Unexplained, Sudden Weight Loss in Cats. Many people worry about their cats getting fat, but unintentional weight loss can be a serious issue, too. It may be a sign of an underlying medical problem. Depending on the reason for your cat’s weight loss, you may notice that your cat’s appetite is reduced or entirely gone, a condition known as anorexia. This is dangerous for cats, because they are prone to something called hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver syndrome, a life- threatening condition that can develop when the liver must process large amounts of stored fat to provide energy to the body. The potential causes of weight gain and a slow metabolism include low thyroid, adrenal fatigue, toxicity, food allergies, dehydration and more.But there are other medical situations that will cause your cat to lose weight, even if she continues to eat her normal amount of food. Whether your cat is eating or not, if you notice your cat is losing weight, it is important to consult your veterinarian. If you are not sure what your cat’s ideal weight should be, your veterinarian will be able to provide guidance and a suggested feeding regimen to meet your cat’s nutritional needs. Causes of Cat Weight Loss. WebMD explains the range of medical conditions that may be causing your cat’s unexplained weight loss -- and what treatments are available. As with most bodily changes in your pets, you'll want to be aware of weight loss. We've outlined six causes of sudden weight loss in dogs. The Authority on Fitness, Weight Loss & Good Health! How To Eat Right On A Busy Schedule. So many people are so busy they forget to eat or just grab whatever is. Unexplained weight loss and fatigue are two of the commonest symptoms you will experience with a progressive illness. The fact that it comes on suddenly yields clues to its. Anxiety, stress, or depression. Cats under psychological stress may go off their food, which can result in weight loss. Situations that may upset your cat include excessive noise, other animals in the feeding area, dirty food dishes, or proximity of the food dish to the litter box. Cancer. Although not all cat weight loss is caused by cancer, it is a relatively common culprit. Other symptoms that commonly appear include loss of appetite, lethargy, and hiding. Diabetes. This disease, which may be caused by a failure to produce the hormone insulin or an impaired ability to respond to it, commonly causes weight loss in cats, often with a change in appetite. Cats with diabetes may also drink excessive amounts of water, urinate more than usual, act sluggish, develop urinary tract infections, and have sweetly scented breath. Feline infectious peritonitis. This virus, which most commonly occurs in cats raised in catteries, is known to cause wasting. Unexplained weight loss is the term used to describe a decrease in body weight that occurs unintentionally and can be a warning sign of diabetes. Most dog owners spend a significant amount of time worrying about ways to prevent their dogs from gaining weight. The opposite problem is rarely the case. Involuntary weight loss generally develops over weeks or months. It can be a sign of a significant physical or mental disorder and is associated with an increased. Cats with FIP will seem sick, often with a fever that doesn’t respond to antibiotics. Continued. Gastrointestinal problems. There are a variety of different conditions in the gastrointestinal tract that may cause cat weight loss. When this is the case, other symptoms may include diarrhea, lack of appetite, and vomiting. Common GI problems that produce weight loss in cats include inflammatory bowel disease, food allergies, or certain infections. Intestinal parasites. Also known as worms, intestinal parasites may be the cause of your cat’s unintentional weight loss. Although symptoms are not always present, these parasites also may cause diarrhea, bloating, vomiting, and trouble breathing. Organ failure. Many elderly cats exhibit weight loss, and it can be difficult to determine the precise cause of the problem, especially because metabolism changes with age. Conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease become more common as cats get older. Your veterinarian can identify these problems with simple blood and urine tests. Hyperthyroidism. Your cat may have a good appetite; in fact, she may be eating more than usual but is still losing weight. Hyperthyroidism results from a benign hormone- producing tumor on the thyroid gland that elevates levels of thyroid hormone. In addition to weight loss, hyperthyroidism may cause increased drinking and urination, increased activity, vomiting, diarrhea, and muscle wasting. In later stages, it may even lead to heart problems or death. Older cats also are particularly prone to developing this condition. Toothache. If your cat suddenly stops eating and begins to lose weight, but seems otherwise healthy, it could be something as simple as a sore tooth causing the problem. Drooling and pawing at the mouth may be other signs of a tooth issue. Treatment and Home Care for Underweight Cats. To determine what is causing your cat’s weight loss and design the best treatment plan for you and your pet, your veterinarian will likely do a complete physical exam, blood work, and urinalysis. Depending on the reason for your cat’s weight loss, a variety of treatments and dietary changes to treat the underlying condition and restore weight may be prescribed. Fortunately, even in older cats, weight loss can often be treated, if not cured. Continued. The weight loss caused by certain conditions of the gastrointestinal tract may be addressed, either solely or in part, by making appropriate changes to your cat’s diet. If your cat is suffering from inflammatory bowel disease or other conditions that make food absorption difficult, an easily digested diet may be recommended. Cats that lose weight because of food allergies may recover completely when the offending foods are removed from their diet. In situations where lack of appetite is contributing to weight loss, appetite- stimulating medications or feeding tubes may be used to maintain adequate nutrition while the cause of anorexia is being addressed. Sources. SOURCES: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell Feline Health Center: ''Feeding Your Cat.''Veterinary Information Network, Veterinarypartner. The Cat Feeding FAQ.''Veterinary Information Network, Veterinarypartner. Anorexia.''American Animal Hospital Association, Healthypet. My cat hasn’t eaten for four days. What should I do?''S. Caney, ''Weight loss in the elderly cat. Appetite is fine and everything looks normal..,'' J Feline Med Surg, September 2. DL. Zoran, ''Nutritional management of feline gastrointestinal diseases,'' Top Companion Anim Med, November 2. Martin G. Rand, ''Current understanding of feline diabetes: part 2, treatment,'' J Feline Med Surg, March 2. All rights reserved. Severe Hearing Loss Causes and Symptoms. For 3. 