I took Duncan to the vet yesterday for his annual checkup. For three years (ever since I adopted him) they’ve been telling me he needs to lose weight, and for three years he’s been losing weight. He has gone from about 24 pounds down to 18 pounds. They say he still needs to lose about two more pounds.
However, now they are concerned because he’s losing weight. Yes. Concerned. They say it’s notoriously difficult for a cat to lose weight, so they’re suspicious whenever a cat does lose weight. Especially if no real effort has been put into this weight loss. In Duncan’s case, I don’t know how he lost the first couple of pounds, but after that it became much easier for him to play and be active. I think that’s how he lost the next four.
The vet thinks we should do tests. Thyroid tests and blood tests and tests for IBS and diabetes.
It’s not just that he’s losing weight. It’s that he throws up a couple of times a week. I don’t know about you, but all my cats over the years have been prolific vomiters. Flea, who lived to the ripe old age of 19, threw up several times each day. His life was a vicious cycle of eating and throwing up.
“We’re so used to taking cats’ vomiting for granted,” explained the vet. “But really, it’s not something we should ignore. According to the experts, cats should throw up no more than twice a year. Anything more than that is a sign of a potential problem.”
The other problem is that Duncan’s teeth are bad. He has gingivitis, definitely needs a cleaning and probably needs an extraction or two. He had dental surgery three years ago, just before I adopted him from the Humane Society. But it needs to be done again; she says he’s in pain. She prepared a quote for me, and it’ll be about a thousand bucks. She says she can roll the other tests in with the pre-op tests, which will save me a few bucks.
She also said he’s the sweetest cat she’s seen in a quite awhile.
I can’t bear the idea of him being in pain, so I guess he’s going to have the surgery. But I’m not so sure I want to have the other tests done. Why go looking for trouble I can’t afford to find?
Lucky is headed toward 18, has foul breath and throws up frequently. Our vet exclaimed over his good health at his recent check up, kissed him goodbye and told him she’d see him again next year. She also gave him a new cat nip toy and a tunnel to hide in because it was Senior Cat Month. I love our vet.
My cat Peno throws up her food about once a month – I suspect from eating too fast. With the other two – it’s mostly just throwing up grass and fur – which is fairly normal.
I know what you mean about testing and looking for trouble – but you really should get it done. The initial diagnosis for Tux’s diabetes was expensive, but the maintenance (insulin and needles) is less than $20 a month. Pets with undiagnosed diabetes can decline very fast too – we had one cat who we lost with in a year of her health declining – she was only 8. He diabetes was diagnosed too late and her kidneys had already begun to fail.
My grandma put off getting her dog tested, he dropped way too much weight in a month and went blind before they got him back on track.
Hope Duncan is okay.
You know my dear old girl Luna was 19.5 when we had to have her put down. She gained weight each winter and lost it in the spring. It was totally normal for her, I never worried because her eyes were bright and her coat beautiful. When she went into decline with kidney disease her coat lost its gloss and the hair on her ears thinned so much they were actually cold. She lost weight and became light as a feather. It was unmistakeable that she was ill.
YOU know Duncan, if he’s happy and healthy I wouldn’t worry AT ALL about the weight loss. I would schedule the teeth extractions for a few months from now and see if his weight loss is indeed rapid or if Duncan is just now being cared for properly and reaping the rewards. Luna’s teeth were getting bad near the end too. Her breathe was fine but she had tartrar and some gingivitis because of it. We couldn’t do anything because of her advanced age (she’d die under anesthetic.
i’ve Never in my life known a cat that only vomitted a couple times a year. Its part of who cats are isn’t it??
Fergie throws up maybe once or twice a month…he is 17 (ish). He has lost about half his body weight in the last two years…we are now noticing his spine and ribs sticking out. people that haven’t seen him for a few years are shocked but we just find it has been gradual.
One thing we do notice is that he wants to drink all the time..especially out of the shower. I can’t pee without having to turn the shower on.
Hopefully Duncan is fine and just getting exercise, causing him to lose some “heft”
“Cats should throw up no more than twice a year” – that’s a good one!
Personally, I would start by taking care of Duncan’s teeth, because that may be why he is throwing up and losing weight. Also, call around and see if you can get a better price. When my dog had to have ACL surgery (which my vet does not do), I received quotes that varied between $600 and $1500.
