Cat weight loss

Factual Questions
1

I’ve noticed that my cat, Denver, is losing weight. In a way, this is not entirely unexpected. Denver is 12, and I understand that’s when a cat is considered elderly, and like a human, likely to lose weight at such a time. But Denver doesn’t seem to be too distressed about his age; he still eats, drinks, poops, and pees like he always has. Even more, he still plays with his favourite toys, enjoys head skritches, horks up hairballs, hates being carried anywhere (he’s never liked being picked up), and purrs like there’s no tomorrow when he gets such things as kitty treats and head skritches. In short, Denver’s behaviour and personality hasn’t changed. Only his weight.

Normally, I’d ask a neighbour, who is a retired veterinarian, and who has looked after Denver and my other cats when I have to go out of town. The neighbour has been a great and willing resource in the past, fielding phone calls from me and mentioning what he observes when he is simply over for coffee*. But the neighbour is on vacation right now, and I cannot ask him.

I’m wondering if this is a normal function of aging, or whether it is indicative of something more serious. But I would like to know whether this is something that needs to be looked at right now, or whether it can wait until my neighbour returns. I would really like my neighbour to help, as he knows Denver and his history quite well. But lacking my neighbour right now … well, the SDMB is the best I can do.

Of course, if Denver appears to be in distress, or seems to get worse, I will rush him to a vet immediately. And naturally, I am not looking for a diagnosis here. But in the opinions of SDMB cat owners, and our resident veterinarians, I must ask: For now, with Denver behaving normally, and weighing just a little less than he was, can I wait a couple of weeks until my neighbour returns to advise me more professionally?
*My neighbour and I play off each other’s skills: I’m a lawyer with questions about my cats, and he is a veterinarian with legal questions. We informally help each other as we can.

ETA: Upon rereading, I realize that this post might be better in IMHO. I’ll leave it to the Mods to move it as they please.

2

I’m no medical professional, but I’ve owned and fostered/cared for scores of cats in my life.

Cats are extremely good at hiding pain, and may act normally even if they’re quite ill. Is he grooming himself? In my experience, inappetance in cats may be a sign of something very serious, and he needs to see a vet right away. Is he drinking? Check for dehydration by pulling up some skin on his back or flank; it should snap back instantly. If not, he’s dehydrated: serious. How is his breath? Could be an abcessed tooth.

Could be anything from dental problems to impacted hairtball to kidneys shutting down to cancer, but does need to be addressed right away. IMO.

3

This is truly the Straight Dope when it comes to cats. Another thing to do is to have a blood test done for thyroid levels. An uncontrolled thyroid can cause weight loss and also vomiting. The medication for thyroid is a cream that can be rubbed inside the ear.

4

These days, 12 is not elderly for a cat. Upper middle-age, I’d guess. 15 is very common, maybe even average for an inside cat.

Joe

5

Our two healthy cats are about 12 as well. They had both lost weight at this year’s annual checkup, and the vet said that happens as they get older. He didn’t think it was any cause for concern absent any other issues. He advised us to just feed them more.

I’d say keep a close eye on Denver if you’re worried, but unless he shows any other troubling symptoms, you can probably wait for your neighbor. (assuming he’s on a normal one- or two-week vacation…)

6

My Smokey cat started losing weight around 12ish. Prior to that, he had been on the plump side (not hugely overweight, but I was always watching his intake). The vet said it was typical for a cat to be less efficient at digesting food as they got older (his blood tests were normal).

I took his regular dry cat food, and cut it 2:1 with kitten food, and he put on a couple pounds and kept them on without getting overfat. That worked for four or so years until he really did begin to develop thyroid problems.

Unless your cat’s weightloss is sudden, or he is dehydrated as described above, or his litterbox or social behavior seems abnormal, this can probably wait a week. If any of the above conditions are observed, take him to the vet.

7

Reinforcing what they said above - sudden weight loss, even if it’s minor, is really bad.

I hadn’t really thought about it before I had a sick cat myself, but for an animal who weighs somewhere around 10 lbs, losing one pound in a week is like a human dropping from 120 to 108 in a week.

That’s just not good. Rapid weight-loss always means something is wrong, and besides the inital whatever is wrong, the* rapid loss itself *is really bad on the system, and can cause even more troubles.

8

How much weight are we talking, and how quickly?

I’ve had this situation twice in the past year. One cat lost almost three pounds in a month (and he was only 12lb to begin with!). He had been refusing to eat and drink due to an inner ear problem, so we had to syringe feed him for a month. Eventually everything cleared up with medicine, and he’s now doing great despite being 16 years old (and mostly deaf as far as we can tell).

Another of our cats lost 1-2 lbs in 3 months. After an ultrasound, it was determined that he has masses on his spleen. Medication seems to help, as he is back to his normal self and has gained the weight back, but it likely has just bought us some time.

I think one of the major deciding factors on whether you can wait or not is how quickly he’s losing.

9

My cat has lost weight as he’s aged also. He was never hefty though, which is probably one of the reasons he’s lived so long. He’s 21 now, actually he could be older, he’s been with us 20 years and he was full grown when he came to live here, I’m assuming he’s was no more than a year old then.

