Indoor Cat Made Outdoor and Lost a Lot of Weight....

Hi H.,

I have my animals on living water and barley grass along with my whole family.

My mother has her cats on the same and they have great skin and stay very healthy.

If you would like more info let me know.

Have a happy Valentine's Day.

N. Marie

Wow--I just read the other responses, and you've gotten great suggestions here. I think you should take these fabulous women's opinions very seriously. Such a lot of combined wisdom!

Hi H.. I've been involved in cat rescue for many years and unfortunately there are just so many reasons your cat could be losing weight that it is hard to say what may or may not help. It's possible that a change in diet (i.e. eating bugs, grass, etc...) may have disrupted his intestinal track causing this weight loss. It is also possible that he developed a kidney issue. It could simply be depression and a true "distaste" for living outdoors. On a more grave note, your cat could have gotten into something poisonous. Further blood work would be helpful and you might try to negotiate with your vet. If money is tight, my vet is always willing to bargain with me. If this just isn’t an option, you should purchase a tube of NutriCal. NutriCal is an energy-packed nutritional supplement which contains the vitamins and minerals your pets needs. NutriCal is also a high calorie supplement designed to provide extra energy as well as nutrition. I have had a lot of success with it. Petsmart and Petco both sell it. It works best if you put it on the cat’s paw and let them lick it off. It has a peanut butter like consistency and they can’t won’t stop licking until ever drop is off the paw. Another piece of advice is to try Rescue Remedy. This is a great natural stress reliever for cats. Here is the link for more information. http://www.rescueremedy.com/pets/. You can find this at any Health Food Store. I’ve used it on cats, kittens, dogs, horses and lizards with great success. Just make sure to follow the dosage instructions. Good luck to you. It sounds like you love your baby very much and sometimes cats just need that extra love and affection following changes in their household.

Hi there, I'm sorry to hear about your cat not feeling well. I wondered if he has his shots to protect him from the great outdoors and is he fixed.I don't know what city you are in but there are mobile vets that give shots sooooo much cheaper and there is a vet in Pittsburg that nueters cats real cheap, well pet vet. I took all my cats there so they dont overpopulate. These things might help along with some things the others have suggested. I would have his kidneys tested. I have cats that are both indoor and outdoor and always keep dry food outside and water. A vet told me that cats have to eat every day or they can die so my cats always have food constantly. I try to get them in at night to protect them. Also, I hate to mention this, but watch out for mean neighbors, you never know what they will do.I have a cat tree and they love to sleep on it. You can find one used or free sometimes,(craigslist or freecycle.com) it keeps them up and out of the way of babies, etc. Maybe he would like to live indoors more also or have access to a garage or seperate room of some sort. I really hope he is ok. I realize the costs of vets is high, I hope you get this resolved. Please let us know, there are a lot of animal lovers out here...there is so much sadness right now with all the foreclosures and animals that are left to fend for themselves. Good Luck with Figaro!

He may have lost weight becuase he is getting more exercise being outside. My cats act hungry all the time now. I feed them more, but they also hunt. I know one of my cats got a little sick from eating a lizard, but she is doing great now. Good luck to you and I hope your kitty gains the weight back.
www.helpmomstayhome.com

H.,

There are platy of bacteria that he can pick up outside that is not seen on a normal blood test. Babesia, Bartonella, borrelia B and ehrlichia is just a few.
A low dose tetracycline type antibiotic (not the penicillins) for a duration of time (months) will most likely do the trick. The problem is finding a vet that will give you the meds.
ps...has he gotten into anything in the garage that could make him sick?

We made our two cats outdoor cats (formerly indoor/outdoor)when out first child was old enough to bother the cats and potential injury could happen. It is impossible to supervise their interaction 100% and a cat can cause serious injury to a baby, even unintentionally. We feed them in the morning when we let them out of the garage and in the evening we call them in and feed them inside the garage where the remain for the night.They each have their own cat box to sleep in. It is too dangerous to leave them totally outside at night. Our cats are also vaccinated every year and are on Frontline flea protection (I know, Frontline is expensive but necessary if they are outdoors - fleas are not just annoying but are the source of tapeworms). There has been a lot of good advice about urinary/kidney problems, tapeworms or just plain stress etc. to be looked into. The dehydration really makes me think it could be a urinary or kidney infection. Perhaps your vet would agree to put him on a broad spectrum antibiotic that could treat a UTI or possibly any other common infection. Please consider letting the cat live in the garage full time with a comfy place to sleep until you figure it out and he gets better. You can also track his symptoms, eating/drinking and urinary/bowel habits this way. If he's not drinking/peeing, there is a big problem. Good luck!

I'd like to start off with saying that I am a mom to a 5 year old and a two year old. We also have 3 large dogs (60lbs, 70lbs and 90lbs) and 4 always-indoor-only rescue cats.

We had the animals before we had the kids, and just expected "everyone" to adjust when we had kids. My daughters would sometimes chase them, but we always had cat towers and gated off rooms where the animals could be safe. We never once had a bite or a scratch, and it's been over 5 years.

As far as your cats go, it is a very real possibility that the other cats in your neighborhood are terrorizing at least one of them. They all had their turfs, and they were suddenly required to carve out a piece of someone elses turf for his/their own. In addition, he/they no longer have the loving comfort of snuggling up to you.

In addition to the dangers from cars, dogs, other cats and possible poisons, there are so many diseases they could get! Cat bites from cat fights almost always cause abcesses as well.

I strongly urge you to let them at least be an indoor / outdoor cats again (with emphasis on indoor and outdoor only once in a while.) Snuggle them up after baby is in bed and give the skinny one lots of kitty treats / high calorie food. I'll bet you'll be amazed at how fast he regains his weight.

