Why is my cat anemic, losing weight, and has a suspected mass?

The anemia could be from fleas but it could also be from chronic kidney disease. Are the BUN and PHOS also high or just the CREA? I think your vet needs to do some more testing to assess whether or not she is in kidney failure. An abdominal ultrasound, more specific blood testing and a urine test would be needed.

Poor Annie! I would make sure your vet has ruled out any type of intestinal parasites or bacterial infection including giardia and campylobacter. I would also talk to your vet about running an urinalysis and x-rays on her. The urinalysis will indicate any type of infection or crystals in the urine. On the x-rays, they will be able to look for any type of tumor in the abdomen or constipation/megacolon. Your vet can also send off a GI panel (cobalamin, folate, and pancreatic enzymes) to help rule out inflammatory bowel disease and GI cancer. Of course, you cannot completely rule out cancer with a normal abdominal x-ray and normal GI panel. I think the next step would be to do an abdominal ultrasound to look for any thickening of the intestines or enlarged lymph nodes. The most aggressive, yet most direct, diagnostic is an exploratory surgery with biopsies of the intestines. This is usually saved if all other tests are inconclusive. I hope this helps to direct you in a conversation with what may be the best option for Annie. I hope she starts to feel better really soon!

The deworming pill and the symptoms you described have nothing to do with each other, if he is losing his fur and losing weight he is suffering from something serious. Sudden weight loss is always a very big warning light that should not be taken lightly, it's usually a sign of an internal disease that needs to be investigated, i strongly recommend taking him to the vet in order to get it checked, he will need to have a blood test done and possibly an xray as well in order to attempt to diagnose the reason for these symptoms.

Poor Sachi! Significant weight loss and inappetence are certainly a major concern. I'm glad to hear that his blood work (I assume a CBC, chemistry and T4?) was unremarkable. However, foreign body intestinal obstruction/blockages, intestinal malabsorption issues that can cause inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), chronic pancreatitis, or cancerous processes, do not necessarily cause changes on screening blood tests. If Sachi has not yet had abdominal x-rays or an ultrasound, consider talking to your vet about these tests as his next diagnostic step. If he has a foreign body obstructing his intestines, this is a surgical emergency, and these tests would be helpful in obtaining a diagnosis. If pancreatitis, IBD or EPI are more highly suspected, consider talking to your vet about testing for vitamins B12 and folate, as well as TLI and fPLI. I hope this helps!

Poor Rusty! Cats can have worms even if you don't see them in the feces. Oftentimes, there are eggs in the feces, but those can only be seen with a microscope. Sudden weight loss in cats can also be caused by diabetes, kidney disease, systemic illness, infection, or injury among other causes. I would have Rusty seen by a vet asap, and bring along a sample of his feces for the vet to examine. In addition to looking at his feces, the vet can do a physical exam, blood tests, and a urinalysis to diagnose what is causing his weight loss. Once the cause of the weight loss is diagnosed, the vet can discuss treatment options with you.

Your friends are correct. She most likely has worms. You don't usually see the worms in the stools. The worm eggs are what is passed in the stools and those are microscopic so you wouldn't see them. The worms suck blood so if she is pale I believe that is also due to worms. It makes the cat anemic; low red blood cell count. It has nothing to do with iron. You can give iron all you want but if there are no red blood cells available to carry it, it is useless. Roundworms and hookworms are the most common worms that cause anemia. I don't know what dewormer you used but I strongly suggest you speak to your local vet about what would be the most effective. Many times what you can purchase over the counter is not the best or most effective product. Also, there are many types of worms and there is not one dewormer that will kill every type of worm. Your vet can run a fecal test to check for the microscopic eggs and then treat accordingly with the appropriate product. One deworming is rarely enough. You may have to repeat dewormings every 3-4 weeks. Your vet can give you a schedule. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

His condition sounds very severe, a biopsy of the enlarged lymph nodes and tests for FELV and FIV viruses may provide more diagnostic information and guide treatment options but it is possible that such a severe presentation may not be curable.