Rapid Weight Loss In Elderly Cats

Infestation of internal parasites stress anxiety depression a change in food and even moving to a new home can cause a feline to stop eating leading to a dramatic decrease in body weight.

Rapid weight loss in elderly cats. Unfortunately weight changes in older cats are often attributed merely to aging so clients may not seek veterinary care or veterinarians may inadvertently delay a diagnostic workup until marked weight loss is evident or additional clinical signs arise. Starting with a detailed history work your way through a complete workup in these patients. Cats lose weight for a variety of reasons with most due to anorexia or refusal to eat.

Diabetes results when your cat s body fails to respond to the hormone insulin produced by the pancreas or the pancreas doesn t produce enough of it according to webmd. Make sure there is no dehydration. It may be a sign of a developing heath problem or the progression of a pre existing condition if your cat begins to lose weight.

Make sure there are no worms this is a common reason for weight loss and is often ignored. Advances in veterinary medicine and specialized pet foods have added years to the lives of family cats with many living well into their teens and twenties. When dehydrated cats eat less.

Weight loss commonly afflicts middle aged and older cats. As cancer cells infiltrate the intestinal tract absorption of. While most cats with intestinal cancer show a decreased appetite some cats show a normal or increased appetite.

As your cat ages you may notice some physical changes particularly weight loss that will need to be looked into by a vet. Causes of rapid weight loss in older cats. Older cats especially obese older kitties can develop type 2 diabetes a condition that can lead to rapid weight loss.

It is important to monitor your senior cat s weight as even the slightest change in weight can be significant. Only the vet can determine the reason for your cat s unexpected weight loss but here are 8 common causes of weight loss in cats. Even indoor cat can get worms from insects.