Expert: Jessica - 3/18/2010

Question
hello. My cat Keenan has lost a significant amount of weight. I noticed it recently when I picked him up and he didn't seem as heavy as he used to be (around 16 pounds). I bought them some new holistic food on the 5th of march and noticed he never ate it, but would eat wet food, which previously he never seemed interested in. I returned the food, got some Halo, which they all loved before, but he won't return to the bowls. I have put some in my hand and he has eaten some, but I'm concerned. I washed out the bowl and used a new one, figuring maybe the smell of the old food was still around, but still nothing.  He doesn't have fleas, worms, or any signs of dental problems. he's still playful and upbeat, but now I can feel his bones in his back. I never could before.  

I want to give it some time, because I'm disabled and have no money right now to take him to the vets, although if I have to, they'll work with me for a payment plan, but with the combination of weight loss and not eating (much), I'm concerned.  Please help me if you can. I love all of my kitties more than anything in the world.  Thank you in advance.
-Melissa

Answer
Hi Melissa.  Ideally, Keenan should get to a vet.  I certainly understand the money aspect of it, as I am permanently disabled myself, and disability checks are hardly enough to live by.  But significant weight loss usually indicates significant disease.  One of the most common reasons for loss of appetite is kidney disease.  This causes nausea and anorexia in cats.  It also causes cats to lose protein in the urine, so they will lose muscle mass, leading to a quick deterioration in body condition.  

Some cats who go off of their food temporarily for any reason can develop a condition called hepatic lipidosis, also called fatty liver disease.  This could be a possibility if Keenan's only problem initially was that he disliked the new food.  What happens here is that in the absence of food, the cat's body turns to its fat stores for nutrition.  Only cats don't metabolize fat well, and the fat becomes trapped in the liver, bogging it down and causing failure.  Unfortunately, this condition causes nausea and anorexia, and as the cat eats less and less, the condition worsens.  The only way to cure the disease is to get the cat eating his full ration of food again, by force feeding (sometimes by tube feeding).  But he'll usually need supportive care such as IV fluids and anti-nausea medications, as well.  I think it's important for Keenan to see a vet sooner rather than later because if he hasn't developed fatty liver, he may soon.

Cats can also develop pancreatitis, and this is underdiagnosed in cats.  There is only one blood test that is definitive for diagnosing pancreatitis, called a PLI (and an express version called a Spec-fPL).  I've found a lot of vets are resistant to offering these tests for some reason, perhaps due to the cost (around $100).  Several of my own cats have been diagnosed with pancreatitis only after I brought them to a specialist.  I lost a cat to it because the regular vets failed to recognize it.  Unfortunately, treatment can be difficult and consists of supportive care, much like hepatic lipidosis.

Hopefully, it will be something simpler like a gastrointestinal infection that's causing him some nausea and can be cleared up with an antibiotic.

From home, about the best thing you can do is to try to switch Keenan to some boiled chicken breast and white rice, or stage one chicken baby food for humans for a few days and see if that does anything to calm his stomach.  Then try to get him back onto his regular diet.  However, I suspect you will probably end up needing to get him to the vet in the end, and he may be in worse condition then than he is now.

I wish you the best of luck!

Jessica