7 million Americans, the world is a very quiet place. Severe hearing loss can make conversations fade into whispers and turn music into a faint hum. See your doctor as soon as you have trouble hearing. The earlier you get a diagnosis and treatment, the more you can stay involved in the world around you. Symptoms of Severe Hearing Loss. If you lose hearing, either suddenly or over time, details of conversations may become fuzzy. Sounds will become muffled and gradually fade. Depending on the cause of your hearing loss, you may also have: Pain in one or both ears. Dizziness or vertigo. Ringing in the ears, called tinnitus. Pressure or fullness in one or both ears. Often, people with severe hearing loss withdraw from their social lives because they're embarrassed to ask family and friends to repeat themselves over and over again. They might be afraid they'll misunderstand a conversation and answer with wrong or embarrassing comments. Degrees of Hearing Impairment. To find out how impaired your hearing is, your doctor may order a formal hearing test also known as an audiogram. It can show the degree of your hearing loss by looking at the range of decibels - - a measure of loudness - - you can hear. Normal hearing is in the range of 0 to 2. People with normal hearing are able to make out sounds as faint as human breathing, which measures about 1. Mild hearing loss ranges from 2. Moderate hearing loss ranges from 4. Moderately severe hearing loss ranges from 5. Severe hearing loss is in the range of 7. Profound hearing loss is greater than 9. People with severe to profound hearing loss will have trouble hearing speech, although they can make out loud sounds like a truck that backfires or an airplane taking off. Types of Hearing Loss. There are three main types of hearing loss: Conductive hearing loss happens because of a problem in the ear canal, eardrum, or the middle ear that prevents sound from carrying well to the inner ear. An ear infection, trauma, a tumor, or fluid or an object in the ear (such as wax buildup) can cause it. Continued. Sensorineural hearing losshappens most often from damage to the hair cells in the inner ear. Other causes include damage to the nerve for hearing, called the auditory nerve, or the brain. It’s usually happens as you get older, but it also can happen because of noise exposure, chemotherapy, radiation, trauma, and your genes. Mixed hearing lossis a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. There may be a problem in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear or auditory nerve. It can happen after a head injury, long- term infection, or because of a disorder that runs in your family. Hearing loss can affect one or both ears. It can happen suddenly or gradually get worse over time. If you notice sudden hearing loss, you should see an ear, nose, and throat specialist as soon as possible. Severe Hearing Loss Causes. When your hearing is normal, sound waves enter your outer ear and cause your eardrum and middle ear bones to vibrate. The sound waves then travel through your inner ear, which is a shell- shaped, fluid- filled tube called the cochlea. As the fluid moves, it sets in motion thousands of tiny hairs that convert the sound vibrations into nerve signals. Those signals go to your brain where they are turned into sounds you can recognize. Hearing loss happens when there's a problem with the parts of the ear that you use to hear. Any of these conditions can lead to severe hearing loss: Age. As people get older, some parts in the ear become less elastic. The tiny hairs get damaged and can’t respond to sound waves as well. Hearing loss can get worse over several years. Loud noise. The blare of power tools, airplanes, or loud music on headphones, for example, can damage the hair cells in the cochlea. How much hearing you lose depends on the volume of the sound and how long you were around it. Ear infections. They can make fluid build up in the middle ear. Usually, the hearing loss from an ear infection is mild and goes away shortly. But if you don’t treat the infections, they can lead to serious long- term problems. Continued. Perforated eardrum. An ear infection, loud sounds, trauma, or intense pressure in the ear from flying in an airplane or scuba diving can damage the eardrum, leaving a hole that may or may not heal. Depending on the size of the hole, there may be mild or moderate hearing loss. Cholesteatoma. This is a collection of skin that you can get in the middle ear when the eardrum collapses or when skin grows through a hole in the eardrum. Cholesteatomas grow over time and can lead to hearing loss by destroying the middle ear bones or, rarely, the inner ear. Illnesses or infections. Measles, mumps, syphilis, and meningitis are just a few of the conditions that can cause hearing loss. Meniere’s disease. Symptoms of this inner ear disorder include: Dizziness. Hearing loss that comes and goes. Ringing in the ear. Fullness in the ear. Hearing loss in Meniere’s disease usually gets worse but only involves one ear. Tumors. Cancer or benign tumors can cause severe hearing loss. This includes acoustic neuroma, paraganglioma, and meningioma. People who have one might also have numbness in their face or weakness and ringing in their ear. An object stuck in the ear. When something’s in your ear that shouldn’t be, it can block hearing. Earwax can sometimes build up and harden, which can make it hard to hear. Malformed ear. Some people are born with poorly formed ears. Trauma. Injuries like a skull fracture or a punctured eardrum can cause severe hearing loss. Medications. Some types of drugs - - including some antibiotics, large amounts of aspirin, chemotherapy drugs (carboplatin, cisplatin), and Vicodin (in large amounts) - - can cause hearing loss. Sometimes hearing will return once you stop taking the drug. In most cases, the hearing loss is permanent. Genes. Scientists have found genes that make people more prone to severe hearing loss, particularly as they age. Most of the time, newborn screening tests find genetic hearing loss, but it can show up later. Autoimmune disorders. Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, for example, may affect hearing. It’s one of the main features of several autoimmune disorders, including Cogan’s syndrome, Wegener’s granulomatosis, and Behcet’s disease. Web. MD Medical Reference. Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD on May 1. Sources. SOURCES: CDC: . American Family Physician, Sept. Merck Manual Home Edition: . Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, Nov. Muller, U. American Journal of Human Genetics, Sept. Johns Hopkins Medicine: “Understanding Your Audiogram.”. All rights reserved.
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