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A cat of any age who is not eating but is losing weight should be checked by a vet before the cat becomes underweight. Extreme lethargy the cat spends most of.
Cats tend to lose the ability to digest and absorb fat as they grow old.
Why do cats lose weight as they age. There are several reason why your cat might be losing weight. These are some of the more common reasons for weight loss in your elderly feline family members. Hyperthyroidism is one of the more common reasons that a cat will lose weight especially when they get into their senior years.
Elderly people and cats lose some ability to process proteins so that causes muscle wasting. Age 10 is really too young for that though. When a not very elderly cat loses weight like that its usually kidney disease or hyperthyroid.
Chronic kidney disease is very common especially in older cats and in this disease they can actually lose a lot of protein in their urine. The urine becomes leaky and the protein just leaks out of the blood into the urine and is lost that way. And so that can cause a cat to lose weight.
Sometimes a cat can be otherwise reasonably well. Cats tend to lose the ability to digest and absorb fat as they grow old. Although obesity does occur in middle-aged cats feline seniors more often lose weight and take on a distinctively boney old cat feel.
Changes in diet can help some older cats retain normal body weight though so speak to your vet if your cat is losing weight. Diabetes is another illness in which cats lose weight despite an excellent appetite however most of these cats show a dramatic increase in thirst and you report that your cat is drinking the same amount of water so diabetes is lower down on my list. Gastrointestinal cancer has to be considered in an older cat.
Check Cat Weight by Hand. Do it by putting your hand on your cat and start feeling the ribs and shoulder bones. If you feel them immediately its a sign that your cat is underweight and needs more healthy food to put on some weight.
Weight loss may occur because of these health issues in addition to the poor diet. Those who live with a cat will have noticed that during the summer but generally with the arrival of heat the small feline tends to lose weight in an impressive manner. This is due to several causes mostly physiological but never underestimate the excessive change of the weight of the cat and always stay alert.
The diet of the cat in summertime. Unintentional weight loss is a big risk factor in older adults for multiple reasons. Unintentionally losing too much weight as you get older can cause.
Decreased quality of life. Dental disease is extremely common to older cats and may make eating difficult or even painful causing your cat to loose weight. Signs of feline dental disease are.
Chewing on one side of the mouth. You may try and encourage your cat to eat by giving him wide shallow and easily accessible food and water dishes. Answer 1 of 22.
Weight loss in cats between the ages of 12 and 16 is usually a sign of illness. The five most common causes in this age range are hyperthyroidism kidney disease particularly with secondary kidney infection diabetes mellitus intestinal disease inflammatory or lymphoma and. Many cats experience weight loss in the final weeks or months due to loss of appetite.
Weakness the cat may have difficulty standing walking accessing the litter tray or climbing stairs. Extreme lethargy the cat spends most of. A cat of any age who is not eating but is losing weight should be checked by a vet before the cat becomes underweight.
How should I talk to a vet about the best diet for my cat. It is a good idea to take the packaging of what you feed your cat when you go to see a vet so they can check that the diet is suitable. If your cat is losing weight despite having a ravenous appetite it may be due to inadequate diet or diseases that cause malabsorption maldigestion and excessive loss.
Cats tend to develop a liking for particular food types based on how they have been fed from a very young age. The dogma that all older cats be fed reduced energy senior diets must be questioned based on what is now known about the increasing energy requirements and nutritional needs of older cats. ¹² The higher maintenance energy requirements of geriatric cats in combination with their impaired ability to digest protein will lead to loss of muscle mass if.
Why is my cat losing weight. Weight loss can be caused by many different problems such as. Other illness such as liver disease pancreatitis cancer inflammatory bowel disease viral infections such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus FIV and Feline Leukaemia Virus FeLV.
Apache2438 Debian Server at wwwvetmedillinoisedu Port 443. Its not uncommon for older cats to experience weight loss and sometimes it can be difficult to find the cause because a cats metabolism changes with age. Kidney disease or renal insufficiency becomes more common as cats age and symptoms include weight loss and increased drinking and urination.
The cooler the cat is the darker its fur grows. Cats also change color as they age. Young cats grow darker and older cats turn gray.
UV rays from the sun bleach dark fur as does a tyrosine deficiency in the diet. Sudden color changes suggest a hormonal imbalance. Dont assume that sickness is the reason why your cats fur is changing color.