diet regulated cat showing signs of age

Hi guys!
I haven't posted in ages and ages, which is good in the sense that my cat, Kiton, has been doing very well with his diabetes. He has been happily posting excellent numbers on his low/no-carb diet for over 2 years now.

After his attack of ketoacidosis and all that drama over 2 years ago, he was weaker for some time but recovered and regained a bit of weight. The vet suggested that we try to get his weight down or she feared another diabetic "episode." SInce I was already giving him food that was HEALTHIER than the diet foods she proposed, I just did my best to make sure he didn't get fed too often. I aim for about 200 calories a day, but some days he's just hungrier!

Well, the weight loss gradually happened. He's now down to a very trim 12 lbs. The big problem is, he's acting well, old! He's not a kitten anymore, he's about 12 years old, but this decline just feels way to rapid. He doesn't jump up on things and move around the way he used to. His joints were checked for arthritis and everything seemed to be fine. He's on a Glucosamine supplement (~200mcg/day) but I just don't see any improvement. I can see his breathing in a way I never used to and it sometimes seems labored.

All his bloodwork over the past to years has been excellent. The vet says he's the right weight and there's nothing wrong with his joints. But something seems wrong to me! He's just so bony, especially through the hindquarters. I want to do more for him, but I'm just not sure what. Help him gain a little weight back? More Glucosamine? Take him back to the vet and look for more joint issues? Maybe there's just something I'm not seeing or thinking of!
I would SO APPRECIATE your help and suggestions!

 

Any increased drinking or urine? How's the fur?

Boney and skinny hind quarters screams Hyperthyroidism to me, but I've had a few of those, so it's usually on the top of my list. Others may have different ideas.

When you did the bloodwork was a T4 panel done. This checks the thyroid hormone level.

With older cats, even if the T4 is in the normal range, but the high end of normal, it may be time to start treating for hypert. Do you have the results that you can check the T4 number?

 

When I ordered up the bloodwork I did not specifically mention to look for thyroid issue, I have always been so worried about kidneys! But I was under the impression they'd tested for all the basic endocrine factors. I will definitely check into that specifically now, thanks!!

As for his fur, it's been normal. His eyes have gotten a little glassy but the vet said that was normal at his age. His appetite is a bit lower, he eats a little less more frequently... but he's always been a bit of a grazer (like me! lol!). No increase in urine and he doesn't drink water really at all since he's been on an all-wet diet.

 

Ditto to Jens suggestion for hyperT, the labored breathing worries me too. HyperT can cause secondary heart problems. Has she had chest xrays to look at heart? A cardiac ultrasound maybe too..

 

Most cats will drink/pee more and have increased appetite. However, my boy Gett who just had I131 presented differently. He never drank water and pee was the same. He was hospitalized for a day for not eating. The only real difference that I can see now that he's been treated with the radiation is that his face looks younger.

Before the treatment his face had pronounced edges, the nose seemed pointier, weird things like that. Now his face just looks flatter and healthier. He gets his first T4 test in another week to see how he is after treatment.

However, most cats do present with increased vocal noises, vomitting hair balls, anxiety, weight loss, drinking and peeing more. So, maybe it's not HyperT for your kitty, but I'd still want to see what the number is, even if the vet says it was normal, ask for the specific number.

 

I just called the vet and they DID NOT test for thyroid with the last two blood panels. I'm kinda furious because I TOLD THEM to test for everything that could explain muscle weakness or would be post-diabetic complications (liver, kidneys). Argh!
So I'm going in next Thurs to get this T4 done and hoping that if it's hyperT that I'm catching it early enough! I lost a cat to hyperT 5 years ago and it was just awful (she was a rescue and had gone untreated for a long time, but the heart and lung problems were terrible to watch).
Thanks guys for pointing this out, can't believe it was overlooked and I didn't think of it sooner!

 

A urine analysis is also recommended since urine specific gravity will decrease (indicator of kidney function) before the creatinine and bun blood values decease. A GI blood panel might also be in order. One common panel measures for:

Serum Trypsin-Like Immunoreactivity (TLI)
For exocrine pancreatic function testing (i.e to diagnose EPI )

Serum Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) and Folate
Test of small intestinal function (not species specific)

Pancreatic Lipase Immunoreactivity (PLI)
Test for diagnosis of pancreatitis in dogs and cats (species specific)

from:
http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/gilab/assays/index.shtml

 

Update:
So, while hyperT was a good guess (my vet said), Kiton does not have any thyroid issues. He has lymphoma. After a lot of blood tests and xrays and cytology on some fluid from his lungs, they are certain that is the situation. He's starting chemo-steroids at home and hopefully will respond well. He's been so weak and feeble since he got home from the tests, it's hard for me to see him like this. He's not eating very much at all, which is also SO unlike him. The steroids are supposed to make him hungrier, so I'll see if that happens in the next few days. All he'll eat right now is the awful dry food-- I bought the lowest carb brand I could find in all of NYC-- which is of course a problem, but I got him off of it once before, I can probably do it again. Right now, my priority is to get him to eat something and then to aggressively follow-up on the drugs with further tests in 2 weeks.

Anyway, thanks for all the help and support. Just wanted to let you all know what was going on.

 

I did not see that coming, I'm so sorry. Don't worry about what you feed, just let him eat whatever he will eat. If the diabetes comes back either from the carbs or the steroids you can deal with that. Food is most important, I'd think, to help gain strength.

Steroids usually helps stimulate the appetite.

Please keep us posted.

 

Dang! I'm sorry about this news! That said, I know of some FD cats on this board who were successfully treated for lymphoma so fingers crossed that he responds well!

Jen

 

Thanks ladies. I am trying to stay optimistic (after a whole day of being a mess when I first found out) and my vet said there was every reason to be hopeful that the lymphoma, while not curable, could be controlled to the point of remission. My vet also is impressed with my memory of absolutely every test/test result/symptom/office visit Kiton has ever had... I asked her if she'd ever been on this BBS... I appreciate that people here take these things seriously! I've learned so much.

 

You might also ask about adding some Clinicare and mixing it in with canned food. It is a liquid food that is used for tube feeding. high potency.....everything kitty needs. So sorry to hear it is lymphoma.

 

linicare is not low calorie. Specifically
Calorie Distribution

protein, 30%; fat, 45%; carbohydrate, 25%.

From: http://www.drugs.com/vet/clinicare-cani ... -diet.html