What is Malabsorption?
This syndrome might be due to a lack of digestive enzymes, inflammation of the bowel wall, or an overgrowth of flora and fauna which interfere with digestion. The signs linked to malabsorption are weight loss and diarrhea, however these are general symptoms and not diagnostic in their own right.
Malabsorption is an umbrella term used when a cat is not able to properly absorb all of the nutrition from its food. Most commonly this is linked to disease processes affecting the small intestine, where most of the absorption takes place, but can also affect the large intestine.
Symptoms of Malabsorption in Cats
The symptoms of malabsorption are quite general and their presence alone is not sufficient to make a diagnosis. A persistent sign, such as long-term weight loss or diarrhea, needs investigation to determine the root cause, of which a form of malabsorption is one of many explanations. Indeed, even when malabsorption is diagnosed there is still a question as to what type of malabsorption the cat is suffering from.
- Diarrhea
- Weight loss
- Vomiting
- Increased appetite
- Dullness and depression
- Poor coat
- Flatulence
Causes of Malabsorption in Cats
Poor absorption from the bowel has many causes. Key to treating the condition is to understand why the problem has developed in the first place. Some of the most common causes are:
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI): A lack of digestive enzymes
- Inflammation: the bowel wall may become swollen as a result of a dietary allergy, food intolerance, or conditions such as eosinophilic enteritis, in which one type of white cell floods the bowel wall.
- Cancer: Bowel cancers such as adenocarcinoma or intestinal lymphosarcoma
- Infections: Such as campylobacter, cryptosporidia, giardia, or parasitic worms
- Damage to the gut wall: As a result of viral infections such as feline distemper, or an overgrowth of unhelpful bacteria.
Diagnosis of Malabsorption in Cats
It is helpful to build up a picture of how frequently the cat has diarrhea and its appearance. This enables the vet to decide if the problem relates to the large or small intestine, which may influence the choice of tests.
A fecal analysis is useful to detect infection and parasites. When present, the vet may treat these first and see if the problem resolves. If it doesn't, then screening blood tests give information about organ function (of which diarrhea could be a complication). For example, a cat with overactive thyroid glands may develop malabsorption as a result of increased gut motility, and the key to treatment is therapy for the thyroid.
Bowel function blood tests give a valuable insight into the health of the gut wall, and levels of pancreatic enzymes, which are also causes of malabsorption.
Ultrasound scans enable the clinician to assess the thickness of individual layers of the gut wall. This can help differentiate between an inflammatory condition (such as inflammatory bowel disease, IBD) and cancer. However, in these cases, the ultimate diagnosis depends on cytology (a sample of cells) or histology (examining a biopsy sample)
If dietary allergy is suspected, then the vet may suggest feeding a hypoallergenic diet for a number of weeks, to see if this brings about a resolution of symptoms.
Treatment of Malabsorption in Cats
At first presentation the vet may try to relieve the symptoms using:
- A low fat, highly digestible diet or a high fiber diet
- B Vitamin injections to replenish low levels in the bowel wall
- Deworming and / or an antibiotic such as metronidazole that has an anti-inflammatory effect on the bowel wall.
- Probiotics: To re-establish a healthy population of bacteria in the gut
If the cat does not improve, then successful treatment depends on identifying the underlying reason for the malabsorption and addressing this.
- Hyperthyroidism: Medication, surgery, or radioactive iodine therapy.
- Cancer: Chemotherapy and surgery as necessary. Whilst lymphosarcoma responds well to chemotherapy, adenocarcinoma carries a much poorer outlook. In addition, bowel surgery to remove any cancerous areas is associated with a risk of complications, such as peritonitis.
- Food allergy: Feed a hypoallergenic diet
- EPI: Mix a supplement containing pancreatic enzymes into the cat's food
- Bacterial overgrowth: Give a course of antibiotics that promote the growth of healthy bowel bacteria
- Deworming: Or appropriate parasite control
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) If, despite dietary manipulation, the inflammation refuses to resolve, drugs such as steroids or other immunosuppressive drugs are most likely to be helpful.
Recovery of Malabsorption in Cats
If the cause is an infection, then complete cure may be possible.
