Why is my 12-year-old cat losing weight with low kidney/protein?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on these lab results, I would suspect renal disease. BUN, Amylase, magnesium and CPK all can become altered with renal impairment. The weight loss may be due to muscle wastage due to chronic renal disease or something else may be going on. I would consider having Tigger's urine specific gravity checked and also send out an SDMA test to see if the kidney's are the main problem. At 14.5 years of age, renal disease would be high on my list of causes of these symptoms. Other problems such as cancer and inflammatory diseases may be the cause of the symptoms as well. I would recommend having your vet pursue additional testing to get more of a definitive answer on whether or not the kidneys are impaired and if not, coming up with further recommendations on diagnostics and treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Cats that are losing protein through their kidneys can lose weight. With your cat's medical history, I would recommend having him examined by the vet. Blood work will check the kidneys and urinalysis will look for extra protein in the urine. The blood work can also screen for other issues that can cause weight loss.

There are a number of causes of weight loss in cats. I'm assuming that the information of 1 kidney being larger than the other was something that the vet noted when the belly was palpated on exam. That finding, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily mean the kidneys are the issue. I see that Neko is only 3 years old. Weight loss in a younger cat could be due to kidney failure, though its much more common in senior cats. Working only off of the information that Neko is a young cat who losing weight and has 1 kidney larger than the other, with no other history given, it is hard for us to get any impression for what may be wrong. Again, if she were a senior cat I would suspect kidney failure, and I would then recommend a canned prescription kidney diet, lots of water, TLC, and know that time is limited -- with the understanding that we don't KNOW its the kidneys without blood work. However, since Neko is young, its harder to jump to this sort of advice. It could be her kidneys, but other concerns would include inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal worms, or even something like FIP (feline infectious peritonitis). Some causes are relatively inexpensive to treat, and others are much more difficult. Additional information about any other signs would help us-- is she vomiting, how is her appetite, is she playful and active or is she dumpy and lethargic, is she hiding, etc. Please feel free to resubmit a question on the forum (no charge), or request a consultation (for a fee) and we can give information back and forth and would likely be able to assist you further that way. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

With an older cat that has a decreased appetite I would make sure to check two areas: 1) The mouth- periodontal disease makes it painful for pets to eat. Resolution involves doing a thorough dental cleaning and any teeth extractions, if indicated. 2) Intestinal lymphoma- makes pets nauseous and won't show up on routine bloodwork. Abdominal ultrasound often is needed to diagnose. Pets can go on medication to slow progression and also increase appetite if this is the case. It would also help to discuss specifically her bloodwork results because even normal values are helpful. And high albumin protein usually just indicates dehydration; however high globulin protein can mean other more serious disease processes. I hope this helps and I hope Tsunami feels better soon!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is difficult to tell based on these pictures if he has a thin body condition. Weight loss or lack of weight gain can be seen with gastrointestinal disease, renal or liver disease, among many others. I would recommend that you consider having him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment. Further diagnostics would include general labwork and possibly an abdominal ultrasound and a GI panel. Treatment if any would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! I hope you find this information helpful.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I’m glad to hear Grippet has lost the weight you wanted him to, but at his age we would want to ensure all the weight loss is for healthy reasons and not an underlying medical issue. As cats age, they frequently can get an overactive thyroid, diabetes, or kidney issues (among others) that can lead to unhealthy weight loss. I would recommend he be evaluated by his regular veterinarian and have bloodwork done to ensure all his weight loss is healthy and there isn’t an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. Based on your history and description, I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound as the next diagnostic step. The protein being low could be related to a GI inflammatory disease or intestinal cancer. X-rays do not show enough detail of the intestines or organs so things can be missed on x-rays that would show up on an ultrasound. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.