Why Does My Cat Not Gain Weight? Nine Typical Arguments
The general health of a cat depends on an awareness of the causes behind their weight reduction. Although food improvements or more exercise could cause a slimmer feline, major weight changes might also point to underlying medical problems.
Stress, dental difficulties, GI problems, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, parasites, kidney disease, or cancer are just a few of the several things that could make a cat drop weight. We will explore the several reasons of weight loss in cats in great detail in this page. Let’s investigate every cause thoroughly.
1. Cutting Fewer Calorie Count
Your cat can be losing weight for one basic reason: their calorie intake is dropping. Watch the food you offer them. Many times, cat owners feed food their kitties reject. Perhaps you bought a new brand and your cat finds the taste or texture of the food objectionable. Another reason your cat can show a lower appetite is the inclusion of oral drugs into the diet.
Given their obligatory carnivorous nature, cats require at least 26–30% crude protein in their diet. Their bodies will thus lose weight and breakdown muscular proteins otherwise. Make sure your cat’s diet isn’t overly heavy in carbohydrate fillers and has enough protein.
Gradually increase the quantity of food your cat consumes via more frequent meals to boost its calorie count. You might also toss some fish oil into their meal. This will boost the taste and smell, increase the calorie count, and offer great nutrients.
2. Stress
Cats usually eat less when they are stressed. Changes in their surroundings—like moving to a new house or bringing another pet into the family—may cause stress. Alternatively another cat may have migrated into the region and is invading your cat’s domain.
Cats displaying signs of stress could be those who refuse to eat, act angrily, routinely sequester themselves, or produce too loud noises. Look for any causes of stress in your cat’s surroundings if you’re concerned about it losing weight. One might also discuss possible remedies with a cat behaviorist.
3. Dental Issues
Often dental problems cause changes in cat appetite. Eating is difficult when every mouthful you swallow hurts! Gum disease or bad or damaged teeth could cause weight loss in cats only from eating is uncomfortable. Among common dental issues include tooth fractures, gingivitis, periodontitis, and teeth lesions.
These diseases call for a quick dental evaluation by a veterinarian able to cure the discomfort and stop more issues. Cats with sore teeth could find it difficult to eat their dry food and could be less likely to Furthermore affecting their hunger are mouth ulcers and inflammatory diseases that can strike cats.
Your cat can cut back on food intake, claw at their face, slobber, or produce strange chewing sounds. Treatment could call for a dental extraction of any troublesome teeth.
4. GI Issues
Gastrointestinal problems affect the GI tract—that is, the journey from the mouth to the stomach and down to the anus. Gallstones and gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) are the most often occurring problems in cats. Inappropriate food digestion brought on by digestive disorders reduces the nutrients received.
To help control GI problems, your cat could need drugs and a specific diet recommended by her veterinarian. In cats, conditions include inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic problems, or food allergies can induce vomiting and/or diarrhea, hence aggravating weight loss. Changes in diet and some drugs could be indicated.
5. hyperthyroidism
Common in senior cats, this disorder outlines an overactive thyroid gland. The thyroid gland in the neck regulates metabolism; in some cats, it may get larger and generate too much thyroid hormones. This hastens the cat’s metabolism and results in weight loss. The most usually occurring cause of a cat losing weight and yet eating is hyperthyroidism. Several therapeutic choices exist to assist with hyperthyroidism control.
Untreated hyperthyroidism will cause high blood pressure, weight loss, diarrhea, and too frequent urination. Though more drinking and eating, hyperthyroidism can produce abrupt weight loss. See your veterinarian to evaluate the thyroid hormone levels in your cat. A hyperthyroid cat loses weight, is constantly ravenous, has a very high heart rate, regularly meows at night and struggles to sleep. Their metabolism is overactive.
They might also urinate lot of times and sip plenty of water. Blood work will be done by your veterinarian to investigate whether the weight loss results from something else. Either with medication, special food, or inpatient radioactive iodine treatment, treatment of hyperthyroidism entails thyroid gland regulation. Your veterinarian will walk you through selecting the best course of action.