If the cause is disease elsewhere, such as overactive thyroid glands, how well-controlled that condition is will influence how the malabsorption responds. In these cases, close monitoring is needed of the primary condition (eg the thyroid) in order to control the secondary condition (malabsorption).
In cats with dietary allergies or intolerance that leads to malabsorption, feeding a low-allergen diet can bring about a dramatic improvement. However, relapses will occur when the cat eats something they shouldn't.
IBD is one of the commonest causes of malabsorption, and also one of the most difficult to control. Affected cats are often subject to relapses or flare ups, so it's important to have a good rapport with your vet so that you have a plan in place to cope with these episodes.
Malabsorption Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
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My cat who recently about two moths ago had kittens. She seemed fine after she had her kittens, but she started to want to eat a lot of human food and it got to the point where she didn’t want her cat food anymore, because she was feeding her cats and I didn’t want her to lose weight or get sick I feed her human food. Now recently she has been throwing up and has diarrhea. She has become really skinny and I’m worried.
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We have a 6 yr old Siamese rescue that we got about 2.5 months ago. Her name is PJ .She has diarrhea , since she came to us, and has been seen by the vet twice. We have very limited info from her previous situation. We thought initially it may be due to stress since she was in a rescue/ foster situation for several months that before we adopted her. Symptoms include extreme diarrhea in a large amount, often resembling pudding or curdled milk, color appropriate to color of food she is ravenous. I feel that there is an urgency to her diarrhea and she often defecates just outside on partially in the litter box . She has gained 3.5 pounds since she came to us. She also drinks huge quantities of water at one time, up to 3/4 cup at one time. We have another cat ( a 16 yr old Tortie) and PJ eats her food as well. Hence the weight gain.
On our first trip to the vet bloodwork was done , all normal including WBC, liver function, renal function and heamotology panel. Stool specimen negative for parasites etc, urinalysis all normal. Placed in Metronidazole for 14 days , probiotics and the introduction of royal canin Hypoallergenic dry food. The other cat has been switched to the same food to try and limit the types of food being ingested.
We have similar situation. Has anything been helpful???
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We rescued a kitten the was feline FIV/LEUK neg, and the vet did all worming, and vaccines. His fecal sample came back negative. However when we adopted him he was 3 pounds and we have had him for about 2 months and he is now 2.7 pounds. He does not poop in the litter box anymore, and his stool looks as they he is not digesting his food.
Hi, did you find out what was wrong with Ninja? My kitten stopped gainingweigiht and is ravenous. We also treated for worms and still don't know what is going on. Waiting on blood test results. Our Spaceboy is healthy otherwise, just won't gain weight. We tried switching food, but no one seems to know what food might be best for malabsorption if that's even what it is.
We have something different going on with our 10.5 yr old Indiana but his secondary condition is malabsorption. We have been on this powder Rx Eessentials for cats. It has high potency with multiple vitamins and minerals. Amazon has a great price plus great reviews. My vet recommended for us to try it and we have been on it for 4 days so I don't have any results to share besides that all three cats actually like it.
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My 14yr old cat kept sneezing over months. The vet could not find cause and extracted his canine tooth. After the anaesthetics he suddenly lost weight rapidly and developed congestion and his 'cold' continued. He has constant runny nose, although this and the congestion seems to have improved. The vet wanted to do major teeth extraction but I could not allow this so soon as he had hardly recovered
My two Ragdoll twins have chronic cold like symptoms. They also have asthma. We use low dust litter and brush them as often as they allow. But, they do have to go every 4 months or so for a steroid shot to tamper the asthma. We do the shots as far apart as we can. Steroids will cause a 50% chance that a cat will become diabetic.
As far as the cold like symptoms, the steroid shot helps some but we asked for an antibotic short for the one that has the most chronic of the symptoms. He still sneezes a lot but doesn't have a boogery nose and eyes as much.
