I know this is a dog board but everyone here is so helpful I thought I would ask your advice.

I have two 14 year old Russian Blue cats whom I absolutely adore.  Kizzy is fine but Sascha has always been the runt and recently has lost more weight.  We have had some tests done on her and the vet seems to think she is fine but says that old cats don't always eat well and because she was a runt she has more of a weight loss problem.  She is all skin and bone and I am very worried about her.

We have tried to get her to eat most things but she is very fussy.  Can anyone else suggest anything that will bulk a cat up?

She is off the dried food that she has eaten all her life.

Thanks for your advice.

and the vet has ruled out hyperthyroid? it occurs quite often in old cats- weight loss is a major symptom.

Yes he has ruled that out. I wonder if it has got anything to do with her teeth.  They look fine but maybe she has difficulty crunching up biscuits.

Hi,

Did the vet do blood and urine tests?  I'm thinking of FIV/FLV and diabetes specifically.

Debs

She had what I call a wellwoman check.  He tested for everything.

did he do a blood test for her kidneys?
I have a cat who at the moment has lost a bit of weight she went into the vets to have her teeth cleaned and one removed the vet wasnt happy about the weight loss so did a scan  on her kidneys sadly one has deteriorated and the other slightly she is now on medication and a special diet her approx age is 11yrs.

Is she drinking more??

Roni

No she is not drinking any more than usual and her kidneys were fine.  They were included in her test she had about 6 months ago.

The trouble with kidneys is, any reduction in their function will NOT show up in a blood test until at least 75 % of the function is already gone. 6 months is also a long time for something like this and values can have changed a lot since then. Doing an ultrasound of them will give a much better picture.

What's she like otherwise? Her normal self or any other changes, like keeping to herself more than usual? What about the coat? Her temperature? Colour of membranes -paler than usual or normal? Eye colour, any change in that recently? There's several things it could be that aren't be easy to test for, or it could simply be old age. I have a couple of oldies, one of 13 and one of 15, and they eat less and certainly have got a bit skinny, sleep a lot more as well, but they DO eat and they're not just skin and bones. I don't think much of the runt theory, at this age it won't make any difference any more.

Have you tried boiled fish (coley or cod), sliced turkey, ham, chicken, smelly food like sardines? Feeding kitten food instead of adult food in cat food? (So that she can eat less but gain more nutrients as kitten food is concentrated.) I assume the mooth has been checked good and proper, not just the teeth but the gums far back as well?

Sorry for lots of questions!

it could be to do with her teeth/gums, did you see the vet examine the mouth? forgot now if you said she's gone off wet food- if her mouth was painful i wouldnt think that she would refuse the soft wet food.

as goldmali said- the mouth and throat/back of mouth needs a proper good look at, to check if theres any lumps/bumps or enlarged glands/tonsils.

magsx

My cat couldn't do dried food in his later years, that was due to his teeth and gums poor old stick. He lived to be 18, and had to go back to soft food.

My 18 and a half year old Burmese has had to have wet food for the last few years ;) she's doing really well but I found that she wasn't drinking like she should ;) (litter tray told the story ;) )  once she was put on wet food she's never looked back ;) 
I also think that as they age they lose interest in dry food as it doesn't smell so tempting ;)

I am taking her back to the vet tomorrow as she has a reoccurring ear infection so will ask lots of questions.  Thank you everyone for all your advice.

I will let you know how she gets on.

Goodluck for tomorrow

Just come back from the vets and he says apart from Sascha' reoccurring dermetitis in her ear she is fine.  Apparently she has only lost 100g in the last 2 years so he is not worried about that at all.   The problem is that Flynn my cavalier is growing so fast and putting on so much weight that I keep thinking Sascha looks smaller and smaller.

He felt for thyroids in her neck but he says she is fine and her teeth are apparently wonderful.  He says they are the teeth of a 2 year old not 14 LOL.

She is on antibiotics for her ear now and I am to keep an eye out for her drinking and eating more but he reckons she will be fine.  He has given me some senior wet food to try.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

That's GREAT news -100 g is nothing, a couple of big poohs only, LOL! :D

Excellent news

Aww, thats good news, so glad all is well.

Thanks everyone you are all very sweet.  These cats are so special to me. I know I would love them lots anyway but they were 30th birthday presents from my mum and sister both of whom are both dead.

I know this sounds silly but they are like my last link to my mum and sister.  I don't think I could cope if anything happened to them.

great to hear that from the vet- relief, hopefully tha ear problem can be managed, thanks for letting us know,x

That's good news :)  lets hope they live for a lot longer yet :)

fantastic news ,lovely to hear she is fit and well (apart from the ear ) many more wonderful years with your lovely puss purrrr.....

~Roni