Weight Loss

Cino (and Cino's mother) are worried that he is losing weight despite a hearty appetite. Burmese are more likely than other breeds to develop diabetes so we checked his blood glucose first. It was normal and so were his kidney and liver tests.
Hyperthyroidism is more common in older cats like Cino who turns 12 shortly. However the blood test showed that his thyroid is functioning normally.
Cino occasionally vomits. Because everything else seems normal we will zero in on his intestinal tract. First we will try a diet that will minimise inflammation in his stomach and intestines. If we don't get any response to that we will scan him from top to bottom for abnormalities.
Some cats suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, which may escalate into mild or, less frequently, severe lymphoma. Many of these bowel conditions are treatable and well-managed cats do well.

Fat Cats

Time for a diet, Tiny!

Obesity in cats is no joke.  Every day I see cats with arthritis, diabetes, bladder problems and liver disease as a result of overeating and lack of exercise.  (Where have we heard that before??!) 

Just a 20% increase in weight – a 1kg increase in a 5 kg cat – makes a cat obese.  Cats hide their fat under their bellies and along their ribs so their owners often miss the early signs of expansion. 

Neutered cats, particularly neutered males, and cats that live indoors are more likely to be overweight. When kittens are neutered their energy needs decrease dramatically.  We need to reduce their daily intake by 25% and make sure we keep them playing and active.  

If your cat is already overweight consult your veterinarian before starting the diet.  Too rapid weight loss may result in a fatty liver, which is often fatal.  Aim to lose about 1-2% of the current weight per week.  For a 5 kg cat that is about 50-100 grams per week. 
Nurse Leanne runs a weight control clinic at Canberra Cat Vet. She will recommend a diet and a target weight for your cat, discuss exercise and encourage you through the difficult first days.

A 33% to 50% reduction in current food intake combined with exercise should be effective. If possible, cut back the dry food to less than 50% of the daily intake and offer more meat and canned food.  A good chew on raw stewing steak, chicken wings, a rabbit leg, osso bucco or lamb cutlets makes puss feel full and cleans her teeth as well.

Ensure that she does not have access to alternative food sources such as the meals of other pets in the household or friendly neighbours!

Increase the opportunities for exercise.  A cat tower and a variety of toys that you can rotate out of the cupboard are a good start. Tunnels and hideouts made from cardboard boxes are cheap and fun to play in.  You can join in the fun by tugging a simple length of ribbon or a feather along the corridor. This will trim your cats’ waist lines, increase their muscle mass and make them – and you - feel good.

Pancakes on my mind

 Gus looking a bit cross with his family for telling his secret 

Gustav (Gus to his friends) and his brother Klaus came for their annual checkup this morning - and nearly broke the scales! Between them they have put on 1.5 kg in a year.
Their diet hadn't changed much since last year.... or so I thought until their family divulged a deep dark secret.
The family used to make pancakes and leave them covered with a tea towel on the bench overnight so they could have a quick breakfast each morning.
Until one morning all that was left on the bench was the tea towel, a few sticky crumbs and two sleepy cats. Fortunately they hadn't added maple syrup!
Pancakes have been eliminated from the cats' diet and they are on kangaroo meat and low fat biscuits. The family are moving into a house with a yard soon and plan to build an outdoor play area for the cats. More exercise, less food and no pancakes should equal slimmer, more active and healthier cats. Smile Gus!

Watching her weight

Beautiful British Blue Tess is looking to the future. She is just entering her more senior years and is trying to get some extra grams off her waist line. She hopes to avoid nasties like diabetes, arthritis and heart disease by getting her weight down.
She still has a fat pad swinging from her belly under that soft thick coat. Another 200gm weight loss should do the trick.
Good luck Tess!

Cat FIV and AIDS

Freddy came in last week off his food and drooling a lot. When I looked in his mouth I found a red raw gums and mouth. No wonder he was so flat and uninterested in life. 

Many infectious agents contribute to sore mouths like Freddy's. Freddy tested positive to FIV  (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus), which predisposes infected cats to mouth ulceration.  His owners have 2 other cats and a baby and had lots of questions about FIV and feline AIDS.

FIV is prevalent in Australian cats but testing positive for FIV is not the same as having feline AIDS.

Feline AIDS describes the terminal stages of disease which may not occur for many years - or at all! A positive FIV test means that your cat has been infected by the virus.

Are my family at risk?

No. Although FIV belongs to the same family of viruses as HIV in people, it only infects cats. There is no risk of cross infection of either virus between species.

Are other cats in the household likely to be infected?

The virus is shed in the saliva of infected cats and spread by biting. Cats with a history of cat bite abscesses are more likely to test positive for FIV.

