Unexplained weight loss in 8.5 yr old male cat

I've noticed lately that my 8.5 yr old male cat has lost weight so I
decided to have him checked out. Upon weighing him at the vets office,
it was discovered that he had lost 3 lbs. since his last exam in late
June of this year. He was 11 lbs. in June; he is now 8 lbs. I should
also say that during the past few days prior to bringing him in I had
noticed that he had a slight decrease in appetite and drinking. My
veternarian did a complete blood and urine workup on my cat and found
nothing. She also did an x-ray of his body and said that although
everything appears to be okay, she is concerned that she does not see
a clear outline of his organs and has instructed me to take him for an
abdominal ultrasound. Can anyone shed some light on what might be
going on? Also, in his initial exam, he had no fever and his gums were
pink. He was slightly dehydrated but the vet's office gave him some
fluids and he did manage to eat some food for them. I'd appreciate any
insight.

On 23 Oct 2003 14:02:14 -0700, (Lynn) wrote:

I've noticed lately that my 8.5 yr old male cat has lost weight so I
decided to have him checked out. Upon weighing him at the vets office,
it was discovered that he had lost 3 lbs. since his last exam in late
June of this year. He was 11 lbs. in June; he is now 8 lbs. I should
also say that during the past few days prior to bringing him in I had
noticed that he had a slight decrease in appetite and drinking. My
veternarian did a complete blood and urine workup on my cat and found
nothing. She also did an x-ray of his body and said that although
everything appears to be okay, she is concerned that she does not see
a clear outline of his organs and has instructed me to take him for an
abdominal ultrasound. Can anyone shed some light on what might be
going on? Also, in his initial exam, he had no fever and his gums were
pink. He was slightly dehydrated but the vet's office gave him some
fluids and he did manage to eat some food for them. I'd appreciate any
insight.
Did they test the thyroid?

"m. L. Briggs" wrote in message

Did they test the thyroid?

A great suggestion. I forgot about thyroid.

"m. L. Briggs" wrote in message

Did they test the thyroid?

A great suggestion. I forgot about thyroid.

On 23 Oct 2003 14:02:14 -0700, (Lynn) wrote:

I've noticed lately that my 8.5 yr old male cat has lost weight so I
decided to have him checked out. Upon weighing him at the vets office,
it was discovered that he had lost 3 lbs. since his last exam in late
June of this year. He was 11 lbs. in June; he is now 8 lbs. I should
also say that during the past few days prior to bringing him in I had
noticed that he had a slight decrease in appetite and drinking. My
veternarian did a complete blood and urine workup on my cat and found
nothing. She also did an x-ray of his body and said that although
everything appears to be okay, she is concerned that she does not see
a clear outline of his organs and has instructed me to take him for an
abdominal ultrasound. Can anyone shed some light on what might be
going on? Also, in his initial exam, he had no fever and his gums were
pink. He was slightly dehydrated but the vet's office gave him some
fluids and he did manage to eat some food for them. I'd appreciate any
insight.
Did they test the thyroid?

From your post my guess is your cat developed adhesions.

Surgery is usually necessary to correct this and to keep it from
happening again, the common procedure here is to fill the abdominal
cavity with an inert gas after stitching. This would give the tissues
time to heal without touching each other, therefore without forming
new adherences. The gas would slowly be absorbed by the tissues and
eliminated by the lungs.

http://www.fhradio.org/fm/archives/1994/1746(FM).html
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/adhesions.htm
http://www.dyspareunia.org/html/pelvic_adhesions.htm

"Liz" wrote in message
om...
From your post my guess is your cat developed adhesions.

Surgery is usually necessary to correct this and to keep it from
happening again, the common procedure here is to fill the abdominal
cavity with an inert gas after stitching. This would give the
tissues
time to heal without touching each other, therefore without forming
new adherences. The gas would slowly be absorbed by the tissues and
eliminated by the lungs.

http://www.fhradio.org/fm/archives/1994/1746(FM).html
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/adhesions.htm
http://www.dyspareunia.org/html/pelvic_adhesions.htm

"Liz" wrote in message
om...
From your post my guess is your cat developed adhesions.
Surgery is usually necessary to correct this and to keep it from
happening again, the common procedure here is to fill the abdominal
cavity with an inert gas after stitching. This would give the
tissues
time to heal without touching each other, therefore without forming
new adherences. The gas would slowly be absorbed by the tissues and
eliminated by the lungs.

Sorry to interrupt, but I've never heard of this. Is is a new
procedure? Is it used on humans? I have a personal reason to
wonder...

~Shelly~

From your post my guess is your cat developed adhesions.
Surgery is usually necessary to correct this and to keep it from
happening again, the common procedure here is to fill the abdominal
cavity with an inert gas after stitching. This would give the
tissues
time to heal without touching each other, therefore without forming
new adherences. The gas would slowly be absorbed by the tissues and
eliminated by the lungs.

Sorry to interrupt, but I've never heard of this. Is is a new
procedure? Is it used on humans? I have a personal reason to
wonder...

~Shelly~

Don´t be sorry to interrupt, we are here to exchange info! I have
seen that used here both in humans and pets. My cousin had some ovary
cysts removed about two years ago and the doctor filled her belly up
with some gas (can´t remember which) right after stiching her and told
her it was to avoid adhesions. Her abdomen was really distended, she
looked like she was 5 months pregnant and it took some weeks for her
abdoment to go back to normal. I have seen it done on a dog too, about
three months ago, also to avoid adhesions. The dog had undergone
surgery exactly to cut the previous adhesions. In both cases, it was
"routine procedure." Yesterday I read about new products to avoid
adhesions (barriers made of a cloth that the body eventually absorbs)
and if I´m not mistaken, a Swiss company is about to launch a gel for
the same purpose. In pets, due to the cost of these barriers, using
gas is more viable. The links I posted earlier discuss about these new
products.

Shelly, I did some Google search to see if I could find out the terms
used for this procedure there and found two related terms:
insufflation and pneumoperitoneum. I also found this:

__________________________________________________ ___________________

Effects of carbon dioxide-saturated normal saline and Ringer's lactate
on postsurgical adhesion formation in the rabbit.

Sahakian V, Rogers RG, Halme J, Hulka J.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of combining carbon dioxide gas
(CO2) with normal saline versus CO2 with lactated Ringer's solution on
adhesion formation in the rabbit model. METHODS: Sixty New Zealand
white rabbits underwent surgery based on a proven experimental
adhesion model. Following abdominal closure, the animals were randomly
assigned to three groups: Group 1 underwent abdominal CO2 insufflation
only; group 2 underwent abdominal irrigation with CO2-saturated normal
saline; group 3 underwent abdominal irrigation with CO2-saturated
lactated Ringer's solution. Three weeks later, the rabbits were
sacrificed and the adhesions were scored in a blinded fashion based on
the extent, type, and tenacity, with a maximum possible score of 11.
RESULTS: The mean (+/- standard deviation) adhesion scores were 7.75
+/- 2.82 in group 1, 7.85 +/- 2.58 in group 2, and 4.75 +/- 2.95 in
group 3. There was no difference in severity of adhesions between
groups 1 and 2. However, the mean adhesion score was significantly
lower in group 3 (lactated Ringer's with CO2) than in either group 1
(CO2) or group 2 (normal saline with CO2) (P = .004 and P = .002,
respectively). CONCLUSION: It appears that when CO2 is the
insufflating gas, lactated Ringer's solution has a protective effect
against adhesion formation in the rabbit model.
__________________________________________________ ________________________

It seems this technique is (or was) somewhat routine there too.