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By Dr. Becker
Weight loss in older cats is quite common, which may be why many owners of aging kittens don’t realize that weight loss is very often a sign of an underlying disease process. And this is true even if your cat’s appetite and food consumption have not changed.
Keep in mind that losing just 1 pound in a 10-pound cat means she lost 10 percent of her total body weight, which is excessive. If your senior cat seems to be shrinking, it is very important to make an appointment with your veterinarian before he loses weight or begins to show signs of illness.
Stress Can Cause Weight Loss in Cats
There are many potential causes of weight loss in older cats, whether pathological or not.
Non-pathological triggers usually involve stressors in the cat’s environment. Perhaps you recently added a dog to your family that poses a real or perceived threat to your cat. Or maybe your work schedule has changed and required an adjustment to your cat’s meal times.
Another environmental stressor that can affect a cat’s eating habits and weight is mealtime competition. This happens when all the cats or animals in the house are fed in close proximity to each other. Cats tend to feel much more comfortable when they can have their meals in private.
Essentially, any change, no matter how minor, in your cat’s daily routine or environment is a potential stressor. So it’s a good idea to think about what might create anxiety in an older cat who is losing weight.
5 Diseases That Cause Weight Loss in Senior Cats
As with all animals, including humans, illnesses leading to weight loss are more common in older cats than younger ones. These include acquired heart disease, respiratory disease, endocrine disorders, gastrointestinal (GI) disease, and kidney disease.
1. Cardiac disease
Adult onset heart disease in cats is the result of damage to the heart structure that occurs over time. The most common type of acquired heart disease in kittens is cardiomyopathy, which accounts for about two-thirds of feline heart disease.
Cardiomyopathy is a structural abnormality of the muscle surrounding one or both chambers of the heart, resulting in the left ventricle (and occasionally the right ventricle as well) becoming thickened, enlarged, or scarred.
The abnormality also interferes with the heart’s ability to collect and pump blood, which can lead to congestive heart failure and fluid in or around the lungs. Other complications of cardiomyopathy include blood clots that cause paralysis and sudden death.
Genetics and lifestyle (weight, diet, and physical activity) are thought to play a role in the development of feline cardiomyopathy. Sometimes the disease develops secondary to another disorder such as anemia, hyperthyroidism or high blood pressure.
Three types of heart disease represent almost all primary cardiomyopathies diagnosed in cats: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy.
2. Breathing illness
A upper respiratory tract infection or chronic sinusitis may interfere with your cat’s sense of smell, which may decrease its interest in food, ultimately leading to weight loss.
Chronic feline asthma can lead to weight loss, especially as a cat gets older over the years. Abnormal tissue growth or primary lung tumors can also cause weight loss, as well as lethargy and difficulty breathing.
3. Endocrine disease
Hyperthyroidism and diabetes are two of the most common endocrine disorders in older cats. Feline hyperthyroidism has increased significantly in the United States over the past 30 years.
It is the most common endocrine disorder in kittens, with more than 10% of cats over 10 years old diagnosed with this condition.
About half of cats who develop hyperthyroidism have an increased appetite; However, about 90 percent of these kittens end up losing weight, because a side effect of too much circulating thyroid hormone is an increase in metabolism.
Other symptoms include high blood pressure, frequent vomiting, increased body temperature, heart and respiratory rate, and hyperactivity.
A combination of increased appetite, weight loss, and sudden, unexpected bursts of energy in an older cat is a sure sign that you may have a cat with hyperthyroidism.
Diabetes is the result of insufficient insulin released from the pancreas or abnormal insulin release associated with an inadequate response of the body’s cells to insulin.
The sugar in the blood cannot enter the body’s cells, so the body begins to break down fat and protein stores to use as energy. As a result, no matter how much a diabetic cat eats, it loses weight.
4. Gastrointestinal disease
There are many types of gastrointestinal diseases that can cause weight loss, but one of the most common in cats ages 10 and older is gastrointestinal lymphoma, which is an incurable form of cancer. Kittens with the disease are often lethargic and have a lack of appetite which triggers weight loss.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been associated with gastrointestinal lymphoma in cats. Feline IBD is a group of gastrointestinal disorders that ultimately cause an increase in the number of inflammatory cells in the lining of the digestive tract. Food sensitivities and allergies play a role in IBD and contribute to weakened immune function.
Chronic diarrhea and/or vomiting are typical symptoms, leading to inflammation and scar tissue in the intestinal lining. These changes can then progress to cancer cells and progress to lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract.
5. Kidney disease
It is estimated that more than half of cats aged 10 and over suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD), which means that the kidneys gradually and irreversibly deteriorate over a period of months or years. Symptoms of kidney failure include increased thirst and urination, leaking urine (especially at night), vomiting, diarrhea, poor appetite, weight loss, depression, anemia and general body weakness.
As you can see, your cat’s body can begin to break down in several ways as he grows, leading to weight loss and a host of other problems. This is why it is so important to proactively manage your health with regular wellness visits with your holistic or integrative veterinarian.
Tips to Encourage Your Cat to Eat
If your cat eats processed animal foods, my first recommendation is to try to slow and safe transition a balanced, fresh, organic, non-GMO and species-appropriate diet. Whether their diet is fresh or processed, the goal should always be to make sure your cat eats something.
Unlike dogs and humans, it is dangerous for kittens to go without food for a long time, as it can lead to a potentially fatal liver disease called hepatic lipidosis. Keeping your senior cat well-fed may require creativity, gentle encouragement, and lots of patience. Things you can do to tempt it include:
- Reheat your food to bring out the aroma
- Offer canned foods with a strong odor or garnished with a sardine (packed in water)
- Offer her new food on a paper plate in case she develops an aversion to her food bowl for some reason
- Offering a small selection of different flavors and textures of canned cat food or home cooked meat or bone broth
- Lure her with species-appropriate human foods that she has enjoyed in the past, such as hot oven-baked chicken or salmon.
- If she’s addicted to kibble and refuses everything else, try adding warm water to every meal or adding a flavor enticement like tuna juice, warm goat’s milk, or chicken broth.
It’s also important to make your cat’s mealtime a stress-free and enjoyable experience. Make sure you feed her in a calm, quiet environment that provides optimal comfort.
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