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Roxy is about ten years old. We adopted her two years ago. She's a domestic shorthair calico, and the sweetest little girl. She started having loose stools about a year ago. It seems as though she is suffering from malabsorption. We had her feces tested. The test came back negative for parasites. We also adopted her brother and he has no sign of malabsorption or any distress - so we can rule out environmental factors, as both cats would have been suffering from parasites. She is gassy, prone to diarrhea now that she isn't vomiting any longer. She has an increased appetite and is an energetic girl. She loves climbing, she purrs constantly, and she's always looking for belly rubs and love. Depression is definitely not her problem. She always uses her litter pan to pee, however she often poops outside the pan. We hope that whatever ails her can be fixed with medication or diet. We've moved both cats onto healthier foods - Whole Earth Farms, Blue Buffalo, Whole Hearted, Merrick, etc. Her brother eats a normal amount, drinks water on occasion, and is a healthy, active boy. Roxy over eats, doesn't gain weight, but her coat looks good and she seems content 95% of the time.
My Fuzzy has all the same symptoms as Roxy, and I was told its either Infiltration Disease, IBD, or Lymphoma that is after a x-ray and ultrasound. So he is on an immunosuppressant and synacore (probiotic). Recently, I started adding fiber into his food and seems to be helping his stool. Too early to tell. The diarrhea and smell of it has been awful. :( He was also tested for hypothyroidism, and EPI. All came back negative.
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My cat Tigger just turned 10. For the past 2 months he has been vomiting but when it started it wasn't often. But in the last two weeks it's been getting worse. When he does it looks like his food that he's bringing up. His food has orange pieces in it and that's what colour he's vomiting. A couple days ago I decided to put him on a different kind of food. He ate some right away and the next morning he did vomit a little. The vomit was Brown and that is the colour of his new food.Tigger eats and drinks often and uses the litter box daily and is still active. also when he's laying next to me I can hear his stomach make loud noises. And I can feel bubbling when I touch his stomach. Does anyone have any idea of what's wrong with my fur baby???
The stomach rumbling could be IBD. He would need to be tested by ultrasound to know for sure. Don't bother with an x-ray, I did, but had to pay for the ultrasound too.
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Our Elder Cat has always had a sensitive stomach, so he was never fed grocery store food and is generally on James Wellbeloved. So when he developed diarrhoea, we kept an eye on him but usually this would correct itself and he'd be fine. Now however it has continued so he was taken to the vet and was given Canigest, a tablet to 'line his gut' and was put on Royal Canin GI food. We got one semi-solid stool and now things are worse however in that he has very water diarrhoea with some of it appearing like undigested food. He has lost weight, which could also be his age as he's about 15 or 16, but I have a feeling it's malabsorbtion and his sensitive stomach was IBS. I wonder how likely being able to get him to a point where he has solid stool and feels more comfortable will be. Another vet trip is planned but I don't want to do more than is best for him considering his age and whether or not I want to put him through expensive treatment if he's not able for it.
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Hello, my cat (Scottish fold, 2yo female, 7lbs) has had visible allergies (balding patches on her coat, itching, excessive brown wax accumulation in her left ear, etc. Ringworm, fleas, etc. have been ruled out). Additionally there is always blood when she defecates. There is no blood in the actual stool, just a discharge that follows the process. She isn’t constipated. Multiple vet visits, and she continues to have elevated total Calcium levels but her iCa levels are not above the normal range - but it’s on the higher end of the range, the top number. Also, her urine is highly concentrated with oxalate crystals, but no stones were shown on the x-ray. Vet prescribed hypoallergenic diet that might help with malabsorption but two months later and the results are still the same. Dr says it’s the right diet for her yet I disagree and think my cat needs a urinary care diet instead. She is currently on Hills z/d diet which she absolutely hates; I tried Royal Canin Ultamino which she loved but her symptoms came back on that food; severe vomiting. Any thoughts? Anyone experienced similar episodes/diagnosis?
