My cat is losing weight and I can feel his spine. Should I worry?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cat. It is difficult to say if her weight is appropriate without seeing her. It is best for her to see her veterinarian to have her weighed and a body condition score determined. From there, recommendations can be made regarding her weight. Ideally, the spine should be able to be felt, but should not be prominent. I hope this information helps!

I would first want to rule-out a disease, or parasite causing him to lose or not gain weight. If the vet was not concerned about a possible medical issue, then I would not be overly concerned about her being a little skinny. The truth is that a score of four is not bad and lean cats are statistically healthier and live longer than overweight cats. Some cats (much like people) are able to naturally maintain a lean body condition. I suspect Choo Choo is one of those cats, but would urge you to discuss this with your vet before making any changes to his diet. At this time, I recommend feeding him normally and would not recommend a diet change until advised by your veterinarian. I hope that helps and all is well with Choo Choo.

Hi there. You're correct that being able to feel the backbone or hip bones more easily than normal when petting your cat is a common early sign of weight loss. This could be caused by a number of different things - she may have some type of infection, a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease, or a GI problem like inflammatory bowel disease or chronic pancreatitis (weight loss can be the only symptom of these issues, in some cats). I would recommend taking Narla back to the vet for another exam to discuss your concerns and see if she has lost weight since last time. Your veterinarian may recommend blood work, x-rays, or other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem.

No, it is not normal for her to be losing weight and for you to be able to feel her bones. She could be hyperthyroid so she should be examined by a vet for a thyroid test. It is a common disease in older cats and causes weight loss. Your vet can prescribe a medication to treat, if she has an elevated thyroid level.

if only Nibbles could talk! It sounds like he has lost either some weight or muscle mass if you are now noticing the spine. It's hard to know why he would suddenly start eating cat litter. It could be he has a nutritional deficiency. It could also be a mental abnormality like Pica. I recommend to have him examined by the veterinarian for blood work and bring his food along too for the doctor to examine the ingredients. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor guy. This sounds worrisome for sure. I would use some caution here and get Boba seen by your vet right away. He could have an underlying illness going on such as kidney disease that is causing his symptoms. The vet needs to do some bloodwork and a urinlaysis to start and try to find out what is causing him to be so ill. I do hope that you are able to get Boba seen by your vet soon and that he is able to get back to his normal self. Best of luck and take care.

Thanks for visiting Petcoach. A lot of vets have a hard time assessing an overweight cat during an exam, mainly because some cats have a short temper and we are working against the clock in a lot of these cases. So sometimes we cannot feel for the ribs, spine, etc. It is very possible that Jasper was overweight to begin with and now is more ideal weight. Without a photo attached it is hard to tell, but as long as his other faculties are intact (i.e. eating well, normal stools), then I would not worry about the weight loss. The weight control food is limiting his calorie intake, and with his activity level, he is likely just going back down to his normal standard weight. He should level off with he weight loss once he has reached his ideal weight soon, if this is the case. Here is a website link so that you can assess his BCS (body condition score) yourself at home https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/PDF_old/Body-condition-score-chart-cats.pdf If however, you are still concerned about his weight loss, and he seems overly hungry, then I would be suspicious of underlying thyroid disease. A thyroid test would be next on the agenda if he meets these criteria. Thyroid disease is typically easily managed in cats and he is of the age where we do see more of this disorder. i hope that Jasper's weight loss is attributed to his new food and that he starts to level off with his weight soon! Best wishes and take care.