6. Feline Diabetes
This disorder results from improper management of blood sugar levels and a lack of adequate insulin produced by your cat’s pancreas. Changes in weight and appetite as well as problems with the neurological system and vision can follow from this. For these cats, dietary adjustments and insulin administration are advised.
Feline diabetes causes weight loss when the body loses capacity to create insulin. Blood glucose levels rise when less glucose is transported to cells. Not able to get glucose, cells turn to alternate fuels including muscle and fat, which causes weight loss. Cats can die from untreated diabetes, hence if you find your cat losing weight and showing signs of increasing urine and thirst, make sure it gets evaluated right away.
Extremely frequent in cats, diabetes calls for constant treatment and quick medical attention. Apart from inexplicable weight loss, diabetic cats usually drink an unusually high volume of water and pee big amounts. Diabetes can be a death sentence without treatment. Should your veterinarian believe you have diabetes, they will probably collect urine and blood samples to support their diagnosis. Effective treatment calls both insulin and adjustments in food.
Does My Dog or Cat Show Diabetic Symptoms?
7:Intestinal parasites
Common in cats, intestinal parasites can cause weight loss should they not be treated. Pregnant women could spread parasites through their milk and infect their kittens as well. Cats can also contract parasites from strolling through contaminated grass and soil and subsequently grooming themselves or from hunting and eating wildlife.
Examining your cat’s feces will help your veterinarian ascertain whether they contain parasites that might be causing weight loss. Should parasites be the source, a basic dewormer will help your cat resume a normal weight. Outdoor cats run greater danger from intestinal parasites. Along with causing weight loss, worms within your cat’s body can compromise organs including the liver, lungs, intestines, and heart.
Usually, worms invading a cat’s body target the intestinal lining. Lack of appropriate therapy can lead to long-term harm including malnutrition and inflammatory bowel disease. Ask your veterinarian to recommend a deworming program you could follow if you find your cat losing weight and believe worms are the cause.
Though this is not a typical cause of weight loss in adult cats, heavy worm burdens could lead to weight loss.
8:Chronic Renal Illness
Chronic renal disease is another often occurring condition in elderly cats. The kidneys progressively get fibrotic, scarred, inflammatory and quit operating as powerfully. Cats may thus lose weight and drink more than normal. Medications and dietary changes can help control this advancing sickness.
About thirty percent of senior cats have chronic renal disease and related weight loss. Though the reason is not always obvious, high blood pressure or infection can aggravate things.
Among the symptoms include changed appetite, frequent urination, and more thirst. Quick diagnosis and treatment of renal disease help to prevent organ failure.
Weight loss can result from feline renal illness. Your veterinarian will run a urinalysis and blood tests to ascertain whether renal illness is the reason your cat is losing weight. Treatment could call for prescription foods, medications, even sterile fluids your veterinarian can train you to administer at home.
9:Diabetes mellitus
This disorder results from improper regulation of your cat’s blood sugar levels and insufficient insulin output from their pancreas. Changes in weight and appetite as well as problems with the neurological system and vision can follow from this. For these cats, food adjustments and insulin administration are advised.
10:Cancers
Among the several kinds of cancer that can lead to weight loss are malignancies in the mouth, throat, chest, and abdomen as well as lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract.
Older cats are rather prone to cancer, which can cause fast weight loss. Certain cats get benign, easily treatable tumors.But among the more that regularly occurring types of cancer in cats is lymphoma, which that damage the lymphatic system.
To find your pet, the veterinarian will physically check it, conduct urine, blood, X-ray, and the use of ultrasound tests. The type and degree of the cancer will affect the diagnosis and course of treatment. Blood testing, urinalysis, X-rays, ultrasounds, fine needle aspirations (FNA), or biopsies could all be done by your veterinarian to validate a diagnosis.
11:When Should You See a Vet?
If you observe weight loss—regardless of degree—along with other symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea, see a veterinarian about your cat. Your cat will benefit from a veterinarian evaluation if you believe it to be underweight or even obese. Your cat might also need blood tests looking for underlying problems.