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Hi, my cat Roxy is 13 years young and had been throwing up for a few weeks. I took her to the vet and they suggested an X Ray. The X Ray revealed an object in her intestines and they offered us 2 suggestions.. to either let her expel it in a week or remove it as it may cause damage. We agree to the surgery for the next day.. the object a chicken bone was removed and a few days to monitor her. We bought her home a few days later as they thought stress there would not benefit her but she was puking again. They recommend a particular food and gave us free samples. We continued with the food and her stool became watery and more frequent. We keep bringing her in as we were concerned and he suggested she needed to lose a few pounds from 18pd.. by 10pds we ran her in and asked when can we stop the food so she can not have watery stools and urinate so much.. they suggested a lil more time but now she was not able to make it to the liter box so we got wee wee pads.. fast forward.. I ran her to the emergency clinic at another place and they found her sever dehydrated. I took her from the emergency place as we gave them a deposit for $2000 for any test needed but they called 7 hours later asking for more money without preformed tested agreed.. I took her to her first vet ever and they think she has malnutrition obsortion.. from a surgery resection gone wrong.. can we save our baby please and thank you for any advice
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My 4 month old male manx kitten is not gaining weight. He eats like a pig. His ribs are showing. He is active. He is on no medication. His sibling is normal. He is always hungry.
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I'm looking after a stray cat.she is so skinny and vomits most of the time. Some days before she got some wound and now it's infected. I took her to the vet. They gave blood test. But she doesn't have much blood. So they couldnt collect it. Her back legs r so weak.she can't walk with them properly. What foods can I give her to increase blood?
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Hi! My kitten is about 2-3 weeks old. He's tummy is currently swollen and he also has been pooping white poop for three days. I thought it was normal since he's on KMR and he's peeing really well. However, I found worms in his poop earlier which makes me think that something is off. Is there any home emergency remedy that I could give him? I'm currently working during the day so I can't take him to the vet until Saturday. Any help would be great.
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I have an 11 yr old cat. He's basically indoors, but goes out in the yard for about an hour about once per week.
He has lost a lot of weight over a year. He eats like a horse. We give him moist cat food as a supplement.
We have other cats..one which hangs around feral cats outside.
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My Cat Matylda had been ravenous but would lose weight and had loose stools (lighter than normal). She had CBC - all showing everything to be completely normal. Did GI Blood workup and her B12 level was <150 and her pancreatic enzymes were on the low side of normal. She got her first vitamin B12 shot a few days ago and there is a marked difference in how she seems to feel, her energy level, how she's eating (not as ravenous) and most definitely in her stool. Only once/day and it is darker and well formed. My question is regarding her weight (she went from 14 to 9 lbs and is a 4 year old PB Maine Coon) - how quickly do they gain their weight back as things improve? Although 9 lbs might now sound small, it is very thin for a cat her size. She was not overweight at 14 lbs.
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My 16 year old female Siberian cat has been diagnosed with Lymphoma a year go but we never did the biopsy as we didn't;t want to put her through a rough surgery as when this happen, her weight loss was drastic and she was really weak. She has been on steroids and Chinese herbal medicine for almost a year and doing well but she is super skinny and always hungry. I always assumed she is always hungry due to steroids but reading other posts about malabsorption cats do make me wonder if steroid has nothing to do with it? Anyway, she drinks a lot and pees a lot. She also has not been using litter box for almost 2 years and uses weewee pads that are infant of the other litter boxes (3 in total and I have 2 other cats). She has been peeing her life away for years and suddenly 2 days ago, she started peeing in the kitchen floor corner (where she may have peed a year before but we put a big box there and that discouraged her. we recently moved the box out and she started to pee on that spot. I did all the enzyme cleaning). Now, she is peeing around/near that area. Smell isn't so bad as her pee are diluted with so much water but know I am afraid she may go into peeing on other areas of the house. Recently, she had an infection on her cheeks so we had the opportunity to do a blood test and my regular vet said she may have diabetes but wasn't;t sure if it was stressed related from traveling to the vet. we tried to do fluctosamine test(something like that) but there wasn't enough blood so I was to collect her urine and bring it in to the vet. my ultimate question is, is her peeing related to being diabetic (possibly) or just being old? or is it a behavior issue? We only have 3 options - try to retrain her by putting her in a cage (as told by ASPCA), or put a diaper on or put her to sleep. I don't even know if training her at this point will help. I don't want to put diapers on - what happens when she poops in it? trying to clean her up will be a mess. I can get a super large cage so she can live in there, peacefully for rest of her life. no matter what choice I decide to take, I am not sure any thing will make me happy but I also want to do what is good for her. so what should I do? any advice please?