10

Yes, rapid weight loss in cats can lead to fatty liver disease, which causes a vicious cycle: the cat’s body starts trying to burn body fat for fuel, but feline livers are not good at processing fat, so the liver starts to shut down, the cat starts feeling craptacular, starts eating even less, etc.

It’s sometimes seen in cats who are stressed from something like a move, new addition to the household, etc. We had this in a cat once, and the vet prescribed tiny little pills that gave the cat the munchies. :slight_smile: He went on to live a happy life with us after the apparently terrifying move into our home…

So, really, OP: is he suddenly skinny? Or are you just now noticing a gradual change?

11

That’s hard to tell. Like I said, Denver hates being picked up, and so, I rarely pick him up. But I had to the other day for some reason, and I noticed that he seemed lighter than he did about six months ago (which was probably the last time I had picked him up). How much weight, I couldn’t say–he just seemed lighter than he had before. Looking at him, he appears to have lost a bit; but he is not emaciated or scrawny. He certainly isn’t acting unhealthy; as I mentioned, his appetite and litterbox use hasn’t changed, he still likes head skritches and play, and he interacts with my other cats like he always has.

Yes, it is a “normal length” vacation for my neighbour. He should return in two to three weeks.

It sounds like it can wait a bit for the neighbour to return, but I will keep an eye on Denver. If anything out of the ordinary develops (goes off his food, tries to hide from the others, is not interested in play, etc.), I will get him to a vet immediately. And though he may not like it, I’ll pick him up daily, just to see if I can gauge any sudden weight change. Again, if I notice one, he’ll be off to the vet.

Thanks so far, folks–much appreciated!

12

sudden weight loss happened to peggy, one of the superkitty predecessors. turned out to be thyroid and easily cured with pills. don’t put off a vet visit.

13

I don’t plan to. Last night, Denver wasn’t much interested in playing; and today, he decided to go for a nap under the bed. That’s unusual, since Denver never goes under the bed, much less naps there.

So it looks like something out of the ordinary has developed. I have called the vet, and we have an appointment for later today.

14

Good. I was worried about Denver.
In my experience, unexplained weight loss in cats I’ve owned (or known) is never, never a good thing. Unless it’s very gradual and part of normal aging and atrophy, or the cat has been put on Kitty Weight Watchers for being too pudgy.

Hope he’s going to be fine!

15

Glad to hear he’s going in for a check-up. I took Feather in Monday, too (she’ll be 13 in a few months). She has a high normal thyroid level and very slight dehydration, but other than that, all her tests came back normal. She has lots of plaque, though - crap. Time for expensive dental work for kitty.

Jim’s cat lost weight suddenly when she was about 11 or 12, too, but she did have arthritis flaring up at the same time, too, and our other cat took that as her opportunity to start eating the other cat’s food. Have any of your other cats suddenly fattened up?

16

Well, Denver has suffered a significant weight loss–he’s down to 12 pounds, from his former 15 or 16.

But that’s the only apparent problem that the vet noticed in a physical exam. Other things were normal: his temperature, his teeth (though when did you lose a tooth, Denver?), his heart rate, his breathing, and his gait. His eyes were bright, he took a little interest in a toy he was given, and he happily purred in response to head skritches. He did not attempt to hide from the vet or in the exam room, and cooperated nicely.

The doctor said that given these signs, and others I was able to inform him about (such as Denver’s eating, drinking, and elimination habits), but with a significant weight loss, thyroid problems were possible, as were kidney problems. He took blood and urine samples, and will send them to a lab for testing. I should have the results in a week or so; but in the interim, Denver will be okay. The vet said that if the lab results indicate a problem, it is very likely that it can be treated, as it will have been caught early.

So, we’re back home now. Denver got to keep the toy he was given, and I gave him some of his favourite treats when we got home. Right now, he’s napping by the window–one of his favourite places, so that’s a good thing.

17

Nope. Both Tigger (aka “His Royal Bigness”) and Hope (aka “Football With Legs”) are both pretty hefty to begin with, but the others are the same size they’ve always been.

18

He got a toy? Feather didn’t get no toy (she just got a thermometer up her bum, blood and urine taken, and traumatized from the car ride). :slight_smile:

Fingers crossed for the bloodwork!

19

Yes, and Tigger has already stolen it! Well, in fairness, Denver tends to be finicky with toys–he gave this one a little interest in the vet’s office, but only a little. I guess it wasn’t his preferred size, or shape, or smell, or whatever.

20

One of my cats, Mehta, at around age 11, began to lose weight. He continued to eat the normal amount, but eventually went down from 13 lbs to only 9 lbs. Really just skin and bones.

Before this, the vet did a large battery of tests, and everything was normal. She eventually determined that he had Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). You can Goggle this, or read about it here

Unfortunately, there is little that can be done about it, but one med does help some, I think. As awful as the poor thing looks, he is perfectly normal, eats well, plays and runs around, and show no other symptoms other than weight loss. And, of course, a hatred of vets. :smiley: He is now 14 and still doing well.

Whether this is the problem with Denver, I don’t know, but you might ask your vet about this just in case.