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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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To add to m L Briggs, my own cat was down to 5 pounds and put on thyroid
medication. She doubled her weight. You did say your cat had a complete blood work up and so I would think thyroid would be included but you never know. Also, no clear x-ray image? Is his abdomen swollen? Maybe you need to have another vet x-ray him on the chance that your vet's machine isn't working well. -- Barb I can only please one person a day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either. |
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To add to m L Briggs, my own cat was down to 5 pounds and put on thyroid
medication. She doubled her weight. You did say your cat had a complete blood work up and so I would think thyroid would be included but you never know. Also, no clear x-ray image? Is his abdomen swollen? Maybe you need to have another vet x-ray him on the chance that your vet's machine isn't working well. -- Barb I can only please one person a day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either. |
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"Lynn" wrote in message om... 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. Has anything around your house changed lately? Cats, particularly when they are older and well established in a place, can be very sensitive to change. Could he be grieving or missing someone? Is there any disruption around his food area that might put him off? With that much weight loss in that short a time I fear the cause may be organic, but am hoping it is just a little depression. Another thing that can cause cats to lose weight is hot weather and extra play. The summer heat (even indoors, as the ac could not keep up) and a new toy (feather on a string) made my Cheeks lose a pound in a couple of months and she only weighed 8 pounds. I hope your boy will be okay, and that it is something simple. |
#9
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"Lynn" wrote in message om... 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. Has anything around your house changed lately? Cats, particularly when they are older and well established in a place, can be very sensitive to change. Could he be grieving or missing someone? Is there any disruption around his food area that might put him off? With that much weight loss in that short a time I fear the cause may be organic, but am hoping it is just a little depression. Another thing that can cause cats to lose weight is hot weather and extra play. The summer heat (even indoors, as the ac could not keep up) and a new toy (feather on a string) made my Cheeks lose a pound in a couple of months and she only weighed 8 pounds. I hope your boy will be okay, and that it is something simple. |
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"m. L. Briggs" wrote in message Did they test the thyroid? A great suggestion. I forgot about thyroid. |
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