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Posted by Martisimo on January 15, 2003 at 09:13:27:

In Reply to: 10-yr. old losing weight. Should she have high energy diet? posted by yippee1999 on January 14, 2003 at 13:33:05:

I'm not very well educated in the realm of diet and nutrition. Given that, here's what I would do:

Make sure the blood work up included a BUN and creatinine and ask your vet if her values were high or in the high-end of the normal range. Protein, as I recall, is hardest on the kidneys. Renal failure is very common in aging cats and can cause weight loss. If your kitty is headed toward early renal failure I'd be cautious about upping the protein.

Do further testing if the loss continues in the next few weeks. Many older cats have other problems that can make them feel unwell overall, like high blood pressure. Certainly recheck her blood work soon too.

:I recently had complete bloodwork done on my spayed female, as she has lost a few pounds over the past few months. I guess weight loss in older cats can sometimes be due to liver problems, diabetes(?) or thyroid problems. My vet said all the tests came back negative, so at this point we think maybe the weight loss is due to cancer - cancer which at this point is not visibly evident.

:In the meantime, since liver and thyroid problems have been ruled out, do you think it's OK to put her on a high energy/protein diet? I had read somewhere that this is what you should do for older cats that have lost some weight, and so long as they do not have liver problems.

:If so, does anyone know offhand what high-end (no by-products, etc.) pet store type cat foods would constitute a high energy/protein diet? Also, maybe that would explain why last night, this same cat went crazy over a (egg/vegetable) fritatta that I had put in the garbage. I turned around to see that she had picked it out of the trash, and was devouring it, even though lately, she really hasn't been very excited over eating anything....

:Thanks!

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