Question:
My beautiful 13-year old kitty Nanuk seems to be having a problem. For most of his life he has weighed about 9 lbs. When I took him in for his vaccinations 5 weeks ago he weighed 7-1/2 lbs. I wasn't incredibly concerned, since it had been almost 2 years since his last visit (in another city, therefore on a different scale). But this weekend I was taking my puppy in for her vaccinations, and decided to take Nanuk along for a check-up and weight. Again, this was at a different vet (financial reasons). Nanuk's weight was 6-1/2 lbs! This weight loss shocked me. My other cat that I had until last April had kidney disease for his final 3 years, so I'm aware of it's signs and symptoms. Nanuk seems fine other than the weight loss. Except this morning I got up and his water bowl was empty. He usually drinks out of the toilet, so I've never monitored his water intake, but the toilet lid was also left closed last night. Now I'm concerned he may have diabetes. His food consumption and everything else seems normal. I will be taking him back to the vet's scale he was weighed on 5 weeks ago either today or tomorrow to see if he really has lost that much weight. If so we'll follow up with tests.

Are there any other signs or symptoms I should be watching out for? Could this be something else? I'm phoning the vet right now (they're just opening for the day...)

Answer:
Firstly, let me say, before you start thinking the worst, you have to get tests done. So many old age sicknesses have similar signs.

The thing about diabeties, is that its a hell of alot better than some other sicknesses. It is controllable and cats CAN go into remission.

My 15 yr old cat is Diabetic. It's a disease that if monotored correctly, (time of insulin must be the same time every day) regular blood tests, and a good diet, your cat could go into remission.

Its one of those funny to diagnose illnesses. - impossible without tests!
Most cats drink lots, and in turn urinate lots. If you have a litter tray, you may see ants in it... this is due to the high sugar content in the urine. You may want to look at where she/he urinates "from", sometimes you may see some white crystal like "left-overs" clinging to the fur.
Some cats gain weight, and some lose weight. Most will try to eat you out of "house and home".

Take a urine sample to you vet, ask them to check it for sugar crystals.

Remember, Diabeties is NOT a death sentence to your beloved cat. It is a disease that, the more YOU know and understand about it, the better your cats life will be.
So, book her into get some tests, if its Diabeties, start her on insulin (injection is the best, and so easy).
If its not diabeties, then you will know and can start her off on the right meds.
Keep us posted. Remember, the "net" has a wealth of knowledge, but your cats blood being tested is the only true conformation.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Quins-mum
The thing about diabeties, is that its a hell of alot better than some other sicknesses. It is controllable and cats CAN go into remission.

My old kitty that went to kitty heaven last April had kidney disease for his final 3 years - I can't imagine an animal living with any disease worst than that!

Originally Posted by Quins-mum
If you have a litter tray, you may see ants in it... this is due to the high sugar content in the urine.

I won't be seeing any ants around here these days - unless they are "snow ants". In the summer we have a bit of an ant problem - I kind of wish it was summer right now so I could do this "home test".

Thank you for your reply!

Answer:
I had a cat who was diabetic,he lived to be 17yrs old,was diagnosed at about 10.
Now,the weightloss,thirst etc...can mean several things,my 10yr old Rocky went from 16lbs to 13lbs in a very short time,although he was always ravenous.
Bloodtest and urine-test will be the first thing the vet will want to do.
My Rocky was diagnosed with Hyper-Thyroidism,a very treatable problem,a pill twice a day.Good luck!

Answer:
I've monitored Nanuk's water consumption for the last 30 hours. Nothing exceptional. Really, I can hardly even see a "dent" in his water bowl (and we've kept the toilet lids closed). His food consumption is normal. His behaviour is normal. I really need to get him to the vet clinic where he was weighed last month to see if the two clinic's scales really differ by a whole pound. I just need my dayhome kids to be picked up before the clinic closes at 5pm - not such an easy task.

Answer:
Sorry Crazyforcats... i kinda forgot that we have different seasons....its a beautiful hot summers day here in NZ!... and thankfully, no ants in my cats litter tray!

Answer:
Okay, so I took Nanuk back to the vet last evening to be weighed. He was 3.39 kg five weeks ago. Yesterday he was 3.15 kg. I think that works out to a loss of about half a pound. Still not good, but I'm not overly concerned at this point. Reason being, when we first got our puppy, Roxy, a month ago, Nanuk got his nose out of joint. He wouldn't "cross" the dog to get to his food, and I had to make sure that the cat's food wasn't accessable to the dog. We've got the glitches worked out and feeding areas established now. I'm hoping that the change in having a new house-member was the cause behind Nanuk's weight loss. He honestly seems perfectly fine otherwise - eating and drinking normally, peeing and pooping normally, normal behaviour, and he doesn't exhibit anys signs of discomfort (which is something I became pretty good at detecting throughout my other kitty's final years with his kidney disease). Regardless, I will be weighing him again in a couple weeks just to be sure.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I greatly appreciated your input!

Answer:
I went through the same thing with my cat, only with her weight loss she experienced thinning hair on her back.

If you really suspect something like diabetes, the only thing you can really do is take her to the vet for tests.

Answer: