Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone! I am new to this forum but look forward to sharing some of my cat's antics with you. To begin, I have entered a photo contest and have submitted a photo of him. He is 13 years old and has really thinned out in the past six or so months. I don't know how much longer I will have him. I would truly, truly appreciate if you would click on the link below and vote for his picture. Thank you!

http://www.storybrush.com/index.php?cmd=fh,cpt_entrant&id=85

You mentioned he has really thinned out the past six months... Have you taken him to a vet? After age 12, a couple things can make them thin -- kidney disease and thyroid. Both have treatments for them (they have food that can help slow kidney diease and meds help thyroid). I recommend taking him to the vet, he could very well have something they can help treat to give you more time with him...
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Tammy and Pookey
(Stanley 8/91 - 8/07)

Thanks for your advice. I will take him to a vet because I love him so much, I don't know what I will do without him. In order to keep his weight steady, I have been feeding him three meals of soft food, as well as his regular hard food, per day. He also gets a small portion of my food. I hope it is nothing more than his thyroid acting up, like you said it might be. I will keep you updated. Thanks again.

Do let us know. And...don't worry overmuch. I've had Senior cats (one lived to 16 and one is now 19). I've found that just about everything can be treated to lengthen their lives -- with healthy/quality time -- and many times it can be lengthened considerably if caught in time...
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Tammy and Pookey
(Stanley 8/91 - 8/07)

Thanks, Cyclopsgrl.

I once had a cat live until she was 21 years of age. She came from healthy farm cat parents.

As for Merlin, he is so very thin that people who know him comment on it. Yet, he is stil playful, friendly, and seemingly happy. The soft food, I believe, is going a long way to keeping some weight on him.

I will surely let you know what happens but I have to save up for the vet and that will take a couple of months to do.

Cheers,
Cynshine

Try to do it as soon as possible. Weight loss in a cat over 12 is a big indicator something isn't right. Waiting a couple months could have a big impact on him...

I loved the picture. He is colored exactly the same as my parent's cat "Boots" was...
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Tammy and Pookey
(Stanley 8/91 - 8/07)

Thanks for your advice, Cyclopsgrl. His weight loss is so profound, I have others commenting on it. My current vet does not but I am hoping to find a vet that will accept a payment plan from me. I once had a white dove who was plucking his feathers to the point of bleeding and I found an aviary vet who accepted a payment plan.

Merlin means so much to me, I'll look into it. He is like my child. He is so affectionate towards me. We trust each other implicitly.

I'll send you a picture showing his face because that is the cutest part of him, other than his black and pink paw pads. I will do that later when I have more time.

My Sam (16 at the time) had dropped from 13 to 9 without me really noticing. He didn't look any different, really, but I had decided to have him examined rather than just updating his shots. His kidneys were down to 10% functioning - a prescription diet kept it there for two years.

His last two months or so he was starting to look like a dinosaur - every disc in his spine stood out like a crest and you couldn't pet him along the spine, you only bumped along it.
At the same time, his belly looked a bit bloated.

He was happy and healthy until the last few weeks.

In hindsight, I wish I had been paying closer attention: I might have caught the kidney issue earlier, although I'm not sure that is what ultimately took him from me.

I totally understand the "vet bill" issue, especially now. Being unemployed with one's mother having to help because unemployment doesn't pay the bills sucks hard - but we're talking our cats health here.

Is there a walk-in clinic near you?