Cats are one of the cutest, beautiful and intelligent animals when it comes to pets. So understandably, when you begin to own a cat, you try your best to provide it with an excellent lifestyle by putting your maximum efforts, concentration, and above all, love. Indeed petting a cat is a huge responsibility, and you have to stay vigilant all the time to make sure your kitty is healthy!
The physical activity of every cat varies. The cat you have maybe inactive and sluggish, which is usual in most cases, while the cat your friend owns may be pretty much active. The laziness of your cat may cause it to put on weight, which is understandable. Sometimes, your cat may start losing weight all of a sudden secondary to lack of appetite, while other times, the loss of weight may occur regardless of how much your cat eats.
In this article, you will learn the probable reasons why your cat is losing weight and what measures you can take to help your kitty!
Reasons for why your cat is losing weight
There are several breeds of cats, and people usually opt for the fluffy species because, indeed, they are super cute. However, if you also own an extraordinarily fluffy cat, the excessive layers of furs may be challenging for you to determine your cat’s body weight by physical judgment. Until and unless there is some drastic loss in your cat’s weight, you won’t be able to assess it in your fluffy fellow.
As mentioned earlier, the normal state of most cats worldwide is sedentary. Therefore, these creatures are not very much active. However, everything may vary from breed to breed, and above all, individuality matters a lot! However, if you have noticed that your cat is somewhat lazy, which made it gain weight, we assume this should not worry you!
But, if you see that your cat has started losing weight drastically without having any highlighted physical activity, it should bother you. Mostly, you may see cats gaining weight, but seeing your cat losing weight is unusual, and the chances are that some underlying health concerns exist.
Let’s have a light on the probable reasons for why your beloved cat is losing weight;
1. Raised blood sugar levels – diabetes
Mostly when you try to figure out why your cat is losing weight, you may end up reaching an underlying health issue. Several medical problems may cause your beloved cat to lose weight to a bothersome level, and Feline Diabetes is one of them.
Like humans, cats also can develop disturbed blood sugar levels, which usually leads to Diabetes. Unfortunately, cats do not have the blessing to express their pain and issues, unlike humans. Therefore, you have to stay very observant around a cat that is Diabetic.
Suppose you have observed that your little kitty demands food more than usual, but at the same time, you can see it losing noticeable weight; understandably, it would bother you! There is no doubt that the mentioned scenario is problematic, and you have to watch in this case.
When your cat suffers from Feline Diabetes, you will see it losing weight despite eating a lot all the time. In addition, your cat will become very thirsty and want the water bowl to be filled at all times.
2. Insufficient access to food
Without any doubt, as a responsible cat owner, you will never let your cat suffer from the unavailability of food. However, sometimes, some other humans or pets may block your cat’s approach to food. For example, let’s say that you own two cute cats, and maybe one of them bothers the other when it comes to eating.
The scenario mentioned above is pretty much common because people usually love petting cats. However, you must understand that having more pets means more responsibilities. Furthermore, cats do not appreciate being bothered at all when they are having their meals. Therefore, disturbing them while they eat may result in avoidance of food, which will result in your cat’s weight loss.
3. Parasitic infections
Indoor cats may not be susceptible to catch parasites, but understandably you cannot confine your little kitty to home. Like humans, cats also need to breathe in the fresh air and get exposed to the external environment, new animals, and people in town. Therefore, taking your cat every other day for socialization is healthy but may bring undesired guests like parasites along!
There are different types of parasites, and some may be external, while others enter your cat’s body and reside in the intestinal tract. The external ones may produce symptoms like itching and resultant scratches. However, these creatures cause your cat to lose weight by absorbing all your cat’s nourishment when it comes to internal intestinal parasites.
Un-spayed female cats that suffer from silent parasitic infections may transfer these worms in their kittens either during birth or while nursing.
3. Older cats and their susceptibility to hyperthyroidism
Like humans, the cat also possesses a thyroid gland present in its neck region. On visual examination, the glandular structure has the shape of a butterfly. Although the thyroid gland in humans secretes thyroid and calcitonin hormones, the gland secretes only thyroid hormones but speaking about the cat’s thyroid.
The similarity between the functions of thyroid hormones of cats and humans is incredibly correct. The hormones have significant effects on the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbs, or thyroid hormones regulate the overall body’s metabolism.
You must understand that thyroid hormone are crucial for your cat. However, as time passes and your little kitty grows up, the risk of having hyperthyroidism also increases! Hyperthyroid cats are usually older, around 7-8 years of age.
You can detect the condition in your cat if you observe weight loss despite excessive appetite. Besides, your cat will have palpitations (increased heart rate), insomnia (unable to sleep), and extreme thirst.
4. Renal issues in your cat
Although kidney diseases are uncommon in cats, you never know! If your cat has developed kidney disease, it may be secondary to bacterial toxins and harmful infections. Besides, any systemic condition involving kidneys and hindering the blood supply to these essential organs may result in renal issues in your cat.
It would be better to keep in mind that renal issues might not top the list when it comes to reasons for why your cat is losing weight, but indeed these are one of them!
5. Viral infections
Like bacterial and parasitic infections, viral infections are equally important when discussing unexplained weight loss in your cat. Feline viral infections are prevalent. The common viruses in cats are feline coronavirus, which causes feline infectious peritonitis, and leukemia virus, responsible for destroying the cat’s immune system.
The typical presentation of feline viral infections is weight loss, accompanied by disturbing patterns of eating.
Lets find out what vaccine do your cats need for feline infections.
6. Cancers
Cancers are not very common in cats, but these little fellows are susceptible to developing a few cancers that vets usually consider common in cats due to unknown reasons. These are; lymphomas, breast cancer, skin cancers, etc. Since weight loss in your cat may occur due to other reasons mentioned above, it would be best to keep your mind open to possibilities.
How can I help my cat that is losing weight?
It is not easy to reach the root cause when your cat loses weight for unknown reasons. First, you will need to book an appointment with a professional vet and discuss the entire situation of your cat with them. Vets usually run some necessary non-invasive tests that may help them figure out the exact reason for your cat’s weight loss.
It would be best to stick to the vet’s prescribed treatment plans as it will indeed help improve your cat’s condition.
Related Articles
- Why is my cat acting strange
- Why is my cat shivering
- How to calm down a cat when angry
- What do fleas look like
- Why is my cat coughing so much
- Why is my cat peeing blood
- Why Does My Cat’s Breath Stink
In conclusion
Understandably, a careful cat owner would become stressed out seeing their cat losing weight over a period. However, being concerned about your cat’s health is vital because it helps you detect abnormalities early. In this article, we have tried our best to enlist the causes of why your cat is losing weight and what you can do to help your pet.
Hopefully, it will prove helpful!
