Cat weight loss with increased hunger – vet puzzled
by Michelle
(WI)
Snowball
Snowball is 21, an indoor cat, and weighed 18 pounds until recently. About 2 months ago he began loosing weight and his hunger increased.
I took him to his vet and the usual blood and stool tests were performed. All the results came back either negative or within normal ranges. He now weighs 14 pounds.
The vet said he seems healthy, not diabetic, not hyperthyroid, no parasites and his blood work came back within normal ranges.
Any ideas as to what could be making him so very hungry, and still be losing weight?
I have been feeding him wet food (he used to eat dry but I switched to wet because it has less carbs and I thought maybe he was diabetic... which I found out was not true)
He now eats 3-4 pouches of wet cat food daily. Why is he still losing weight?
What should I do?
Michelle
Hi Michelle... thanks for visiting and asking. My immediate thought without research was hyperthyroidism but that has been checked out.
The other natural answer is diabetes but that too has been checked out.
Snowball is old and a larger than average cat. Commonsense says that the problem may be age related. I don't think that it is worms. But if a cat eats well and loses weight obviously the food is not getting to the cat, which might mean that there are worms. Although I feel that you would have noticed....Ah...I have just noticed that this possibility has been checked and proved negative.
You don't say that he drinks more and I am sure you would have noticed that. Increased thirst might indicate kidney failure.
By the way I am not sure that 3 pouches of food per day is high for a large cat. If it could be considered that Snowball is eating a normal amount then we are simply looking at weight loss in an old cat.
As a cat becomes old a number of behavioral and physical changes occur.
Although older middle aged cats can become obese, senior cats heading towards the end of their life are more likely to lose weight. They become more boney, scraggy. This may be due to the body not functioning as efficiently in absorbing food. Small frequent meals might help.
In conclusion (and this is a tricky one) your cat is at the top end of cat age and well above the average age, an exceptional cat in terms of age. He eats a normal amount and is losing weight. All the usual illnesses have been ticked off. It could be that he is simply showing signs of old age.
This may not help and if so I am sorry. By the way I am currently away from home and do not have access to my books.
Cat weight loss with increased hunger - vet puzzled to Cat health symptoms
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