Why does a cat lose weight?

Weight loss in a cat is associated with many reasons, which can vary depending on age. Physiologically, cats of all ages can lose weight under stress caused by moving, estrus, diet changes, and other changes in living conditions.

A cat can also lose weight due to inappropriate food or lack of food, which requires a reassessment of the type of food. With such a problem, you should consult a veterinarian, since it is not always possible to choose the right food on your own.

The most common cause of weight loss in kittens is not physiological, but associated with a disease of the internal organs – helminthic invasion.

Also, weight loss can be associated with a viral infection, pain due to dental problems, and even a foreign object in the digestive tract.

In older cats, weight loss can be associated with stress, kidney failure, pancreatitis, visceral tumors, and inflammation.

A cat can also lose weight with bronchopneumonia in a severe stage. But here weight loss will go as an additional symptom to other manifestations of the disease.

Weight loss can be chronic, slow and imperceptible, which happens mainly with stress, tumor lesions of internal organs, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, hyperthyroidism. In this case, the owner may not immediately notice the problem, and the disease, sometimes, is detected already in an advanced stage.

If the weight loss is acute, significant and visible, then this also does not exclude a tumor lesion of the internal organs, but only these are already malignant, foreign objects in the digestive tract, poisoning. Acute weight loss is always accompanied by clinical signs: loss of appetite or its complete absence, vomiting and gagging, diarrhea, lethargy.

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For a more detailed study of the problem, we recommend contacting a specialist.

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February 25 2019

Updated: 1 March 2019