[jstoehr]

OK, we have 4 cats. 2 are my sisters and 2 are my mothers. 1 of my sisters cats started losing weight a few months ago and when she took it too the vet and he said allergies or stress. Well he is now starting to get back to normal. Now my moms cat is starting to lose weight. What is going on here? I was wondering if it has anything to do with saltwater. I have a 30 gallon reef tank with a 10 gallon sump underneath. Most of the time they do not bother it as far as I know. Who knows what they do at night. A little bit ago he (the one losing weight) tried to get under there and I caught him. Now, if he is getting in there at night and drinking the saltwater, will this cause him to lose weight?

 

[drjean]

No. A cat won't drink saltwater.

How old is the cat? What are you feeding? Poop normal?

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[jstoehr]

Moms is maybe 5-6 years old and eats nine lives, drinks RO water, poop is as far as I know still stinky as ever! LOL!

 

[queen of the nile]

Is 9 lives available from the grocery store? Because if it is the food I am thinking off, it is very low in quality (accounting for the stinky poop :lol: ). I would take her to the vet to make sure there is nothing wrong with her because rapid weight loss can be very serious. It could be a whole bunch of different things. I know how you feel with you other cat getting sick around the same time, my cats all seem to get sick at once, maybe they like making me think it is a conspiracy :roll: . Then, if nothing is wrong, I would suggest switching over to a better quality of food. The food should have the first 2 ingredients as meat or meat meal such as "chicken" or "turkey meal" (not generic names like "poultry" or "meat and bone meal"). Try and avoid foods that have any sort of by-products in the first few ingredients. Also avoid foods with corn and other cereal grains in the first 2 ingredients.

 

[jstoehr]

queen of the nile, yep its the stuff from the grocery. It's my moms cat so thats what she buys. I have a dog myself and I only feed him the good stuff. My mom tries to get whats on sale.

 

[drjean]

Food is a frequent contributor to many illnesses in cats. At this age and with no other problems, I would definitely consider a vet visit and bloodwork with urinalysis to rule out diabetes, liver disease, etc.

Saving money on cheap food often costs you BIG vet bills in the long run, as you may be about to discover. It's penny wise and pound foolish!

Don't know if your mom will be amenable but she should at least know what she's doing when she chooses crappy food. A relatively short and painless article on "selecting a good pet food" can be found in our free article library at http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=library

Cheers,
Dr. Jean