Why is my diabetic senior cat drooling, losing weight, walking oddly?

You need to take Rascal into a vet first thing in the morning. He could have a medical problem such as diabetes, kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, and cancer causing him to lose weight and his other health problems. I recommend having a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis done. Please take him into the vet in the morning.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. With your description, I would suspect the lip smacking is from nausea due to a systemic disease or infection. The abnormal walking could be something we call a diabetic neuropathy if this is diabetes. I would recommend that you have him examined by a veterinarian and have his blood tested to see if there are any changes they may help explain why he is having these symptoms. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. So sorry Frank is having this issue. It sounds pretty serious. There are many things that could be going on with him. His symptoms are not specific for any one illness or disease process. All the symptoms don't seem to go together either: increased appetite but drooling and weight loss..... seems odd. Some of the things that come to mind that would be at the top of my list would be: * dental issue (ie: infected tooth, oral tumor) * kidney failure * poisoning/toxicity * liver failure * thyroid disease * cancer I suggest you get Frank to your vet for an exam and some blood testing to start with. Many of the issues I listed above can be ruled in/out with simple blood testing. This is not something that is going to resolve on it's own at home. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is concerning as it may be an indication that his diabetes is not well-controlled at the moment. I would highly recommend that you check in with a veterinarian as soon as possible to check for this possibility. If this is the case, they can work in getting him to feel better and then possibly focusing in controlling his diabetes better. Best of luck!

Hello, thank you for your question about Bramley. Inappetance, weight loss, and lethargy are nonspecific signs that can be indicative of many different underlying diseases. It could be a sign of a problem within the GI tract such as inflammatory bowel disease or other disease conditions. These symptoms can also be signs of a systemic condition such as liver or kidney disease, pancreatitis, or diabetes. Based on the low walking/weakness you describe I would want to perform diabetic screening. I would recommend having Bramley seen by your veterinarian so that they can examine him and discuss performing additional diagnostics such as systemic bloodwork. Depending on the results of this bloodwork they may also recommend performing an abdominal ultrasound. Hope this helps, good luck!

Poor Max! Youbsound like an incredibly dedicated owner, he is a lucky cat! So as I'm sure you are aware the excessive drooling can be a sign of nausea often associated with kidney issues, denta/mouth pain or in some cases stress. If you say he had a dental within a year and his teeth seem in good order this is unlikely the cause. The new cat in the house could certainly be stressing him out but I doubt this is the sole cause for the drooling. What I suspect is tgat the stress is likely exacerbating his kidney issues, it may be increasing his blood pressure a little with a knock on effect. The kidneys could ne getting worse of their own accord but I doubt it would be progressing quickly with the measures you are taking. The other thing to consider is that a combination of stress, low potassium and kidney issues can compromise the immune system which could lead to woubds, the red spot on his tongue could be an ulcer starting which would make his mouth sore and cause him to drool. I believe that it is a combination of stress and his kidney issues. If he continues not to eat or begins vomiting I would go to the vet asap. However, if he is feeling better tomorrow I would monitor him until your bloods appointment. Keep an eye on the tongue as it may need treatment. You can get a great gel called orobase that provides protection and relief, if it is really bad tge vet may need to give antibiotics and pain relief. A good idea would be to purchase a feliway diffuser which releases pheremones, it will help calm him down. Another good treatment for kidney issues is a drug called semintra, it is used to redice protein in the urine which is a detrimental effect of chronic kidney disease. I wish you all the best with Max.

Typically excess salivation is either caused by nausea or pain (oral or abdominal), although this is not an all inclusive list. There can still be oral disease present, especially if these missing teeth were not removed but fell out. Cats can get resorptive lesions of their teeth which can be really painful and the changes can be hard for owners to detect. They can also get lesions in their mouth (stomatitis, a mass, ulcers, etc.) that an owner may not see. Additionally diseases of other body systems may cause drooling (kidneys, gi, etc ). I would recommend your kitty seeing a vet for a thourough oral exam and blood work to start. A good oral exam will likely require sedation and perhaps dental xrays. Additional testing may be recommended based on the case. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!