Expert: Norman Auspitz - 7/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have an elderly male Persian. I adopted him when I worked at an animal clinic about a 1 1/2- 2 years ago. His age was unclear then but it was estimated to be around eight. Honestly, he can be very playful and does not seem to be that old. However, ever since I've gotten him he's been very under weight. I've tried a lot of different things such as, b-12 injections, depo shots, blood tests, stool samples, Forti-flora and every cat/kitten food under the sun. However the most I've ever gotten him to gain was ONE pound that he has since lost. When I first got him, he was 6lbs. He gained for a total of 7. He's a tall cat and has very long legs, so it's not normal for him to be so thin. Anyway, I do have an appt for him with a different vet on Monday 7/6 but my question to you, is there anything I can do to help him gain? I read Karen recipe for Kitty Glop, but him being a picky eater, he may not touch it. He eats dry food regularly without a problem, but he gets sick of wet food fast. I think it upsets his stomach. Do you have any suggestions?

ANSWER: Brittney,

Remember, I am not a vet, but, are his stools normal (like tootsie rolls) or black and tarry and foul smelling?  If so, he might have tritrichomonas foetus. This can be tested for and there is good veterinary information on:

http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/personnel/gookin_jody.html

and a lay person's guide at:

http://www.nitewindes.com/gookin_file5.pdf

This condition is often diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Disease.


Other conditions that might account for this is diabetes and chronic renal failure. However, in both of these, copious amounts of water are consumed.

After that I would not know what to tell you.

Usually dry food is good for putting on weight, so, clearly something is amiss.

Yes, getting a second opinion is, clearly the right thing to do!!!!!

Please let me know what you find.

Best regards... Norm

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: No, they're not like tootsie rolls. But it's not black or extremely smelly either. It's "normal" colored. About the same color as my other 3 cats, but the consistency is more.... watery, or loose, if you will. For the first 8 months+ that I had him he had bloody diarrhea. The  first vet did diagnose with with IBS and suggested it could be intestinal cancer, but that opening him up to look would only cause the cancer to spread. This is also the same vet that over looked bone cancer in my mom's dog and caused him to die 'early' from what the other vets told us. That is why I'm getting a second opinion. I mean other than him being thin with the occasional bloody, watery/loose (more formed than diarrhea) stool, he is fine.

I will definitely let you know what happens. And thank you so much for the information. I will pass that along to the new vet and have him checked for it.

Answer
Brittney,

I am glad you are getting a second opinion. The stools do not sound like tritrich, but a test might be in order.

Does he drink much water? With mostly a dry food consumption, he will drink more water than the average cat, but, what I am talking about is drinking very much water and peeing most of it out so that the water bowl is empty and the litter is saturated in short order.

Concerned regards... Norm