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12 y/o losing weight, going outside box

kristinmarie May 13, 2007 04:13 PM

I have a twelve year old male tiger cat that has always been a bit overweight. Not grossly overweight, but could stand to lose a few pounds. In the last month or two, he has dropped about 3 pounds I'd say, and has lost all interest in his regular dry cat food. We haven't recently changed brands or anything, he just hasn't touched it. If we give him milk (which used to be rarely, but now we've been giving more since he isn't eating his food), he drinks it readily. He'll also eat tuna or chicken, any treats... just not his food.

He's also starting to go outside his catbox, which has never been a problem unless we, by mistake, had forgotten to clean it and he went elsewhere because, well, he's a cat and doesn't like a dirty box.

The weight loss wouldn't concern me really, because now he is just in a "normal" weight range, not at all underweight... but now it seems like I can feel all his bones along his spine and its a little scary.

One last thing thats out of the ordinary for him -- he has gotten WAY more cuddly with all of us. Not a bad thing, obviously, but he's usually just kept to himself for the most part, and would come curl up with us on occasion. Now, its like as soon we sit down he's in our lap, and won't ever leave us alone.

Could all of these things be related?

Has this happened to anyone else's senior cat? He's always been pretty much healthy except for the extra pounds... and I'm just kind of concerned there could be a bigger problem underneath. Thanks in advance for any help that can be given!

Kristin

Replies (2)

MinnesnowtaKits May 18, 2007 05:47 AM

Kristin, there very well could be an underlying condition causing all of these new things, and if it were my cat, I'd get him to the vet immediately for an exam and labwork. A weight loss of 3 pounds in one month, not eating, and not using the litterbox are all red flags by themselves, and put together can spell disaster in a very short time. Please make an appointment for your cat to see the vet ASAP if you haven't, and good luck ...
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KristinMarie Jun 20, 2007 11:11 AM

just thought I'd update on what's going on with Rascal. The vet thinks it may be diabetes... did routine blood work, came back relatively normal but kidney functions are a little off. Now we need to collect a urine sample to confirm vet's suspicions of diabetes. He seems to be doing better with canned food, but still not going in his box. If it is diabetes we will put him on insulin and see what happens then.

I'll do what I can to keep anyone that is interested posted on his condition, and thanks again for your help!

*Kristin

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