Spread between cats in a household is unlikely unless they fight. Normal social interactions such as grooming rarely transmit FIV.

The best way to minimise the chances of FIV infection is to confine uninfected cats indoors away from aggressive cats.

How is FIV diagnosed?

FIV is diagnosed with a blood test at the surgery which detects an immune response (antibodies) to the virus. If this test is positive your cat is infected.

Kittens with immunity passed on from their mother may test positive until 4 months of age. If a young kitten tests positive we retest them at six months of age.

Will my cat recover?

Once a cat is infected with the virus it remains infected for the rest of its life but not all infected cats  become ill.

What diseases does FIV cause?

Like HIV, FIV suppresses the body’s defences so that the cat is vulnerable to diseases it would normally  defeat. The cat is vulnerable to chronic or recurrent infections that fail to respond to regular treatment.

These include:

1. Inflammation of the mouth and tongue leading to appetite loss, drooling and mouth pain
2. Weight loss
3. Poor appetite
4. Fever
5. Signs of brain dysfunction such as aggression, unequal pupils, convulsions and behavioural changes
6. Swollen lymph glands
7. Unusual infections like toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, chronic flu, pneumonia, skin disease
8. Tumours especially those of the lymph system

The non specific signs of weight loss, poor appetite and fever occur in many diseases of cats and are usually unrelated to FIV. Cats with FIV are more likely to suffer from these signs and diseases more often and  be less able to throw them off even with treatment.

FIV positive cats have a shorter life expectancy on average than FIV negative cats.

Is there any treatment?

Secondary infections with bacteria or fungi are treated with antibiotics and anti-fungals but no specific treatment for the virus is available. Trials with anti-HIV drugs such as AZT have reduced mouth inflammation in affected cats but the cost and availability of AZT makes its use in general practice difficult at present.

Anti-inflammatory treatment reduces mouth inflammation and peps up the appetite in many cats.

Should I have my cat euthanased?

Certainly not on the basis of a positive FIV test!  Like humans with HIV, cats with FIV appear healthy and happy for a long time before getting sick.

On the other hand if your cat has succumbed to multiple infections, is no longer responsive to treatment or is suffering from a chronically painful mouth then euthanasia is the kindest solution.

How can I help my cat?

Confinement indoors of an FIV positive cat  reduces the risk of infection with other agents. It also reduces the risk of transmission of the virus to other cats.

A good quality, highly palatable diet as well as worming every 3 months and at least annual health checks will enhance the disease free period.

Infections require prompt and aggressive treatment.

How do we prevent FIV infection?

Desexing and confinement indoors, especially at night, reduces fighting and therefore the risk of infection. We recommend vaccination with FIV vaccine for all cats with access to the outdoors. Cats older than 6 months of age are tested for FIV before the first vaccination. A series of three primary vaccinations is given 2-4 weeks apart and then a booster is given annually.

Hairballs?

Hairballs are overrated as a problem in cats.  A true hairball is hair wrapped in saliva and requires no treatment.  Hairballs almost never cause illness in pet cats. 

On the other hand we should see your cat if she vomits frequently - whatever the vomitus is! If she is turning her nose up at her dinner or hiding then we should see her as soon as possible. Normal cats eat several times a day so even a single day of poor appetite is significant.

If she vomits a lot but doesn’t feel poorly she may still have a problem. Some cats are very sensitive to specific proteins like chicken, beef or lamb. A change to a diet free of the common proteins that cause hypersensitivity or to one that is specially treated to reduce reactions often helps these cats.

Often the only sign of inflammatory bowel disease or cancers of the bowel is frequent vomiting. Eventually affected cats lose weight or stop eating, but this is when the disease is well advanced. If a cat does not respond within a few weeks to a change of diet as mentioned above then we investigate more closely.  

Kitties on speed - hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is a common disorder of older cats. Owners complain that their cats have gone crazy climbing curtains and rooting in rubbish bins. An overactive thyroid gland produces and secretes too much thyroid hormone putting pressure on all body organs. Any sex or breed of cat can be affected.

What are the signs of hyperthyroidism?

Any of the following:

1.             Weight loss

2.             Increased appetite

3.            Hyperactivity and restlessness

4.             Increased heart rate, associated with irregularities in rhythm, murmurs and high blood pressure

5.             Increased frequency of defecation with occasional accidents inside

6.             Increased thirst and urination

7.             Occasional vomiting

8.             Panting

9.             Matted, greasy and unkempt coat

10.           Enlarged thyroid glands

If we suspect that your cat has hyperthyroidism we send blood for measurement of the thyroid hormone, T4. We also check for secondary liver, heart or kidney problems.

How do we treat hyperthyroidism?

