Elderly cat weight loss.

[geckodiva]

Hello everyone.
Tat will be 20 years old this summer. She has had both thyroid glands removed and initially took steroids everyday to maintain her appetite. Over time she took less and less and it's a few months since she last took some. She also used to take zantac regularly but currently takes it infrequently. The problem is that she cannot keep the weight on even when she eats loads. She also has vitamin B injections every few months. Her poo is smelly and rich, so she is obviously having trouble fully processing her food. From week to week she is ok with her weight but as soon as she has an off day she will lose 5 -10 grams in weight and never be able to put this back on. In herself she seems healthy and happy.
So my main questions are can anyone recommend or suggest any foods that may be better for her. Mainly eats felix and not a great biscuit eater. Is there any illness we should be considering or any tests that might show anything. Last tested in Jan. T4 ok and kidneys ok.

[Kay]

It's very common for cats her age to become really skinny as they lose muscle mass

I'd just go on feeding her whatever she wants, as long as it doesn't upset her - at her great age - which does you credit as her carer - quality of life is everything

[Crewella]

As Kay so rightly says, it's very common for elderly cats to lose weight and muscle mass - I've had two cats live past 19 and both were down to skin and bone, despite all efforts to feed them up.

I did take on an elderly stray with digestion issues (Pugwash) a couple of years ago, who had (as you describe) very rich and smelly poo (which he was eating at first due to having been starving when stray, bleuchhh, but it's proof of how little was actually being absorbed by his system in the first place). We did find that feeding him a gastro-intestinal diet that was easier for his system to absorb helped, and I remember thinking at the time that I would include similar foods in their diet if I had geriatric cats in the future. I think that any of the 'bland' foods from Hills and RC - Recovery, i/d etc. that are more easily digested might help, even just a few meals a week. Might be worth mentioning to your vet?

[MarkB]

I agree with other re cats losing weight as they get older, but my Kylie (almost 17) suffers from chronic diarrhoea, which got worse. The vet tested her B12 and Folate, which were both low, due to malabsorption. It may be worth getting them tested. She had some B12 shots and folate tablets, and gained soe weight - she had gone from being an obese cat at 6kg, to 2.5kg and was still losing weight. She is now back up to a healthy 4kg - thankfully the diarrhoea isn't as bad as it was, but we just have to live with it. I have tied various dry foods to get some calories into her - always ones without wheat, which seems to be a problem for many older cats.

[geckodiva]

Thanks for the reassurances. Having just lost her sister I just don't want to miss anything. I have already started buying grain free dried food and I will have a look at the various specialist wet foods. She already has B12 injections and usually improves afterwards but I will ask about Folate testing / tablets.