Have you had his teeth cleaned?

If he has weight loss he needs to have complete blood work done! He may be diabetic, have kidney issues or an over active thyroid.Those are the top three kitty things.

That's what he needs. You will have your answers.

Yes, do check his thyroid. Our dog is like that and she just wants food to be nearby and is very overweight. We found out her thyroid is working so poorly it barely showed on the test. She is feeling better now thank goodness. We lost our other older dog last week and can't stand to lose this one too.

Kristy, sorry about your dog. I know how you feel, we had to have our German Shepherd put down in April this year. He was almost 14 years old and had hip displaysia and had gotten to where he could not walk more than a few steps at the time. So rather than see him suffer we let him go. It was the hardest thing we have ever done in our life, making that decision. Glenda

Kristy and Glenda:

I am sorry for both of your losses.

Catherine:

Are you living with my cat, Boa. She does the exact same thing. Her dishes are in the kitchen and she sleeps on her own personal couch (wedge shaped sectional). I swear she sleeps with one eye open. I can't even get up to go to the bathroom without her flying off the couch into the kitchen and crying for food. I have already opened up 4 cans of catfood at one time. To which she turns her nose up at. She is 16-years-old and is on thyroid med. I just had her in to the vet a month ago and they had to increase the dosage. She gets 1/2 tablet 2 X a day every other day, and 3/4 tablet 2 X a day on the days she doesn't get the 1/2 tablet. I had to mark it in the calendar so I don't get confused (I am confused enough as it is. lol). She seems to have gotten better since the dosage increased. However she is still a "finicky" eater. The good thing is whatever she doesn't eat I give to McLovin or Willow. The bad thing she steals their food when they aren't looking (even though it's the same darn food she wouldn't eat when I put it in her dish). She seems to know hers had medicine in it. She doesn't have any teeth so she can't eat the hard chow. She has gained a few pounds since the vet increased her dosage, and her coat is improving. As much as I brush her the luster was gone and she had knots around her rear end.

IMO, it sounds just like Boa. I would take her to the vet as soon as you can to have extensive blood work done. My vet told me cats can get a lot of complications if they aren't treated for thyroid problems, one of them being retinitis, which she said is not reversible.

Jenny

Thanks everyone,

We've wanted him to lose weight, and so I'm sure his losing weight is just because we've cut back on all the food he used to get. He has no other signs of any problems. In fact, since he's lost a little weight, he's a tad bit more active.

When he needed that enema awhile back, the doc said he was borderline diabetic. Well, I really believed it was the stress from the trip to the doc's. He gets absolutely hysterical......which is why I've really not wanted to take him back.
I believe a couple of you told me to ask the doc if he could have a sedative before going in for a visit, but the office said "no". They said his blood sugar could have been elevated because of his condition (obstructed) the last time, and they would rather take a blood sugar under normal conditions.
Well.....the stress of taking him to the vet, even under "normal" conditions, I really feel would raise his blood sugar.
Does a cat with a thyroid problem seem normal except for crying for food??
The reason I have never gotten his teeth cleaned is that for a long time, I perceived that when we gave him his flea and tick medicine, he would have a very strong reaction to it......spending days being obtunded. I just have a fear of the anesthesia necessary to clean his teeth. He's an indoor cat, so we don't give him the flea and tick med anymore.
I just think he's neurotic and so I'm going to give him a little bit of my zoloft.
JUST KIDDING!!
He does seem to like the Iams soft food the best. Is that a reputable brand? I have the feeling, though, that I'll constantly have to switch around to keep him interested.
Gosh......you'd think a cat would get tired of crying so much. Oh....and when we don't feed him when he starts crying (even though he just ate), and he starts eating the dog's hard food!
Do they have Weight Watcher's for cats?? (or cat psychologists??) :)

Hi.Forget about having a blood sugar taken for your kitty. Just putting him in the carrier will cause an increase in blood glucose due to stress. Have them draw a fructosamine level. That value is a gauge of how his blood sugar has been doing over the last 2-3 months and will not vary with stress or a meal just before the blood draw. A urinalysis will check for glucose and ketones that may be present if your kitty is diabetic.

Will a cat with thyroid problems seem normal except for crying for food? YES! If he's got an over active thyroid gland, his metabolism is kicked up a few notches and it doesn't matter how much he eats ... he will have weight loss. Hyperthyroidism will eventually cause irregular heart beats, muscle wasting ... vomiting ... diarrhea ... sometimes seizures.

I don't know how bad your kitty's teeth and gums are but generally a kitty teeth cleaning takes 15-20 minutes and they are standing within an hour or less when it's done. You need to discuss your concerns about anesthesia with your vet.

Thanks CD3.
I just remembered I have those urine dip sticks. I totally forgot about them. I'll test him here.
I'm pretty convinced he wouldn't be losing weight if we weren't cutting back on his food. He's still pretty big.
Is Iams a reputable brand of food?
Thanks!

Catherine, you have asked advice from the best of the best. It has been given, yet you seem not to want to use it. Why don't you just go ahead and give him some of your Zoloft.LOL If it were my kitty and he seemed to have something as serious as your kitty, I would be bugging the vet daily until they came up with an answer. Iams is supposed to be a good food, unless it is made in CHINA!! I hope you find out something soon. My kitty has gotten pretty persnicatty (not spelled right) You know what I mean. She only wants Whiskas that come in the little pouches and then only the chicken variety. I can't find any rat flavored. She is a very good mouser. She is about 14 years old. Took her to the vet to check for worms and the vet said she is the "Youngest" 14 year old cat he has ever seen. She is an outdoor or barn kitty. And her teeth and claws are like needles. Glenda

Glenda,
What advice am I not taking?

Did you take him to the vet and have him tested for a Thyroid problem? Check his fructosamine levels. Maybe I missed this. I agree that would be a place to start. Instead it seems to me that it is easier to find an excuse not to stress him out by not taking him to the vet. How about him stressing you out with his constant call for help. I'm sorry and please don't think I am being mean. If I were there I would go with you to help you once and for all get an answer to your kitty's problem. Glenda

Catherine:

Whatever you do, DO NOT let your cat continue eating the dry dog food. That's how I lost my siamese cat. He at the dry Iams mini-chunks and went into kidney failure and I lost him. The vet told me it has too much protein in it and cat's kidneys cannot tolerate that much protein.

Jenny

Thanks Jenny,
I figured that wasn't a good thing. I guess we'll just have to give the dog her food only when we're there to make sure the cat doesn't get it. Thanks for the heads-up.