Losing weight, not eating.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi.Nancy...I just wanted to let u know I will have a full response to you in about an hour or so. Sorry for the delay!

Dr. Marie



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Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry for the delay Nancy...I forgot to turn my online status off when I went to the grocery store!

I'm sorry to hear that Sammy is not doing well. It is sometimes a difficult thing to determine why older cats are losing weight and not eating. Your vet is doing the exact same things that I would. In many cases we can find the problem on our bloodwork if we are dealing with kidney disease, liver disease or some other conditions.

When these tests are normal the next thing we start to look for is signs of a mass or cancer somewhere. Sometimes we can see evidence on xrays, but often we need an ultrasound to see this. The xrays also help us determine if there is severe arthritis in the spine as this can cause a cat to not want to eat.

Your vet will do a thorough search on the ultrasound to look for cancer. While many cancers are evident on ultrasound, there are some that can be difficult to diagnose such as lymphosarcoma of the intestines.

If your vet feels that the ultrasound is clear then I think a dental cleaning is a good idea. I have seen cats that are new creatures once their teeth are cleaned and any painful teeth are extracted.

It does sound like your vet has been very thorough. There really aren't any other tests that I would be running if this were my case.

You may want to ask your vet about a medication called Remeron (mirtazipine). This is an appetite stimulant that sometimes helps cats who don't want to eat. It won't cure the problem but it may help his appetite temporarily.

As far as how much to feed him, as long as he is getting some food into him each day this is a good thing. If he is tolerating the baby food then give him as much as he will tolerate.

I hope he does ok!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Nancy...I'm sorry for the bad news. :( I have a similar patient in my clinic right now. Liver cancer is especially hard to deal with. In most cases, palliative care (i.e. doing what we can to keep him comfortable) is the best decision.

It sounds like you have a good vet. Hopefully they will help guide you through the process when it comes time to make some hard decisions.

Dr. Marie