Cat has lost loads of weight and breathing rapidly?
by Lisa
(Newcastle upon Tyne)
My cat has lost loads of weight and is breathing rapidly when lying down. Any ideas what it could be?
My cat is about 6 to 7 years old. She has been wormed but she has lost loads of weight where you can feel all her bones. She is eating but not putting any weight on.
Also, when she is lying down she is breathing really fast. She has also had diarrhea in the last couple of days. She hasn't got any energy either.
She is going to the vet's tomorrow but any advice on what it could be before I go to prepare myself would be a great help, thanks.
Editor's note: I'm sorry to hear that your cat is sick, Lisa. The vet is definitely the place for her, so I'm glad you're taking her.
Rapid weight loss with good appetite could be a metabolic issue of some kind. Diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, and hyperthyroidism come to mind as diseases that may involve rapid weight loss.
Diarrhea and weakness could be involved in any of these or there could be some other cause for that as well.
My cat Priscilla had a mild case of hyperthyroidism, which my vet told me also may go along with a heart murmur (which she had), and shortness of breath (which she did not have).
If it's hyperthyroidism, then it sounds like a more extreme case, but from everything I've read and been told, treatment is usually successful.
I hope she recovers quickly from whatever it is, and I wish you the best of luck with her. Please let us know how the vet visit goes.
-Kurt