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hi i have a 1year old domestic cat- about 3 months ago he started to get very skinny and hungry all the time - he is has regular flea and worming treatments. He often will poo outside his litterbox and sometimes the faeces looks undigested. Sometimes it seems like the need to poo comes upon him all of a sudden and he'll just poo on the floor, its not diarreah So i took him to the vet - they did a number of tests with bloods and urine, we gave him antibiotics in case it was a bowel inflammatory issue but no improvement. Hes happy enough, just skinny and hungry - i feed him twice a day and he has access to dry biscuits all day. The vet costs were substantial and the next set of tests are over $800
Do gooders in my street are threatening to call the police for neglect he looks so skinny
What can i do
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I have a rescue kitten (approx 9 mths) however looks more like 4 mths. She isn't putting on weight and so is not growing, upon advice we got tests done, no issues regarding liver/kidney function, no protein in urine, stools are normal, she doesn't have diarrhoea, nor is she constipated. The only thing that the lab suggested was that it 'looks' like she could have malabsorption. She would eat you out of house and home, her appetite would rival any adult stray cat but weight doesn't stay on her.
Based on the malabsorption theory, the vet recommended trying her on specialised wet and dry food for this and sachets of granules specific for malabsorption, for 2 weeks we separated her, gave her smaller portions more often, but she wasn't eating much and no evident weight gain, I then put her onto her usual shop food but still gave her the granules and kept her separate from the other cats to keep track of her intake, she seemed to be bulking out a little, however some says she still looks very thin.
She has no energy, except when food is put down in front of her, she takes colds easily, I can see she is run down, but I am not in a position to get test after test done in order to keep ruling things out. Is there anything else I can try to build this kitten up, she looks miserable, they also ruled out dwarfism.
Regards
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My cat is 16 years old and is always ravenous, wants to eat constantly and yet is not gaining weight. His thyroid has been checked and is fine but we can't afford all the expensive tests. Is there something we can give him in his diet that will help him absorb the food and nutrients?
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My kitten (10 months) is a Bengal. He eats like a little pig and has diarrhea occasionally. He has not gained any weight in the last month or two. He does not show any signs of having a parasite such as a tapeworm. He was just prescribed metronidazole by the Veterinarian but am not sure if that will help any. I am unsure of what my next step with him is.
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My boyfriend and I are looking to move in soon, and he wants to bring his cat with him. And I've been concerned for this cats health since day on. She was around 8 years old when I met him (she's 10 now) and she was so small and skinny I thought maybe he neglected her. But she eats fine .
Unfortunately soon after meal time, she has to use the bathroom . And it's horrible. Her stools smell so awful your eyes water, you start to gag and you have to flush it down the toilet or you throw up. She also vomits a lot. They've just accepted it but I'd like to get her back into decent health before we live together because I can't handle her litter box visits. I would love an opinion about where to start.
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I have a 19 year old cat who eats very well and is active but is getting thinner and thinner. Is it possible that she isn’t absorbing nutrients from the food? What can I do?
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My 15 year old female cat had loss her appetite and in turn lost weight. She is hyperthyroid but managed with tapazole for a little over 2 years. Vet did a full blood panel and all came back in normal range. She suspects GI cancer but does not feel any masses. I declined sonogram and just figured we would monitor her for the time being. Since a month ago when syptoms started, she has now regained appetite but still not gaining weight. Now that she is eating again she is now having diarrhea. It is tan in color and very smelly(no blood). No vomiting. She is still drinking and eating well even though she is having the diarrhea. Vet suggested either b12 shot or antibiotics with a probiotic. I am going to try the antibiotic and probiotic first and she said if no improvement in a week to come back for b12 shot. The confusing thing is that she lost appetite but is now eating well. She is frail looking but still meows for food and looks like her self except for being so tiny. Is it possible that it was something else and never GI cancer? Is there something else we should look at or try? I didn’t want to do the sonogram because she has always been a temperamental cat and they would probably have to put her under anesthesia to do the sonogram and in her frail state I don’t think it would be good.