Cats might have several reasons for unintentional weight reduction. To find the underlying cause, one must examine and usually do blood tests.
Call the vet if you find your cat is losing weight. Set the meeting right now. Your veterinarian can verify the weight reduction and should have a recorded weight from the most recent visit.
They will do a detailed physical examination and go over a careful history. Those results may lead your veterinarian to advise a fecal test to look for intestinal parasites and blood work to identify hints of the cause of the weight loss. More interesting information:Why Is My Cat Losing Weight? 14 Possible Reasons (Vet Answer)
12:Not Reaching Enough Food
Your cat may be eating less than you believe occasionally. Ask yourself a few questions:
Are you housemates with another cat or dog? Extra animals in your house can be eating the food of your cat or blocking their access to the food bowl.
Have you lately changed your food brand? A cup of food may have somewhat different calorie count depending on brand.
Is the meal dish conveniently located? Your cat may be in pain, from arthritis, which would make jumping up to a food dish stored on the counter challenging or going upstairs and downstairs if the floor is different.
Your veterinarian can help you find out whether something in your house keeps your cat from getting adequate food.
13:Why is my older cat losing weight?
Older cats lose muscular mass, which causes some weight loss as is typical of aging. But as they get older, cats could also acquire medical problems including cancer, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes, all of which might cause weight loss.
Senior pets should be screened for weight loss and disease as well as their care should be proactive. To evaluate their blood sugar, thyroid, and kidneys, this often entails vet visits and blood work every six months.
See the veterinarian immediately if your pet has acute symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, or significant weight loss.
14:Handling Cat Weight Loss
Should your cat be losing weight, the course of treatment relies on the cause. Often treating the issue and enabling your cat to regain some weight is a food modification or medication change. Once a cat turns eleven years old, it is advisable to boost regular veterinary appointments from once a year to twice annually.
This keeps your pet from losing weight and enables your veterinarian to identify underlying issues earlier. Since the vet weights your cat at every appointment, it also lets you keep close tabs on her weight
Frequencies of Weight Loss in Cats
1. Why is my cat performing normally yet losing weight?
Among the several possible why a cat could lose weight but not exhibit other symptoms include diabetes, early kidney illness, intestinal parasites, hyperthyroidism, and various types of cancer.
2. Why is my cat’s weight loss occurring suddenly?
Numerous diseases, from minor to severe, can lead to weight loss. A few likely reasons include:
intestinal parasites
Medical disorders including cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and hyperthyroidism
Behavioral circumstances including stress, new pet eating their food, etc.
See your veterinarian to ascertain the reason your pet is losing weight.
3. How would I find out whether my cat is underweight?
Although cats come in different shapes and weight alone may not be sufficient to ascertain whether they are too slim, the average healthy cat weights 8–12 pounds.
Their body condition score—which takes body frame, muscular mass, and general size—can be found with your veterinarian.Following these guidelines can help you lose weight:Why Is My Cat Losing Weight? 14 Possible Reasons (Vet Answer)
Arthritis
Arthritis can lower muscle condition in some older cats. They may look thinner if they lose muscle mass from less exercise than usual. Though they might also weigh a little less, these cats shouldn’t be fed high-calorie meals as they don’t need to accumulate extra weight.
Without more research, it can be difficult to find the cause your cat is losing weight; so, it is advisable to see your veterinarian for guidance.With Us:Why Is My Cat Losing Weight? 14 Possible Reasons (Vet Answer)
Conclusion
Although not very common, unexplainable weight loss in cats can nevertheless happen and usually results from clear causes.
This weight loss may result from an underlying medical condition more dangerously or from a normal change in appetite and activity level. Your cat’s welfare depends on a thorough evaluation done under license with a qualified veterinarian.
Knowing the causes of your cat’s weight shift is vital, and early veterinarian care will greatly improve their condition. See a pet wellness exam if you observe any unexpected weight loss.
Your cat can be shedding pounds for many different causes. See a veterinarian who can identify the source and provide suitable diets or therapies to be followed. Remember early intervention is crucial, hence schedule a visit right away to guarantee the health and pleasure of your pet.
