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

I am glad things are looking up for Ben.

Scott, does Ben throw up a lot? When Kuhio's hyperthyroidism was getting very bad, she threw up a lot. The vet said that her system was on hyperdrive so she had a very nervous stomach. We fed her human baby food (all meat varieties) and they really helped. It was easy on her digestive system.

Something to keep in mind if he can't keep his regular food down. I also used to mince up (as small as possible) pieces of cheese and lunchmeat. Kuhio loved it. As long as the pieces were very tiny, she would keep them down.

I'm glad that Ben is doing better. Hopefully, this will continue.

Thanks for your replies. Ben rarely throws up. I have seen him vomit once or twice since I started changing out his food. I will try baby food and cheese and lunchmeat also.

My vet did two thryoid tests. He has mild hyperthryiodism. She said it isn't enough to cause this weight loss. We will monitor it closely though.

Again - thanks to all for your support!

Scott

More good news about Ben. He gained weight (from 8.9 to 9.35 pounds) over the last two weeks. He is responding well to the steroids. He looks better, has a great appetite and is quite active (for an 14 year old). The vet
cannot get a diagnosis without surgery and biopsy. She says we can give him chemo anyway. He either has lymphoma or IBS. She says the chemo will help IBS if it is not cancer. I am very reluctant to do surgery as he is doing better. Any thought on doing chemo?? It would be twice a week and then cutting back to every two months. I hate to put him though any un-necessary misery, but if it is cancer, it needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

I'm not sure how to proceed.

Thanks - Scott

Has Ben been drinking water?? I have seen various differences in the way cats react to the steriod shot. They will drink LOTS of water, there will be an increase in appetite OR there is a decrease in the appetite(rare). One cat that was on predisone for a short time for asthma had a RAVENOUS appetite!!! That could be a cause for the weight gain!!! GOOD LUCK!!!
Sandra

He drinks a normal amount of water. The vet told me to watch that. She said that steroids can occasionally cause diabetes (yikes !). His appetite seems greater than before -- but not ravenous.

He's due back in a month. I may seek a second opinion before then.

Thanks - Scott

My Peeka was quite a little porker. She was the only one of all my cats who gained a lot of weight after spaying. I knew something was up when she lost a lot of weight fast and it turned out to be renal failure and then her liver started to fail and that was that. The same thing happened w/Puddy; she lost a lot of weight very quickly and, as you all know, she went into renal failure. Puddy gained the weight back very quickly when she was started on an antibiotic and subcutaneous fluids. Peeka never recovered. :(

Blessings,
Mary