The health of my older cat

[Medusa]

My blackie, Boo, is thin and I can feel his bones, too, but I had his senior blood work done not too long ago and he's fine, just in advanced years; he's 18. Your vet told you, however, that Woobie has some liver function problem, so I'd say that it's good that you're having him checked again. I don't have any suggestions for you, just prayers that all will go well. Please keep us posted.

[kb2yjx]

Did Woobie have a T4?? To check thyroid function...Also, to tempt her to eat, try chicken baby food. I use that as the ULTIMATE bribe food....Please keep us posted on your Woobie! I have Norton, who is 17, a thyroid and kidney kitty. He refuses to eat the kidney food. To me, this is OK, I rather have him eat something, than not eat the prescribed diet...Norton has been eating Pet Promise Chicken, and he kidney values have been excellent(he also get sub q fluids three times a week).

[krazyaboutkatz]

Welcome to PT. I'm so sorry to her about your cat. It's so hard to watch them age and have health problems. So far I haven't had a cat with kidney problems but I've heard that giving them pepcid will help to stop or decrease their vomiting. You might want to ask your vet about this. A vitiamin B12 shot might also help her coat and it may also give her more energy. I hope that her vet visit goes well and that you'll be able to make her as comfortable as possible. I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers.

[erinnyes]

Hello again! Thank you for all your advice! I read and wrote down a lot of the suggestions. As far as tempting her to eat different foods, I have tried, but she seems to only really want to snack on greasy or salty things, like cooked chicken skin and popcorn, and those are out for the obvious reasons. I have bumped up her vet appointment to Monday because she's freaking me out a little, losing very large clumps of fur on her underbelly and legs. I have been watching her very carefully (easy to do when her favorite hangout is a pillow on my bed), but I've pretty convinced it's not a case of overgrooming, she just seems to be losing big chunks of fur. To compensate I've put a space heater in my room to make sure my skinny kitty doesn't get any chills, so I hope that's helping rather than making more hair fall out.

I've written down to suggest the t4 and vitamin b12 to the vet. Those seem like good ideas, and I can't recall if she's been checked for thyroid health before or not. I want to say she has, but I will find out when I see the vet. I'll also try some chicken baby food and maybe organic canned foods and see if those entice her a little more. She eats her current K/D food with great disdain.

Thanks for all the thoughts! I will let everyone know what happens on Monday!

[kb2yjx]

Npw that you mention the Woobie eats K/D(canned???), our Tina Peepers, who was eating Royal Canin canned Duck for allergies, was put on the canned K/D when her labs came back indicating early kidney disease. THEN I noticed that Tina was pulling out her fur(which had grown back nicely while she was on the Royal Canin Duck). I decided that at 12 and a half years, I want her to be comfortable and not itching to death, so despite the little higher protein in the RC duck, I switched her from the K/D to the RC duck. She is considerably LESS itchy and her fur is growing back. My vet agreed with the switch. Maybe your Woobie is allergic to the K/D....please let us know what happens at the vet!!! Sorry I was so wordy...

[funny felines]

I don't know if it is the same for cats, as with humans but if she vomits and can't eat at times, I wonder if it could be a problem with her intestines? ask your vet...
good luck I hope she gets better soon.

[erinnyes]

Okay, I just got Woobie's results today from the vet. He told me that everything looked normal and stable, after he did the blood test for kidney and thyroid function. He said Kidney was slightly elevated, but only by one or two points, so very minorly. So after he assured me all that was fine, I'm like "... So why is she pulling her hair out?" I asked if she should be taken in for x-rays now, but my vet said it wasn't necessary. Yet I feel dissatisfied... I have been going to this vet for years and truly trust his judgment, yet I read on this very site the story of someone who's vet said the same thing to them about the same problem, and it turned out it was a larger issue.

So, I guess I'm looking for a little advice? The other vet in town is thorough and very expensive. Should I trust my vet or get the second opinion, potentially to find nothing?

So confused!!