You know Duncan best, so trust your instincts.
My Mina (12 years old) throws up about once a week, sometimes more. Ginger (3 years) tosses her cookies about once every three months, usually after eating grass. From my POV, it sounds like Duncan is normal, more or less.
Our cat shadow (about 12 years old) throws up once a week. He has great teeth, and never seems to lose any weight. He throws up less if we have him on wet only food. Hasn’t had a UTI in ages – but used to get them when we had him on dry food only. He seems to be in overall good health but doesn’t always have the best coat. He gets dandruff every winter.
Cheers,
Rob
My two long-haired male kitties (about 6 yrs old) throw up furball/food blobs at least once a week. They always have and I’m not at all worried about their health.
If your instincts tell you Duncan is sick, go with those. Otherwise, keep in mind that even good vets have bills to pay and may be willing to let you spend as much money as you are willing to at their establishments. Just sayin’.
Maggie will be 20 yrs old this May, and throws up about once every other week. I think that as long as Duncan is throwing up at the same rate he did when he was younger, I wouldn’t worry too much. With Spring finally here, it could also be hairballs as cats tend to shed more as the weather warms up. More frequent brushing and a dab or hairball remedy once a week helps with hairballs.
Does Duncan have all his teeth? Over the past year or so, Maggie went from roly-poly to the size of a teenage cat (if only her owner could do the same). Most of her weight loss was due to losing most of her teeth so that she now has about four or five left. Ever since we switched her to wet food, she’s had a renewed lease on life. To make it easier for her, we mix her food with some water until it’s the consistency of a thick cream soup.
…to the best of my knowledge (re: unless she’s been doing it under the couch) Cooler has only thrown up two or three times — she’s about to turn two.
My grandmother has a cat that’s heavier than Duncan, and we’ve been trying to get her to stop feeding him every ten minutes to no avail. This is the same grandmother who doesn’t believe in diabetes.
Cats react well or poorly to what we feed them; either they require grass for digestion or they don’t; cats are just cats. I have a cat who stopped throwing up so much when I switched her to half wet food and some dry for grazing.
On the other hand the cat I recently lost to illness was steadily losing weight but threw up no more or less than in the previous 9 years of his life. It was not an indicator. That said, I don’t remember how old Duncan is but if he’s around 10 there are some routine tests that should be done to prevent other problems. Had I done so earlier I probably could have extended my cat’s life significantly with fairly little cost for maintenance. If you can get the tests done at the same time as other things, even better.
Yikes – twice a year? I’ve never heard that before. Our guy throws up a hairball maybe one a month, and will throw up if he eats too fast (rare, but it happens). It’s definitely more than twice a year though.
So sorry to hear of Duncan’s problems. I think it would be a good idea to let your vet do the testing, as part of a pre-surgical package if possible, since you know some his teeth need work.
@Deb @5:29 — constant thirst is one of the main symptoms of diabetes! Please have Fergie checked out for this illness.
THE Gwyndolyn says to get Duncan tested. As others have pointed out: diagnosis may cost a lot, but the maintenance is usually affordable. Sometimes all it takes is a change of diet or hairball medicine.
@Deb @5:29 — excessive thirst and low appetite are also symptoms of kidney failure. THE Gwyndolyn has needed supplemental fluids daily, because we didn’t diagnose her problem soon enough. If we had, a different diet would have kept her fine for much longer without the subcutaneous fluids. OTOH, it’s been 5.5 years since the vet said she had six months left.
A friend of mine said her co-workers were criticizing her for the amount she spent on her pet. I replied, “What do they *think* you should spend on unconditional love?”
(PS: THE Gwyndolyn rarely throws up. I don’t recall that she urfed more than once every few months pre-diagnosis.)
Poor Duncan baby. Yeah you have to get those teeth taken care of. I got Greta’s done and she had a couple of extractions but it was only about $450, $1000 sounds very high to me.
Hi, Zoom!, if you are wary you can always ask for a second opinion elsewhere. I find that the vets are cheaper in the countryside around Ottawa, but just as good.
While our kitten only throws up when he has a hairball, my parents have a Siamese who is sick regularly. His weight has stayed the same though, we just chalked it up to a sensitive stomach. He’s about 16 years old now.
I hope Duncan is OK and that you will post on the results. (BTW, my two nephews are named Duncan and Logan. What are the odds?)