Help with 16 yo kitty problem, please. He's lost a ton of weight and

[GreenPartyVoter]

even though he's got hyperthyroidism, I don't think it's that this time because his heart sounds pretty good. He's always been a funny guy about running away from his wet food, especially when his sister is eating, but he'd slink back over to it eventually. I don't think he's coming back to it so much anymore. And there's always some crunchies left in their grazing dish now. Way more than there should be, even taking into account the mouse colony that's also been feeding from it. :eyes:

I've never had such old kitties before. Is this just an elderly cat thing or is it something else?

[muffin1]

1. Have you had his teeth checked lately?

One of our babies avoided his food, and sure enough, he had a couple of bad teeth that needed to be pulled.

[LNM]

2. We're going through the same thing with our kitty

She's 15. We just took her to the vet because we thought she had a Uninary Tract Infection. She did. We also had some tests done because she had lost weight and we found out she has acute renal kidney failure. There is no cure but we can treat the symptoms. She's on a daily liquid med now and we had to change her diet. I'm hoping the medication helps her get her appetite back. I'm not trying to scare you but you should get your kitty to the vet.

The vet said it's pretty common in older cats.

[yankeepants]

3. Sounds like teeth

[qb]

4. Have a vet check him out. At that age he may be having liver or kidney problems.

:hug:

[mike_c]

5. second the advice to see a vet....

Cats are remarkably good at hiding symptoms of illness or injury. A noticeable change in eating habits is often a reliable indicator of sickness, however, especially if accompanied by unexplained weight loss.

Best wishes to you and your kitty!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. Like suggested, have his teeth checked --

and some blood work, but it is not uncommon for an otherwise healthy older cat to not eat nearly as much and/or lose weight. I have dealt with several elderly cats over the years and have seen weight loss in all of them. I have one guy now, who is at least 16 and he has turned into a rail -- confirmed by the Dr. to be healthy as a horse, but skinny. Also, I had an 18 year old whose nickname was "Chubbers" who went from 18+ pounds to bag-o-bones also, as a part of his natural aging process.

So don't worry TOO much but do get him checked.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. We've been through the teeth thing before. Today I fed him separately from his sister so she

wouldn't push him away from the food, and I used a fresh can of wet stuff instead of one from the fridge. He did it a little of it but then tried to leave again, so I mixed in lukewarm water. We'll see if he "drinks" most of it or not.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Thanks everyone. I'll see about getting him to the vet. He's had teeth issues before so

we'll get that checked along with everything else.

[Withywindle]

8. Diabetes is something to check for too.

When older cats lose a lot of weight quickly, that might be a cause. Is he drinking a lot of water?

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. It's hard to say. He's always been silly about drinking from the bowl and wants a drip from the

bath tub faucet.

[Skip Intro]

9. I don't want to share this, and before I do let me say TAKE THE CAT TO THE VET...

having said that, my love Hamilton, and I say my love because me and that cat shared a real connection, but in his last year with me he stopped eating his food that he used to devour. He stopped drinking water too. His weight went down dramatically. I took him to the vet, maybe too late, and he told me to take him to a cat clinic on the other side of town, which I did. They gave him iv's and brought him back from his lethargy, but before I left that office, one of the vets told me that he was extremely malnourished, and looked at me like I had neglected my cat, which I hadn't but after he said that to me I saw my cat in a whole new light and yes, he did look underfed. Of course he wasn't, he had food upon food, I even gave him Chic-fil-A on a weekly basis. I didn't eat if that cat didn't eat, and we both ate, well. But the fact is, he had slowly lost weight right in front of my eyes and I just didn't notice until it became critical. But it wasn't a lack of food. it was just his time. He had developed a liver disease, probably cancer according to the doc, and his other organs had started to fail. He was 15.

I don't say any of this to cause you sadness or despair. And please, get that cat to the vet today. But be aware that older cats, just like humans, eventually do reach an end to their lives. Cats do it so gracefully that you really don't know until it's almost time. And that may well not be the case for your kitty, only the vet can tell. But they do leave us, and personally, I have little doubt that we'll see them again when our time comes to leave as well.