1.      Anti-thyroid drug therapy

Anti-thyroid drugs interfere with the production and secretion of thyroid hormone. They control rather than cure the hyperthyroidism.

Carbimazole (brand name Neo Mercazole) tablets are given twice daily. We see mild and often transient side effects in a few cats including poor appetite, vomiting and lethargy. Rarely we see more serious side effects including a fall in the white blood cell count, clotting problems, or liver disorders. If we find any serious side effects after 2 weeks of medication we switch to another treatment.

Many owners prefer methimazole as a gel applied to the inside of the ear or made up into a palatable liquid.

2.      Radioactive iodine therapy

If kidney problems are not uncovered by anti-thyroid therapy then we suggest radioactive iodine, a more permanent cure for hyperthyroidism. Radioactive iodine destroys the affected thyroid tissue and leaves adjacent normal tissue, including the parathyroid glands, untouched.

We refer you to a special facility at Canberra Veterinary Hospital for radioactive iodine therapy. Treated cats are kept in hospital for a week after the treatment until they are no longer a radiation risk to people.

Radioactive iodine treatment has no serious side-effects. Depending on the age of the cat at diagnosis the cost of treatment is similar to long term anti-thyroid drugs or surgery.

Radioactive iodine is the only effective treatment for thyroid adenocarcinoma, the cancer that causes 1 to 2% of feline hyperthyroid cases.

3.      Surgical thyroidectomy

Removal of the thyroid glands provides an immediate cure but has some nasty potential side effects so we don’t often recommend it.

Big-boned Cogsworth

Cogsworth

Cogsworth shows his wares

Cuddly old Cogsworth found his way into his family's hearts when they saw him at the RSPCA.  He was a thin little street waif then but quickly established his preference for  24 hour eat-in snacks and lots of sleep between.  The sorry result is a rather large belly...
Problems later in life because of that belly will include diabetes, arthritis, chronic pancreatitis and liver troubles. 
Cogsworth has bravely recognised that he needs to slim down.  His plan:

• only two meals a day
• no cat biscuits
• no cheese, no pate or liverwurst, no treats of any kind except for cuddles 
• measured amounts of canned food and roo meat
• slow weight loss over about 6 months
• weigh in every 2 weeks
• entertain staff by chasing ribbon, butterflies and mice; running through their silly cardboard tunnels; and climbing the cat tree twice a day.

We watch with interest, Cogsworth!

Mishka

Mishka's incision

Mishka arrived at Hall Vet Surgery last Friday feeling very poorly.  She had not eaten for a few days and had been vomiting on and off all day.  Poor old Mishka would rather have stayed at home curled up in her basket but her carers decided that she must be really sick when she turned her nose up at breakfast yet again.
Whenever we felt Mishka's abdomen she winced.
Blood tests told us nothing.  Xrays showed a lot of gas in part of her intestine.  Mishka has eaten some odd things in the past so a foreign body stuck in her intestine was a possibility.
The only way to confirm and fix a blockage was surgery.  We were pleased to find nothing in her intestine, but her pancreas was swollen.  An inflamed pancreas could make Mishka feel very sick and sore and explained why she had lost her appetite.
A couple of days on a drip, antibiotics and pain relief worked wonders.  Mishka soon felt well enough to eat and was keen to get home and back to work.
We saw her again on Thursday.  Her surgical wound was healing well and she was back to normal again.
Mishka will have to lose some weight to prevent another bout of pancreatitis.  We will supervise her weight loss because sudden weight loss in cats is as dangerous as none at all.

Weight loss is not always good...

You might think that vets are obsessive about recording cats’ weights. They have good reason – sometimes gradual weight loss is the only sign of serious disease in cats. By the time a cat goes off her food or starts vomiting disease can be quite advanced.
Fur or hair ball vomits coupled with gradual weight loss indicate gastrointestinal disease. Causes of gut disease include parasites like worms and giardia. These are easy to diagnose and treat compared to other gut diseases.
Food sensitivities are uncommon but inflammatory bowel disease and bowel cancer occur relatively often in cats. Diagnosing and treating these can be quite a challenge and require much patience on the part of owner and vet.
A myriad things cause weight loss with a patchy appetite. We will nearly always order blood tests to check for kidney or liver disease, particularly in older cats.
Weight loss despite a good appetite can be due to diabetes or an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). Annual check-ups and weigh-ins in cats under 10 years pick these problems up early. Cats over 10 years of age should be checked at least twice a year. With appropriate treatment affected cats go on to live long and happy lives.
Even if your cat is aiming to lose weight regular weigh-ins and veterinary supervision are essential. We want gradual loss of weight because rapid weight loss in cats can lead to liver disease.