thin cat

[joan49829]

This is my first post here, but my old cat is sick. I'm sure many of you have dealt with this befor...my cat Fozzie is almost 17 and is very skinny. He eats iams, but due to his age and failing health he has had severe weight loss. The vet has said it is due to his age affecting his liver and kindeys. He is not on any med.s right now. Is there any way to fatten him up?

Fozzie has many good days, both his vet and family don't feel his time has come yet.
Joan

[Auntie Debbie]

I'm sorry your kitty has such problems and is losing weight on top of it. Has your vet done any blood work to determine how bad his liver and kidneys are? There are other causes for weight loss too, such as hyperthyroid for example. Has that and other causes been ruled out?
Your vet may be able to offer a feed that has more calories and there are calorie supplements such as Nutri-Cal that may be of help.
If your kitty is having kidney problems, what stage is he in? There are sub-qs that mmay help him remmain well hydrated.
I have some links on "Kidney Problems", "Liver Diseases" and "Sub-Q's" under the Feline section of my website (Debbie's Feline Health) that may be of help to you. It's listed under Favorites on the mmenu on the left side of the board.
I hope your kitty will put some of the weight back on. Please let us know how he is doing soon, ok?

[Traci]

In addition to Debbie's excellent advice, I too strongly encourage you to talk to your vet in greater detail about your treatment options. Since both the liver and kidneys can fail quite rapidly without proper treatment and management of the disease, you want to start immediately and agressively to ensure you are doing everything possible for your kitty.

Both diseases can fast become very painful and debilitating diseases if left untreated. Both also require sub-q fluids maintenance, proper diet (preferrably a prescription diet that is low in fat, low in protein and phosphorus), and sometimes additional medications to aid in appetite increase, or to curb vomiting, antibiotics to ward off infections, etc. The bloodwork should tell your vet much about each individual organ failure and he should be implementing a treatment approach for your kitty. Many of the treatment approaches can be maintained at home.

Please don't wait, talk to your vet about treatment options NOW and get kitty started on a maintenance of proper diet, fluid support, and any meds to combat complications. Your kitty will fair better and will feel so much better with the proper medical support.

[joanr]

Thank you for your replys. I called the vet this morning, I was wromg about the kidneys. Fozzie's kidneys are still working good. I guess this is old age, and how things are not working 100%, his heart is not as strong.

When my son was 4 he found Foz, now my son is in his second year of college. This cat is, like all pets is very loved.

Fozzie has had many emergancy vet visits, and has never been the picture of health. He is from a ferrel litter with a life expectancy of 4 to 7 years. But he is eating, using his litter box, and not in pain. He doesn't see or hear well, but again he is not suffering at all. He still is able to put the other 2 cats in their place, and boss the dog.

I think I need to focus my efforts on his comfort. Well I'm off to read those health link articles.
Thanks again.

[Auntie Debbie]

I hope the links help and that you will be able to find him some comfort. Pleae let us know how he is doing, ok?