Really need advice on a senior cat losing weight.

[Anonymous]

My 16 year old male cat has lost down from 10.4 to 6.8 pounds. All of the tests ran on him has been normal. Blood work, x-rays, stool sample, urinalysis, ultrasound. Something is wrong, and it is getting missed. He vomits, and is losing weight. That's it, but I don't know how much longer he can continue as he is slowly declining. Can someone please help me?

[Anonymous]

What food is he eating? How much and how often?

[Anonymous]

I free feed him his CD, and then I give him Fancy Feast as well. Nothing has changed in his diet.

[Anonymous]

First, give him NutriCal supplement immediately to help him get some calories since he's lost so much weight. Second, try a high quality raw based food that you can find at Bark or an independent store in kibble or freeze dried or frozen form. Third, please make sure his water source is separate from his food--give another bowl or better, a fountain somewhere else in your house. Finally, please go to a veterinary nutritionist because your vet is not helping with the problem and should have recomended you go to one already.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I have tried the Nutri Cal, ( many different ways. He refused to take it in. I even put it on his paws thinking that he would lick himself clean. He didn't; it just became a sticky mess. I have tried different food sources, and he is very much set in his way. I have force feed him too. I have four bowls of water around the house, and he does drink. He drinks a lot. His teeth are fine as well. At one point the veterinarian said his intestines felt thickened; that x-ray did show loops, and several enlarged lymph nodes. However, that was six months ago, and the intestines have been normal since. I am literally at the point of at a loss as what to do. Or, how to find out what is wrong with him. I don't understand why everything is normal as far as tests,, but he is clearly not well.

[Anonymous]

*force fed*

[Anonymous]

I would ask my vet for a copy of the labs from the last six months and get an appointment at a speciality vet practice like Southpaws or another VCA speciality practice where they have vets who have done advanced training. That is too dramatic of a weight loss to be safe. Have they offered an ultrasound in addition to the Xray? That is how my cat's cancer was diagnosed.

[Anonymous]

Yes, he had an ultrasound preformed after he was taking Prednisolone.
It was normal. I have the copies of his records, because I plan on taking him somewhere else. I live in West Virginia, but work in DC. I have been a little concerned about cancer too. I am hoping that is not the diagnosis. Any other possibilities for the outcome?

[Anonymous]

Hi, Op

Imagine your 80 year old mother or father in this condition. Would you want to prolong their life unnecessarily for your benefit? This is your cat. In human years he/she would be 80. I don't wish cancer on anyone but, unfortunately death is a part of life and you should make your cat comfortable but, let them go.

Btw, this happened to my cat and because we adopted him we didn't exactly know his age ( they estimated between 5 and 8 years old) we had him seven years and he lost weight, we took him to the vets but, he died before we could do anything. We were sad but, in the end glad we did not put him through any medical treatments that would have prolonged his life but,at a great cost to him.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry sorry for your loss. I do completely understand what you are saying to me, but he still has good days. And,we have two children that adore him. He is not at that point yet. At least I don't think so. Believe me, I will be the first one to say ''enough, and let him go.' I am sorry, but I don't think that just losing weight, requires that decision. I have to know that the time is approaching before I will ever consider this. I am aware of his diclining health, but vomiting with weight loss, and perfect tests still does not allow my comprehension to euthanize him. If there just is not an answer, and he continues on this decline, only then will I make that final decision.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the suggestion to see a speciality vet.

[Anonymous]

We have a senior cat, around the same age, that has similar problems. His problems started with a diagnosis of high thyroid, which led to us putting him on a low iodine diet. The vet mentioned that it was likely that two other things would happen as well: there would probably be problems with his kidneys, and also that it was likely that he was going to have issues with acid reflux.

The latter issue has been the major concern. After about six months on the low iodine diet, the reflux started to kick in. We started by putting him on rantidine (zantac) -- if I recall it started out with about a third of a pill or so, ground up, and added to something with really strong flavor that he would gulp down (we used things like the cheap canned fish, or "potted meat" from walmart). When he was really bad off, I'd grind up about half of an antacid pill and half a zantac together, and force feed him with a dropper. When it kicked in, he'd eat like crazy and gain the weight back.

If it's the same thing, I should note that it's progressive and/or the medicine loses its effectiveness. We're now up to half a pill of Prevacid (generic capsules, cut open to release the little "time release granules) a day. It's also getting progressively harder to trick him into eating it. It's also been a serious challenge to stay in front of this problem.

We've gotten another year out of our awesome cat, but I'm not sure there's much more left. Overall, he's still happy at this point, but it's getting closer to the end.

If it is acid reflux, you can probably tell by the smell when he vomits. If the reflux is bad, it will have a serious vinegar smell.

[Anonymous]

Vomiting and weight loss like that could be cancer, hate to say it, but that is the "what's left" likelihood.

Have a candid talk with your vet about quality of life and how to recognize when it is time.

[Anonymous]

See a specialty vet, for sure. But their can be lots of forms of concern that a cat workup have not caught. And recognize that a 16 year old cat who "still has good days" sounds like a cat who also has bad days-- and there is no real way to tell how much pain he is in. An important part of being a responsible pet owner is not keeping a sick animal alive because it is hard to let go. An important part of parenting is helping your kids process losing a pet and grieve. It sucks. And we lost a cat who was very close to DD last month. So I have walked the walk.

[Anonymous]

^^ there can be a lot of forms of cancer