Senior Cat Losing Weight, Maybe Hyperthyroidism?

I agree with the other posts. She really needs to be seen by a veterinarian. You can give her Benadryl to help with the car sickness. Let me know her weight and I will reply with the dosage.

M. Carmona
TLC First Animal Hospital

I honestly wouldn't wait to take her to the vet. My senior cat had minor kidney disease and she was on special canned food. One week she stopped eating and started to lose weight. I took her to the vet and tests showed her kidneys were failing. It was so bad there was nothing to do for her and we had to put my beautiful cat to sleep. Things with them can change quickly. It would be better to take her to the vet so they could possibly catch the problem early. Her getting car sick is better than losing her life.

I agree with other moms that you should get her in to the vet, even if she gets sick in the car. At her age and with those symptoms it could be something that she could deteriorate from quickly and may need treatment. It could turn out to be something simple, but if not, you would want to know right away and know your options. Plus, she may be in pain or suffering, and you don't want that. I hope your kitty is ok!

Yes, please take your cat to the vet. Our older cat started to lose weight and she had kidney problems. We ended up giving her sub-quetaneous (under fur) injections of 200 cc lactated ringers for about 2 years but for all except the last day of her life she was an active and loving cat.

Hi, my cat, 12 yrs. old, has hyperthyroidism. Over the summer he began loosing weight and stopped eating his dry food. He would go in the garbage and tear food out of there. He began eating more and more canned food, but still loosing weight. I called our vet, my friend also, and she recommended a full blood work. The blood work cost about 120, including office visit and the results came in the next day. Sure enough hyperthyroid. He has medication he takes twice/day and just got retested. He began gaining weight, still doesn't eat much dry food, but eats canned food about 1/2 can four times a day. He now doesn't need to get tested again until 6 months. Our vet says that as long as he's on the meds, he can live a happy healthy life. There is a risk of kidney failure wsith the meds in the future, but with older cats there is always a chance for kidney failure. I crush up the pill and put it in his canned food. I really think you should get your cat in, even if it gets car sick, it will be worth in in the end. Good luck.

Are you sure she is not diabetic? That was the case when my male cat started losing weight. You really need to get her tested... there are so many things that could be causing the weight loss, and you won't know until you take her in.

Another for seeing the vet. Ask your vet if he can give you a small tranquilizer for the trip to the vet. They use it all the time if a pet is going to fly.
If a cat is sick they can go down hill really fast. There small bodies can not take what we as human can. She may have a growth that is making it hard to swallow not just hyperthyroidism.

S.

Do take your senior cat for blood test. Our son took the time to drive our beloved cat to vet and she was dehydrated and had infection. The vet gave her IVs and blood test and she was on prescription cat food and antibiotics and has bounced back...(We don't have a way to give cats IVs at home and it really did help her!)

I agree with most of the other posts - have the blood work done, and be sure to have her mouth checked too. i had 2 senior cats who lived to be 18 1/2 and 19 1/2 years old. Both had hyperthyroidism, and lived on medication for the last few years of their lives. One ended up having to be given baby food because she would no longer eat canned cat food, and baby food doesn't have the proper nutrition for cats - but at that point it was just getting food in her. For the upset stomach, I was told to give 1/4 tablet of Pepcid AC chewables twice a day - and it worked. My other kitty grew to have a multitude of other problems (arthitis, and finally kidney failure, to name a few). The hyperthyroidism is the easiest to take care of - but she needs to get on meds to prevent it from getting worse.

Good luck. I now have 4 cats at home, and all get their teeth cleaned annually.

I had a senior cat with hyperthyroidism who was able to live for many years on medication. I would also encourage you to find a vet who makes house calls.

Even though she gets sick in the car, you need blood work. My 19 year old cat started that way, especially with the eating, and it was kidney failure. If it is kidneys, you need to get treatments started. Maybe you can find a vet who makes house calls.

Have the blood work done. She could be suffering. There are so many vets around, maybe you could find one closer.

Hi,

If you haven't checked already, maybe there is something in her mouth that is making it painful for her to eat? I also had a senior cat, that wasn't eating and it turned out she had a tumor in her mouth. (hope this is not your case).

Good luck,
J.

Even though your cat gets sick in the car, I would still take it to the vet. That sounds like it could be a pretty serious situation. Good Luck!

I have a vet that comes to my house! She is great. Her name is Dr. Maxine Franck, Phone #: ###-###-####. She will do all the vet stuff at your house that can be done there.

We had a cat die 4 yrs ago of a heart murmur and weight loss was the major sign. We have another cat losing weight and it's another heart murmur and also a thyroid problem. We decided not to intervene with medicines cause we just aren't willing to spend that kind of money on our cats. But Dr. Franck told us all the options and was great. She's been our vet since we moved here and usually it ends up costing less then what it would cost to take them to someone.

I agree with the other posts. I know it is expensive, but it sounds like you need to get your kitty in to the vet right away. Even if she gets sick in the vehicle, it sounds like she needs to have tests done as soon as possible. Hopefully is something that the doctor can fix easily, but once they are refusing food you don't want to waste any time trying to figure it out yourself.
Take care, S.

If it's hyperthyroidism, you'll need a prescription from a vet for the medication and you'll need to adjust the amount of medication based on the blood test results, so I'm not sure you'll be able to get around the trip or having one come to your house. You'll have follow up blood tests throughout the next year as well to ensure that the dosage remains correct. You will see an immediate change in your cat though!

Regarding medications - We had a cat diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Our first vet sold us pills we had to cut in half and shove down her throat at a $1 a day. Our cat's levels weren't being regulated very well because it was difficult to control the amount she swallowed and how we cut it up, etc. We switched vets and they were able to find a pharmacy in Arizona that gave us a chicken flavored liquid (making it much more accurate dosing and easier to give to her) at $30 for a 6 month supply, mailed to our door at no cost.

Best wishes.

my moose cat decided he didn't like a particular batch of food and stopped eating. then refused to eat anything. something strange w/fat cats that have a sudden diet change, there's some issue with his liver. so even though he was over 20 lbs we had to force feed him baby food chicken and the only kitten chow he'd eat untill he gained some weight back. odd since he has like 10 lbs to lose. but we had to get a liver biopsy in the process good luck

The Welcome Waggin' Vet makes house calls. That is her entire business. Check her out. I agree, you need to get the cat checked because it could be kidneys at that age or something else. Here's her website: http://www.thewelcomewaggin.com/home.php and phone number: ###-###-####. Good luck!

I work at a vet and am studying to become a veterinary technician (a pet nurse). There are many reasons your senior cat could be losing weight, hyperthyroidism is one, diabetes is another, the not eating and trouble swallowing could indicate teeth problems or growths in the mouth. None of these problems can be solved with home remedies. Your cat really needs to have blood work performed in order to determine the cause and determine the best course of action from that point.
Good luck.
M.

Hi H.,

Our 13 year old cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She was eating like crazy and still loosing weight. She was also very hyper and jumpy. She was impossible to give medication to. Our vet recommended several treatment options. We chose to give her meds twice a day via a cream we rubbed on her ear (the medication was made into a cream via The Compunder-a compound pharmacy in Aurora). Her levels went down dramatically and many of her symptoms were gone. Unfortunately, we lost her to cancer this Fall, it was undetermined whether her cancer was related or not. However, if hyperthyrodism is left untreated it can have fatal circumstances.

Good luck to you!

She probably has a bad tooth and can't eat. This too happens in older cats. Have her mouth checked out too.