cat keeps loosing weight?

Question

my nan has taken in a stray cat, its very at home with her now and has been for a few months, alot of people in the street fed him when he was a stray and still do everyday, yet he keeps loosing weight. his behaviour hasnt changed, and he eats all the food he gets, so what could be the problem?

yea straydog...did you ever think people could actually be dyslexic

ok stray dog i understand... :D

Answer 1

I want to take this opportunity to thank you and your nan for taking a stray cat in. The problem with stray cats is, you don't know where they have been. It's really hard to pinpoint the problem, but if any animal that is losing weight, while eating. There is a problem. I do suggest you visit your vet. The vet will exam him, get some blood, vet will ask for a comprehensive profile be done on the blood, at the same time test the blood to see if the cat has feline leukemia or fiv, a cats version of aids. When you do visit the vet, bring along a stool sample, try to get a fresh one, put it in a baggy, the vet tech will run the stool to see if any parasites are in it. You can look for yourself on the cat. Look at the cats rear end, if you see any white, looks like rice near the anal. He has worms. If you can see it, take a stool sample anyways and tell the vet tech what you saw if any.

Answer 2

The vet can rule out thryoid and diabetes, worm or parasite infestation, and a couple other things. We'd just be guessing if we tried to say it was one thing only.

If it's rapid weight loss, get the cat in to the vet quickly, you don't want to have the cat loose too much too fast and not be able to stop the downslide. We just went through a sudden 2 1/2 pound loss on one of ours in less than 3 weeks, she had turned diabetic. It's under control now, but the vet said there's only a few things that make a cat loose that much weight so fast and all of them require a fast vet check! It's nothing to fool around with.

Answer 3

First of all, does your nan measure his food out to monitor exactly how much he eats? It sounds obvious, but if the food isn't measured, he might not be offered enough, or he might even be eating more than his daily allowance, even though he isn't putting on weight.

If it's the second case, it sounds like there is an underlying problem.

I suggest that your nan takes him to the vet straight away if she hasn't already.

It could be worms, which is very common in cats, especially stray cats. Unfortunately it could be illness. Another possibility is an overactive thyroid, which means that they burn the calories from their food so quickly that they find it hard to put on weight. Medication can solve this problem. My mom's cat had this problem and improved with medication.

So get your nan to take the cat to a vet and tell her well done for taking in the poor kitty

xx Emmie

Answer 4

Has he had any diagnostic work? Bloodwork? Radiographs? Increased appetite without signs of weight gain are often a symptom of hyperthyroidism in cats, which can be diagnosed fairly easily with bloodwork, and treated. Bloodwork would also rule out kidney or liver disease, diabetes, and electrolyte imbalances. However, these often present with changes in drinking habits and urination. Radiographs would indicate if there was a tumor present which may also result in weight loss. Not all foods are created equal as well - the fat content can almost double just by changing flavors in some brands. If you've ruled out medical conditions and have switched foods recently, it might be time to start looking up ingredients.

Answer 5

I am assuming that the cat is being fed the proper food that is right for his age and level of activity, as well as the feeding portions being adequate for him....

I suggest to take the cat to the a vet and ask for bloodwork to be done. It will break down what is going on.

There may be an underlying problem that is not physically seen such as hyperthyroidism (a metabolic disorder, which can be stabilized with medication)...
Either way, I think there is something underlying that needs to be checked out...

Be aware though that most vets will first ask for a basic components bloodwork that may help them narrow down what direction to look in....it is possible that if anything shows up, they may want to run more tests to rule in/out what is going on.

In addition, vets can palpate the cat and feel if there is anything out of ordinary (ie. a mass)...They may also want to do x-rays to see if anything shows up...

Answer 6

Take the kit to the vet. Could be diabetes - could be any number of things. My cat was eating everything going and still losing weight, then I noticed she was drinking lots of water and losing her fur.

Tell your Nan to keep her cat off dried. Apparently lots of carbohydrates and that's not good for animals.

If possible, let us know how he gets on at vets. Ta.

Answer 7

You need to take him to the vets, he could have worms as he is eating and losing weight which is treated easily with worming medication, but it could be something more serious so a vet's visit is in order

Answer 8

Take it to the Vet, it is extremely possible that your cat has Worms.

Worms are parasites that live in cat's intestines and sometimes stomach, stealing the nutrients of his food as it goes through the digestive system. check her waste for worms that look like white string. if you see the worms, take her to the vet immediately. The condition is treatable and cure-able.

Good Luck!

Answer 9

Take the cat to the vet; my friend's cat was loosing weight, lethargic, etc., and it turned out that she had kitty diabetes!

Answer 10

Is "loosing" the most mis-spelt word on the internet? It is spelt: "losing".

Check your stray cat out with a vet. :p

Update: I doubt you're dyslexic, and your spelling is rather good. It's just that particular word is misunderstood and misused by so many people.