Why is my 10 year old cat starting to lose weight?

Question

My 10 year old moggy is starting to lose weight and I dont know why. I have taken her to the vets and she has had blood tests done , all normal, she has been wormed, and eats constantly. However she is still slowly losing weight and I dont know why. To begin with we thought it was hyperthyroidism, which is quite common in older felines, but her blood tests were normal.
She eats 2 small pouches of whiskas a day, plus small handful of cruchy biscuits on top. She drinks normally, likes the odd bowl of milk and even eats out of the dogs dinner bowl when the dog isnt looking!!
I am at a loss, in every other way she is quite normal, and healthy. Her coat is fine, and the is quite perky and playful. The only other thing she has wrong with her, which she has had for a few yeas, is small purple type tumours in her ears, which irritate her and cause her to scratch and shake her head alot. The vet says this is ok and theres nothing they can do about them?? Anyone got any ideas?/ thanks

Answer 1

I think your vet should work with you to help you solve this problem. Sometimes the hyperthyroidism does not show up in a regular blood panel. Your vet needs to run a T-4 test for thyroid function.

My cat Kinsey was hyperthyroid this spring (he was losing weight and eating more than usual). The deficiency wasn't large and didn't show up in a regular blood panel. The T-4 unmasked the problem and he started on medication to correct it.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Hi! First 10 is young!! Cats that are indoor cats and treated for any illness live into their 20's. Did your vet run a complete blood screen including the thyroid test mentioned above? Did he do a Blood glucose? There is some reason for weight loss. This is not normal. Please read the links below for finding good satisfying food for your girl. I free feed and my girl eats a bit every 20 min or so but it turns out to be not more than what a normal cat eats. She just does much better grazing all day. You can safely leave wet food out 12 to 14 hours at a time. for a great higher calorie food give her wellness. But she may get loose stools as it is richer. So mix it with gravy free Fancy Feast or friskies Chicken. Something off the food list that is 2nd on the links. Choose a high protein low carb under 10% carb food from that list. Dry food is not good for cats and is rather equal to Kitty Crack. They become addicted to something not good for them.
If your vet doesn't find the reason I would find another vet. Also why can't he treat her ears? It must bother her and it seems strange it can't be treated.
Good luck and keep pushing for her care. You are her voice. If you were losing weight and they said well you are fine. You wouldn't go home and just continue to lose. Get that other type of thyroid test done. It sounds like that could be the trouble.

Answer 4

She might have kidney disease, every cat that lives long enough gets it. There won't be any signs at first but slowly she'll stop eating and drinking, she'll get thin and her coat will get in a bad condition. There's nothing you can do about it, she will lose weight. 10 years is very old for a moggy but if she's still healthy ina ll other respects she'll probably last for another year. Make it a really good year and look after her and tell her how much you love her while you still have her. When she gets in a really bad way have her put to sleep, it's the best way for them to go without suffering too much. SOrry to hear that this is happening and I hope she lives for as long as possible. I can tell you really love her. Good luck.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

From what I can see the problem is either she does not get enough to eat. Some people only feed their cats once a day, but they need more than that.
My two cats always have biscuits ready to eat if they want, and they never over-eat; animals do not over-eat as a rule.
Another reason is that she may be molting and looks thinner. This warm weather fools their metabolism into thinking it`s hot when it isn`t, so they start moulting and look thinner.
The other reason is that she is getting old and her muscles are wasting, which is normal, because she may not be so active as in previous years when she was younger.
What colour is the cat? One of mine is white and has had to have both ears cut off because of cancer which white cats are susceptible to.
Hope she comes through this.

Answer 7

There are many reasons a cat can lose weight as it gets older.

If the weight loss was sudden, it may be related to loss of kidney function. Renal failure is common in older cats, and if you haven't had her kidney function tested, you might want to do that just to eliminate that worry from your list. A symptom of kidney disease is increased water consumption, so be sure to carefully monitor her drinking habits.

As cats get older they lose body mass. People do too. It's not necessarily a sign of illness, just an indication that they aren't as young as they used to be. This might be your cat's problem.

You're doing the right thing by taking her to the vet. You may want to take her back in a few months and have the tests run again to see if there are changes in the indicators. Issues like kidney fuction and hyperthyroidism can progress rapidly if they aren't closely monitored. Instead of once yearly check ups by the vet, you may want to take your older cat twice a year too keep on top of things.

Answer 8

This happened to my eldest cat too. She's 15 now and she's about half the size she was ten years ago. I think it's just normal that as the get older they lose any excess weight. I have also had mine checked out by the vet because I thought it might be cancer or something equally serious but she is fine apparently.

As long as the vet says she's ok, then there's no need to worry.

Answer 9

If the vet says your cat is OK (and it sounds like he's had a really good look at her, bloodtest and all that ) I'd stop worrying about her. I've had a couple of old cats (both died aged 20) and they gradually got lighter as the years went on. I think it's normal for them. Your cat sounds like it's in good nick. It's eating and drinking OK. If it wasn't well it wouldn't be playful. The vet would have looked at all the normal 'aging' diseases that cats can get and he's ruled them out so stop worrying.

Answer 10

I'm so glad that your kitty has got such a loving owner, who's doing exactly the right thing by taking her to the vets and monitoring her. From your description it sounds as if you need to have a second opinion from another vet, that's what I would do.

GOOD LUCK with your cat darling, hope it's nothing serious!