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So I took my cat to the vet, he was de-wormed cause he had tapeworms for about a year, but the deworming didn't change the outcome: he's always hungry and he is skin and bones, even losing some fur/fur thinning. He use to have blood in his stool as well, the blood stopped when we put him on salmon cat food but he's still not gaining and still always hungry. I feed him 4 1/2 cans a day... no improvement. The vet also gave him a blood test and found that his blood is normal (and hasn't been much help since then). The cat is fine in every other area (energetic, ect)
P.S. he has to be on urinary tract food because he has had blockages a few times.
Also if he eats a new type of food, or even over eats reg food he will have diarrhea and vomit. Oh and his rectum swells up when he goes, but it goes back in when he's done
Hello, my cat (Scottish fold, 2yo female, 7lbs) has had visible allergies (balding patches on her coat, itching, excessive brown wax accumulation in her left ear, etc. Ringworm, fleas, etc. have been ruled out). Additionally there is always blood when she defecates. There is no blood in the actual stool, just a discharge that follows the process. She isn’t constipated. Multiple vet visits, and she continues to have elevated total Calcium levels but her iCa levels are not above the normal range - but it’s on the higher end of the range, the top number. Also, her urine is highly concentrated with oxalate crystals, but no stones were shown on the x-ray. Vet prescribed hypoallergenic diet that might help with malabsorption but two months later and the results are still the same. Dr says it’s the right diet for her yet I disagree and think my cat needs a urinary care diet instead.
Any thoughts? Anyone experienced similar episodes/diagnosis?
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My 13 yr old cat Ginger has been steadily losing weight for several months. He lost two more pounds in the last two months and weighs 6.8 lbs now. He eats, but not as much as when he was younger. I started to put out less food about a year ago because he and his brother were throwing up, but I have gone back to leaving out a full bowl of kibble and a plate of wet food all day. Ginger cries a lot at night and walks up and down the halls wailing He also has been biting/pulling out his fur. He has large patches of fur missing from his belly and legs. His tummy rumbles quite a bit and he has gas but no diarrhea. We did a fecal test for parasites, two rounds of blood work to rule out diabetes and thyroid issues, X-rays of his heart, lungs and stomach. I tried giving him probiotics and digestive enzymes. We don’t know what could be wrong with him. Next I’m having his blood tested for malabsorption and the vet thinks we might have to do a sonogram too, but no guarantee of a diagnosis. Anything else you can suggest? I’m getting desperate to find out what is wrong with him. Thank you!
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My 14 year old kitty ,started chewing on white phone charging cords a year ago . I took her to the vet . She said she had a severe hyperthyroid . She has been on meds for it ever since ,she is now taking the highest dose possible . Mid way through she developed malabsorbtion. The doc has tried everything from antibiotics to steroids. She has frequent diarrhea, and a voracious appetite along with drinking water constantly. Nothing is working . I asked my vet if she could possibly have a cancer . All she did is shrug hershoulders. I am at a loss . I feel the only thing left is to put her down . She is suffering. Please advise..
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my cat is 20 years old and has developed an urge to eat constantly. i am concerned that this might be a sign of her getting ready to die? when she urinates it is a large amount. she also vomits on a regular basis
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My 10 month old cat has suffered from mild to severe diarrhea for 6 months. In that time he's lost a significant amount of weight and is often lethargic and cold. He has sustained a great appetite, but he just doesn't get better. We've tested for parasites, he's been on several courses of antiobiotics, he's on daily probiotics, his blood work is inconclusive. The vet says it points to FIB but that test is inconclusive as well. For the past week he's been listless and weak. He still eats well but I've also stopped him from eating cat litter. What do I do next?
It looks like Mac has had a comprehensive work up already in trying to determine the underlying cause. Other diagnostic tests that may be performed are biopsy of the intestine to look for mucosal damage or villous atrophy which may result in a reduction in the uptake of nutrients from digesta and an examination of the faeces for undigested food (not always reliable); tests for pancreatic function may also be helpful. If Mac is getting weak, he may need to be admitted for supportive therapy. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
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