Ben is losing weight

My 14 year old cat, Ben, lost 5 pounds (from 13 to 8) over a few months.
He seems healthy. He is active and has a good appetite. His blood work and x-rays are all good. The vet ran more bloodwork (a second type of thyroid test and cobalamin/folate test - waiting on results). She feels that his food is not being absorbed.

If he keeps losing weight she wants to do exploratory surgery. I would be willing to get some type of scan (ultrasound, catscan, etc) before resorting to surgery.

Anyone ever have this situation?

Thanks Much - Scott :confused:

I haven't heard of this myself but I know I would be panicing if it were my baby.. Loosing 5 pounds in several months is not good. Will keep fingers crossed that it is nothing serious. Keep us posted.

I am sorry to hear that Ben is losing weight. I know that a diabetic cat will have a great appetite but lose weight, but I assume if Ben had tests, they would have found this.

Prayers that an answer can be found.

It sounds like the vet is thinking along the lines of inflammatory bowel disease. Has his/her eisinafil (sic) levels been tested? Also, if the vet is thinking along the lines of IBD, try a course of steroids first.....the exploratory surgery is the sure thing, but, the treatment is the same. Have you noticed loose stools?

I wonder about the second test for the thyroid...what is it? Can your vet feel an enlarged thyroid? I would think with such a weight loss, you would feel it. Food allergies? Still eating? Renal failure? All things to consider.

Good luck.

I've only had one kitty do that (lose weight quickly) and that was because of a hyper thyroid problem. But, if Ben's blood tests don't indicate that, then I'm at a loss. I would definitely opt for an ultrasound before going in for surgery. It could indicate a mass or twist or something that could help pinpoint the problem before cutting him open. Poor baby. Please keep us posted.

Our cat, Norton, after he was rescued from the sewer, had IBS. He was given (pardon the spelling)sulfalazone, and never had another episode of IBS. Norton is 13. But, the nurse in me allways suspects the worse. It is good that an ultrasound is being done to r/o(rule out)a mass or anything else. Will keep Ben in our prayers(and Mom,too).

Thanks for all you replies. As far as I know, Ben was tested for diabetes, kidney, cbc, liver, thryoid t-4, etc. It is called "complete panel electrolytes". The second blood test involved a different thyroid test (t-1 maybe ?). The vet did mention prednisone. I'm still waiting on the second set of tests. thanks much !!!

Scott

I think losing that much weight in that short of a time span is definitely something to have checked out and I'm so glad you took Ben in. Hopefully the second set of tests will give some indication of what's going on with him.

Good luck and let us know what the results are. :)

Took Ben back to the Vet yesterday. His bloodwork showed the early stages of hyperthryoidism. It is not advanced enough to cause this much weight loss. He weighed the same as last week (8.7 pounds). She gave him an injection of Devo-Medrol (some type of steroid). We will re-check his weight in two weeks.

She believes he may have intestinal lymphoma but she is not sure. :(

She warned me that "occasionaly" the steroid can cause diabetes. She also says that he might waste away if I don't do something. She is very concerned about his appetite. It is fine now, but she told me to compare what he eats to my other two cats.

If he gains weight, it is probably IBS. It is treatable. :)

I asked about ultrasound. She says that it would not be useful.
She also said I could "consider his age" and try to make himn comfortable for the time he has left. Definitely not what I wanted to hear. I plan to be as aggressive in his treatment as possible.

If he keeps losing weight she wants to do exploritory surgery and biopsy several areas.

I'll just have to wait and see how his weight does.

Scott

"Anyone ever have this situation?"

Poor guy. I'm going through this with my 17 yr old cat. He lost half his body weight in about six months. The bloodwork showed his thyroid was ok, but his kidneys are sulggish, so now for about four months he gets subcutaneous fluids a couple times a week. He was doing better, but seems to have lost his tolerance for this procedure recently. Half his fur fell out this summer, too. Considering his age, I don't want to continue if it's actually making him more miserable and prolonging the inevitable. I honestly don't expect him to make it through the winter. At least I feel like I tried my best, but I don't want to put him through alot of medical procedures.
Hope your news from the vet is promising, it's so hard to make these decisions. Will add you to our prayers.

I'm so sorry to hear about Ben. :( Not knowing what the problem is must be very upsetting for you. I sure hope that whatever it is that it's treatable. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way. Please take care.

I'm sorry to hear about Ben too.
Scott, there are lots of websites that give insight into hyperthyroidism and other cat health issues. www.sniksnak.com has some useful info on hyperthyroidism and so did www.winnfelinehealth.org
My Cleo was diagnosed with it at the end of August (see my thread of today's date) and has responded well to medication. Fortunately she eats well and has gained weight. However now she has responded to medication it has unmasked the true state of her kidneys which are starting to fail.
So if your cat is losing such a lot of weight it could be the hyperthyroidism in conjunction with other things, not always evident from blood tests because hyperthyroidism gives false results for other issues e.g renal failure.
Once Ben's thyroid is under control a bit, blood tests might tell another story, as in Cleo's case.
I wish you and Ben well, it's not easy, is it?

HI. I have had one cat with thyroid disease. The vet once said something interesting, which came first the thyroid or the kidney disease OR were they both brewing at the same time and one just appeared before the other. Hope you hear something about Ben soon. WIll keep Ben(and you, too) in our prayers. Sandra

Thanks Sandra !

I took Ben to the Vet Friday. He had gained 0.2 pounds (from 8.7 to 8.9 - about 2.3 per cent).

This was two weeks after his steroid shot. He as also started grooming himself again. I don't have any more matts to brush out.

The vet said it was a good sign. He's going back in two more weeks for another weight check and another steroid shot. I hope this means that he has IBS as opposed to lymphoma.

His appetite is excellent. I've been feeding him canned friskies that he loves.

Any thoughts on this weight gain???


Thanks - Scott