Worried about Taz, another useless update #28.

[Taz_Zoee]

Taz went to the vet last Thursday for a couple regular shots. He now weighs only 10lbs. That may not sound too bad, but for Taz it is. He has weighed as much as 21 1/2lbs. The vet wanted me to get him to be around 15 or 16lbs. Now he's only 10!! He looks so skinny and sick. But the strange thing is he is eating like a pig! I had him on k/d canned food. Recently, he stopped eating that so we put him on the k/d dry and I found another wet food that was very close in the percentages (like protein and fat and all that) to the k/d. He is scarfing it up. But he seems to be losing weight anyway.
I had him in the vet last month for his bloodwork recheck after his surgery in November (he had psuedo-cysts removed from around both kidneys) and the numbers were not much higher than they were before surgery. So that was good...well, okay at least.

Does anyone have any ideas why he might be losing weight even though he is eating well? Do I need to take him to the vet to be tested for something else? The full panel blood work is very expensive, but I'll do it if its necessary. I didn't think it was when I had his BUN and Creatnine checked last month.

Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Catty1]

Diabetes? It's all I can think of.

If his sugar levels are wonky that could explain his moods...like people get with varying sugar levels.

Even if it is, perhaps it can be controlled by diet.

The only other thing - a nasty intestinal parasite.

Prayers for dear Taz, and for you!

[Taz_Zoee]

Yeah, I guess I could get his blood checked for diabetes. Even though it was fine back in November.
The thing is, his mood has been fine. He's actually been very lovey with me. Anytime I sit down here at the computer he is right here in my face.

Thanks for the response and prayers Candace.

[Catlady711]

Blood sugar or thyroid is all I can think of off the top of my head as far as tests would go. The only other thing I'd think is maybe that particular food isn't working out well for his particular system?

Whatever it is, I hope your vet can get to the bottom of it to get Taz's weight back up.

[Emeraldgreen]

I'm sorry to hear that Taz is losing weight. I wonder if the vet would be okay with you switching back to a higher protein diet. I know the K/D and low protein is for his kidneys but it might be the reason he isn't keeping weight on.
I was also wondering about a parasite like Catty1 mentioned. Maybe the vet could dispense a Drontal tablet just in case.
I would go ahead with the blood tests if you can swing it because you've already gone through so much with him with this last surgery. If it's diabetes, you can change his diet and maybe he'll need insulin but hopefully you'll have him around for a good long time.
Big prayers going out for beautiful Taz.

E.T.A. Oh yes, as Catlady711 mentioned, maybe it's thyroid. The rapid weight loss made me think of Fatty, the stray cat that lost all that weight and he had a thyroid problem. Thyroid meds are not too expensive if that is what it turns out to be.

[Taz_Zoee]

Thank you Catlady711 and Emeraldgreen. Looks like I'll be making him another appointment. I need to take Zoee in for something too, so I might as well do it at the same time.

[Medusa]

My Boo is painfully thin, too, and, like you, I became concerned, especially when people commented on how thin he is. He was always such a muscular boy. So I had his blood work done for my peace of mind, worrying that he may have thyroid problems or diabetes and it turned out to be nothing. In Boo's case, he's old; he's now 18 but he was 17 when I had the blood work done. He's even thinner now so I'm going to take him in and have a panel done again just to be safe. He's eating fine, litter box habits are all in order, everything seems to be fine; he's simply thin. So I understand how you feel except that Taz was having problems and Boo wasn't. If you can swing it, take Taz in for your own peace of mind. In the meantime, we'll do our part by sending up prayers. Keep the faythe.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I was also going to suggest pill pockets. These have helped me so much. I buy the chicken flavor and then cut them into 4 pieces and roll them up into balls. Then I just wrap them around the pills. Starr takes 2 pills every morning and now he begs me for his pills because he loves the pill pockets so much. I hope that you'll finally be able to find out what's wrong with Taz and hopefully it can be easily treated. Good luck.

[Taz_Zoee]

Well, I got tired of waiting and called the vet to find out the results. His thyroid is fine. His kidney level is fine (or hasn't escalated at least).
So now they are going to test his liver and sugars. I will have those results tomorrow.

I have a feeling those will come back fine too and I still won't know whats wrong with him. Just like when he was sick 3 or 4 years ago. He is my little mystery man.

[Medusa]

It's just so frustrating when we can't figure out what's wrong w/our furkids. I know that it's causing you anguish and it would me, too. Hang in there and know that we're continuing prayers that Mystery Man will give up the ghost and that your vet will be able to figure this all out.

[Catty1]

Heavens...what a puzzle. Would you consider getting a reading done on him?

Brody's_Mum on PT does them, as does Nancy Efrusy. [email protected]

It might provide some answers and solutions.

[Taz_Zoee]

Thank you Mary, I really appreciate it.

Candace, I actually have thought of getting a reading done on him. But I'm also afraid of what I might hear. And I could never tell anyone but fellow PTers what I did, because people would think I was crazy. They just don't understand.

I'll see what happens next and then figure out what I'm going to do. Thanks for the suggestion though.