K.
PS If you are feeding him outdoors, he may not even be getting to eat his food. Other cats may be chasing him away from it.

Dear H.,

I am sorry for you and your kitty. If his gums and everything are looking ill, then I guess it is probably more serious than depression or even parasites. He could be bleeding internally because of a fight or injury. We just had our kitty at the vet last month for internal bleeding- and they suspected either an injury or poisoning. They didn't do any invasive tests, but kept him on vitamin K and antibiotics for a 2-3 week period. A cat I had previously died of kidney failure after losing a lot of weight (he was an old cat.) I would recommend having the vet test kidney function. I am not sure how much the urinalysis would cost you, but it's probably $50 or less. If it is a kidney problem (very common in cats, unfortunately), then the sooner they catch it, the better the prognosis. You really need to know what's wrong before you could know which home remedy to try! I know that pets (and vets) can be very costly, and I wish you and your little Figaro well.

It sounds a lot like what happened to my cat just recently. I was able to nurse her back to health but it was an enormous amount of work. On a modified budget, here's what I would add to what you are already doing. Ask them if they think a perscription of Ursidol would help. It is 11.00 at Walmart Pharmacy. My vet prescribed 3x the recommended dose (1/2 a capsule in food) because she has seen amazing results with no side effects. If the vet is interested he should call her- Dr. Ann at Rocklin Park Vet.

Good luck, and be patient.

Hi, Figaro might have worms. Also some humane societies have lower cost vets attached to them. C

i'm sorry to hear about your cat. if it was summer i would say perhaps he had been eating lizards which makes a cat throw up and then they get skinny. did the vet check for worms? kidney function? those would be my first guesses. there is also a respiratory virus cats get, how is his voice? his breathing? ask your vet if they will work with you on payments, if not, ask if they accept Care Credit. if they do fill out the app. and see how much you get approved for. We had to do this with a dog we got at the pound who came down with pneumonia (it cost us over 2,000 and we dont have much money). if the amount is under three hundred you have 3 months to pay it off with no interest. if its over three hundred it will depend on the vet. ours was we had to pay it off within a year or pay all the interest. i also had a cat that had kidney problems and would not eat or drink at all. i had to wrap her in a towel and feed her with a large syringe. we finally had her put to sleep as she was no longer enjoying her life. i hope your cat makes it. good luck

I would be concerned about parasites. Even an indoor cat could have tapeworm, caused by ingesting a flea. Also, Figaro may have eaten some plants or something not easily digested. I would keep in contact with your regular veterinarian. If not. completely satisfied, then I would consult another one. Before going in, tell them exactly your experiences and I'm sure they'll be willing to work with you.
As in the past, I would highly recommend Evergreen Veterinarian Clinic in San Jose off 101 and Capitol.
You may want to reconsider raising your cats as indoor only cats as they live a better life and you can observe them . I raised 4 children and cared for 3 grandchildren with my catsm akibg wutg fosters. It is of course, a personal choice.

Did your vet do a fecal test to check for parasites? When the vet did the blood test did he/she just check for those diseases or did they do a full chemistry panel?
Usually parasites will just make a cat eat more, but sometimes it can cause weight loss if they can’t get enough food.
It could also be a thyroid problem (I just lost a kitty to this a few months ago.) In our case the cat was older (14) and we just didn’t catch it in time. Normally thyroid conditions are very treatable with daily medication.
There is also the possibility that the kitty ate something toxic.
Since you can’t afford more testing right now the best thing to do is to try and treat the symptoms in hope that it’s either parasites or something mildly toxic that the cat can handle it’s self. Keep some dry food out all the time and offer wet 2-3 times a day. It sounds like he’s eating the wet food you’ve been giving him, but if his appetite drops off you can try giving him some baby food (turkey dinner is my cat’s favorite). Make sure he’s getting plenty of water. Cats have very delicate kidneys. When they become dehydrated it can cause a lot of other problems. If he doesn’t want to drink call your vet and ask for a bag a saline. You can give cats water subcutaneously (under their skin) and it can do a world of good. One of the vet techs can teach you how to do it. Or you can view this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Ta537YEOU it is very easy.
If you have any other questions you can send me a personal message. I usually don’t spend much time online on the weekends but I’ll try to check my e-mail a few times to see if you need any other help.

Good luck,

A.

Hi H., I know it's hard having a new baby. Our cat got used to two new ones after being the only one. I would never put him outside after being in for so many years. They seem curious about going out, but as he was in for so long, it's really like throwing him in the jungle. Please rethink that and let him back in. It's hard enough to have the change of a new baby, let alone being put out to live. There are so many things out there that could make him sick. Other peoples' bug and weed killers, dripping anti-freeze, even ant killers left around houses, plants can all be toxic. Not to mention, people who may not want him in their yard have been known to poison cats. It happened to my friend. Cats are also one of the main reasons the wild bird population is dropping. Do the right thing and let your pet back in his home. He will get well sooner if he feels loved.

I just wanted to acknowledge your efforts to care for your baby and you cat and how hard that is and applaud you. It is hard on them to transition, illness are sometimes hard to detect and Vets are known to push for labs...even good ones..
Figaro is getting my exercise outside too probably...

hang in there.

I'm afraid you're not going to be able to know how or what to treat Figaro with until you know what his problem is. You need to get more testing to find out! he's your 1st baby and i know you want to do the right thing for him. Believe me , you'll feel better knowing what's wrong and doing the correct treatment for him,the sooner you do this ,the sooner he and you will feel better.Good luck,K.