Relief... mostly

[madbaker]

The vet just called. They don't think Galen has cancer.
This is Good.

Back to square one: they don't know why he's lost three pounds (from 12-13) in the last year, though. This is Bad.

Back to feeding him as much as he'll possibly eat. We've gotten some kitten food to supplement the high-protein vet food. Fortunately Galen the picky eater likes it. This is Good.

What I'm reading: Mark Dawson, Plenti and grase: Fud and Drink in a sixteenth-century household

Comments

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

That's good news. Thank you for the update.

When one of my childhood cats got sick, we fed her Gerber's meat baby food. She liked lamb best, IIRC. Have you tried that already? I suppose you should ask Galen's dr first.

[bonacorsi.livejournal.com]

yes, he likes chicken the best. However, he didn't gain weight with it.

cat food

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

How old is Galen now? Sometimes older cat noses don't smell as well as they used to, and a more strongly flavored food can get their attention.

Re: cat food

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

He's only six.

[farmount.livejournal.com]

Things I have learned about cats and weight:
* Cats prefer wet food to dry food, although all you're giving them is lots of water. Go figure. Kitten food and other diets such as A/D or Royal Canin Recovery food are high in calories and often tasty.
* If you do feed baby food, please make sure it does not have onion powder in it. Onion is very bad for cats.
* Warm food up to make it more stinky. Stinky = appetizing for cats.

I take it that he's not losing food in the form of diarrhea or vomiting. Perhaps malabsorption? Other steps might include an ultrasound to make sure everything on the inside is OK.

[bonacorsi.livejournal.com]

Talking with the doc, he said all of his blood/urine work up was exactly down the middle for normal. They did do a thyroid check on Galen, it was 1.8. The Radiologist thinks that the spidery marks on his lungs look like scaring from a bronchial infection, and not cancer. Since he is not losing food in either of the ways you describe, and seems to be a healthy, but too thin, cat. The doctor has advised feeding him a combination of the kitten food and low-res food and seeing if giving him higher calories will lead to more weight. We will take him in after a month to see if we have progress.

Galen seems to be fond of the Iams wet chicken food for kittens that we are mixing with his low residue wet food. So, here's hoping.

[finickynarcane.livejournal.com]

Best of luck to you. Cat problems can be nerve wracking. When my cat was declining, one of the suggestions was Kentucky Fried Chicken. That worked only moderately. One thing that did work consistently to get my cat to eat was to warm the wet food. He would have absolutely nothing to do with chilled wet food.