Older cat losing weight and skin problems
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 6:11 pm
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.
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.