Older cat losing weight and skin problems

[lyndseyr]

Just looking to see if anyone has any ideas to help me with a suffering cat, who currently has the vet stumped.

He is a rescue cat so we don't know his exact age, but he's around 10-12. He is mainly indoor though he does go outside but only for a little sniff for five minutes and comes back in. He's normally very loving and vocal.

Around ten days ago I noticed he started to have thinning fur around his ears, he seemed to be scratching a lot and the area around his eye became swollen, and he seemed lethargic. I took him to the vet. He had a temperature, had lost weight since his last visit in July and the vet could see no infection around his eye or ears but that he definitely had a skin condition. He was prescribed anti-inflammatories (Loxicom). Over the next couple of days the swelling on his eye went down (probably caused by scratching himself), however the scratching and fur loss got a lot worse so I took him back.

They did blood tests and prepared me for a possible diagnosis of thyroid or kidney problems, but his results came back clear and the vet told me he's a very healthy cat! His temperature was also normal. In the four days in between visits though he had lost more weight despite being always hungry and we have been feeding him at least five pouches of hi life food or fish a day. The vet put him on steroid tablets and said it could be an obscure allergy.

In the first day or so the itching seemed to improve but it is now getting worse again and he is covered in bald patches and wounds. He still feels like skin and bone though he is eating a ton of food. We've been giving him grain free, meat or fish and rice food in case it is an allergy. He is also not himself at all, he is normally a very attention seeking cat and wanted to be on my lap all the time, and his favourite spot was in the living room. For the past ten days, he won't leave the kitchen and won't sit on anyone's lap. He still likes a stroke but seems very depressed.

I think he's going to have to go back to the vet this week, and I'm going to get him a buster collar tomorrow, but I just wondered if anyone has any ideas about a possible cause or any suggestions to help him feel better. It's breaking my heart seeing him in this way. Thanks in advance.

[booktigger]

The most common food allergies are chicken and fish, maybe try cutting fish out? It is hard, as a lot of meat foods contain fish. What were his thyroid levels, and what was the top end of normal? Sometimes they can be hypert with a normal result, if it is in the upper range

[Ruth B]

As well as thinking of food allergies, what about an allergy to something in the house. Have you changed, (or has the manufacturer changed), any of the products you use around the house, he could come into contact with anything from furniture polish to what you use to wash your clothes. Have you introduced anything new, new furniture, bedding etc that he might be reacting to. It's a lot to think about but sometimes the cause of an allergic reaction can be something really odd.

[lyndseyr]

Thanks for your replies!

The vet didn't go into any details of his blood results - I'm not even fully aware of what they tested him for but he said thyroid and kidneys ruled out and everything was absolutely fine.
Funny enough I've just been reading about fish not being too good for them so I might try cutting it out. I have fed him white fish once a day the past two days trying to give him a treat and some goodness!

We have been going mad trying to think if we have changed anything. I had bought some new food from Lidl which he only had two pouches of because he didn't seem very keen, that was over two weeks ago so would have thought he would have improved by now? The only other thing we could think of was we got a new rug in the living room, which he doesn't really sit on anyway but I got home earlier and my husband had put the rug in the loft just to rule it out! He still won't come in the room though. Maybe I will wash all his bedding etc just in case it's come into contact with something, but again he hasn't been in it since all this started 10 days ago.

Could an allergy also cause him to lose weight though he is eating a lot still?

[booktigger]

I'd ring tomorrow and ask for his thyroid levels

[Ruth B]

The weight loss might be related to something else, but it might be that his metabolism is in overdrive at the moment and if one thing can be cleared up while others are investigated it might help. Cats, as they get older do tend to lose weight, but normally stabilize at a lower level, if he is older than you think it might be something as simple as that. We had a Ragdoll cat that was close on 5kg in his prime, when he got to about 13 his weight dropped to 3.2kg fairly rapidly, but held at that weight for another 3 years, then it dropped very quickly and he was only 2.5kg when he was finally put to sleep. He seemed like skin and bone, but unlike yours seemed healthy and lively enough.

Other than his eating are you noticing any other changes such as drinking more or using the litter tray more.

I am also assuming that vaccinations, deworming and defleaing are all up to date.

[MarySkater]

I'd also want to know if the vet checked for any direct skin infections - mange, or a fungal infection like ringworm. Unlikely since he doesn't go out much, but if an infected cat passed through (or stopped and slept) in his patch, it's not impossible.

[lyndseyr]

His vaccinations and flea treatment are up to date but he hasn't been wormed. He's been an indoor cat for the past five years and has only recently started going out after we moved house 6 months ago (hasn't displayed any signs of stress or anxiety after moving). He only sits on the patio outside the door for a few minutes and comes back in.

I had noticed him losing weight a little bit which I had put down to old age, until he started with the skin problem and then since then its dropped a lot quicker, but perhaps it could be the stress of feeling ill.

His behaviour has changed from being a very loving, attention seeking cat to sitting alone. I have noticed he will regularly stop eating to go and use his litter tray and then come back to his food, which I have never seen before as he's a greedy boy and used to wolf his food down at high speed. In general I've never seen him drinking much and that's not really changed.

I'm going to get him a buster collar and try and weigh him tomorrow, and if he's no better I might phone the vet to speak to them about his results and see what next steps could be.

[Sniper1]

Manny many years ago I had what sounds similar with one of my cats scratching ears and head and going bald around his eyes and ears which if I remember correctly was diagnosed as a hormonal problem he was prescribed ovarid a hormone drug no longer available I believe a very small dose but it did the job so hormone problem may be worth asking about he was an elderly cat with other health problems so the hormone tablets weren't ideal but were the only thing that gave him any relief