he’s been holding steady at 22. (I’m serious. These are weights recoded by the vet). Until recently. In the last 2 months he has dropped 10 pounds. We have not changed the brand or amount of food we give him or the amount of treats we offer. However, he is not eating all the food we put out, and he doesn’t accept all the treats we offer. He is not showing any signs of ill health. He is as playfull as ever, he doesn’t have foul bowl movements, he isn’t vomiting, and he isn’t moaning or groaning. He’s very lively.
There has been a few changes to his enviroment: We placed his food dish/litter box down stairs (which means he has to walk down 12 steps, then up again to eat/poop) and about 1 1/2 years ago we got a puppy. Unlike every other dog we’ve had, “Otto” chases this cat all over the place. Even my vicious dog Bigot never screwed with the cat. (which is kind of funny seeing Bigot was a large, mean Bull Dog and Otto is a Pug:p)
Any way. Seeing that he is showing no signs of ill health what so ever, I feel thatthe extra excersize he get’s from the dog and having to walk down stairs to eat, plus the fact that he’s getting old, attribute to his sudden weight loss. My wife is terrified he has kitty kancer or something, and is taking his to the vet next week.
Any facts or experiences in sudden cat weight loss any of you can tell me about is much appreciated. I actually love this puss more than my Sig. He’s the best kitty in the whole world!!!
There’s a good chance your cat has lost weight because of the extra exercise. But there is also a chance there’s something wrong.
It’s a good idea to go to the vet and get a complete work-up. Some things to check:
Kidney function.
Thyroid function.
Does he need his teeth cleaned?
I hope your cat gets a clean bill of health. But at his age, it’s important to get him a check-up. Your vet may tell you it’s just because he’s getting old, and cats some cats lose weight when they get old. Insist on getting him checked out anyway.
Have his teeth checked too. Often they will eat much less is they are having any problems with their teeth (at 12 years old, he may be losing a couple fangs here and there).
Just because nothing seems wrong with his behaviour, doesn’t mean he is fine. My mom’s cat dropped a lot of weight suddenly. Turns out he had feline HIV and diabetes. She had to get him put to sleep because he was so sick, even though he showed no signs other than the weight loss.
My cat went through exactly the same thing a few months ago. He was about 16lbs, and has dropped 6lbs in the last few months. He is about 15 years old. He also showed absolutely no other problems or behavioral changes. The weight loss was the only sign anything was wrong.
I took my vet in for a checkup and blood work. Before the vet got the test results back, he said his guesses for a cat showing no diarrhea, excess vomiting etc. were:
My cat was diagnosed with CRF, Chronic Renal Failure. This is apparently fairly common in older cats. If I remember what my vet said correctly, cats can function normally with up to a 35% loss in their kidney functions, but once that point is reached it becomes a real problem. This is incurable but effects on the cat’s health can be slowed. I am currently treating him with daily sub-cutaneous fluid replacement, and medicine for acid indigestion and blood pressure. He seems in good spirits and does not seem to be suffering at all, so I’ll just keep treating him unless it gets to the point where he is suffering.
I don’t want to scare you since it is possible that there isn’t a problem, but that is a very large percentage of weight to lose in that amount of time. I would definitely set up a vet appointment as soon as possible.
CRF is definitely a common cause of seemingly inexplicable weight loss. Even if it doesn’t seem as if the cat is showing other signs of the disease, that doesn’t preclude a diagnosis of CRF. The one “good” thing (if you could call good) about the disease is that a CBC/chem is usually enough to detect it. If blood work is normal, the kidneys are probably fine. The doctor should able to do blood work with no problem.
That said, there’s no need to freak out in fear. If Napolean is acting happy and healthy, then he’s probably going to continue to act happy and healthy for a while, even if he does have a major disease. Just make sure your wife doesn’t withhold any questionable (or even seemingly non-questionable behavior) from the vet. If not for the cat’s sake, for your own peace of mind, ya know?
BTW, my cat could pass for Russian blue. Aren’t those guys simply gorgeous?
We had a very healthy older kitty who was our “fat cat” , given that he was a little plump, but still active and wonderful. A few months ago he started urinating excessively (we went through 40-lb. buckets of scoopable litter within 2 weeks) and losing weight. We think he developed diabetes. This big baby, who had never been sick a day in his long (16 years) life was suddenly going downhill. We talked about it and decided that, if he was going to die, we would keep him at home so he could die where he was most loved. And he did, on 12/30/02, lying in the hallway he loved to relax in for the past many years.
If your cat isn’t showing any other signs of ill health, my guess is that he is just getting lots of exercise and is getting healthier, if anything. If there are other signs that develop, then he probably does have something wrong. My very best to you with this matter. I hope he continues to be a healthy kitty!
pk, don’t hesitate to take your beloved kitty to the vet.
I recently adopted two 8 year old cats. One seemed okay, even though he wasn’t, until I found cat puke all over my bedroom. Even tonight he’s acting weird again.
Anyhow, had I known his past, he would have been taken in immediately.
My other cat, Sam, that died back in 2000, has cancer. I didn’t fully detect what was going on with him and it was too late by the time I took him in. I had to put him down.
If your cat experiences sudden weight loss please call the vet.
I will be calling the vet tomorrow because my previously ill cat (from a liver affliction) is not on his game. He seems to have lost weight again.
Oh and if you pull on the cat’s skin and it takes a while to “fall back in place” then you know you have a sick, sick kitty.
You are the best judge of your cat. I sense some extreme concern and a $30 check up wont hurt as much as a $500 vet bill, as I have experienced with my Max.
BTW, calling the vet today (Thurs) to get him in. I can’t take the chance of another $500 vet bill. I want to catch him of his illness, if he has one, now.
Our 17 year old cat recently passed away. Her situation was similar to what you described. Though she was never overweight, she started dropping weight suddenly and eating less and less.
Being older, she always slept alot and wasn’t overly active, but she was always bright and attentive and occasionally playful with the much younger cat she suffered to share the house with. Anyhow, she went down-hill very suddenly so we took her to the vet. An ultra-sound was performed and it turned out she had a massive tumour in her chest and it was invading her heart and lungs. She probably had it for a while but it only suddenly started pushing on her heart/lungs making it difficult for her sleep/walk/breath everything. Before the Ultrasound the Vet suspected she might have heart failure but afterwards he said she probably didn’t have more than a couple weeks left, if that.
At this point, it was clear she was suffering, where only a week before she was running about the house swatting the younger cat in the head. It was heart-breaking to put her to sleep, because after 17 years, it was hard to remember a time when she wasn’t around.
With that said, you should definately bring him to the Vet and get him checked-over.
The vet diagnosed cancer of the liver. That was last friday. He said it was spread to far to operate. This is what robbed him of his appetite. The doc gave 2 options: put him down or put feeding tubes in and feed him manually until the cancer makes him feel pain. We had the tubes put in on Monday. Call us selfish, but I’d rather he died at home than in a cold, steril doctors office.
And he wasn’t exhibiting any signs of pain. The vet also said he didn’t think he was in pain.
Until last night.
Last night he started meowing like crazy. He was in pain. It was time. My wife told me I had to take him in in the morning because she just couldn’t do it. She held him all night.
This morning nature took it’s course. Napoleon curled up on my wife, licked her face, and gasped his last! My wonderful, personable, watermelon/cucumber eating friend has passed.
pkbites, Napoleon sounds like he was a wonderful kitty. As a fellow owner of an adored Russian, I’m sorry for your loss. I’m getting all misty here at work reading this thread. I’m sure having you and your wife there for him at the end made his passing more comfortable.
I have two little guys of my own and this brought me to the verge of tears.
My oldest had several acute urinary tract infections and before everything was said and done I had spent over $7,000 between stays in the hospital, the emergency room, and finally surgery. I couldn’t pay my bills for several months, but I never once regretted that decision.
