My cat is obese, not overeating. How to get vet to check deeper?

The first thing I would ask myself in these sorts of situations is if there is ANY POSSIBLE WAY he is getting food from any other sources. This can include other people, hunting, scavenging on the ground, the garbage, etc etc. If this is not possible, then he may just have a slower metabolism that a cat normally would for this young of an age. You are right in saying that hypothyroidism is rare in cats, to the point where I have not really ever met someone who has diagnosed this without the help of a surgical complication. There are other metabolic disorders and organ dysfunction that can result in weight gain, all of which would require further investigating with your regular veterinarian or through an internal medicine specialist. Hope this makes sense.

Cats get hyperthyroidism and this actually causes them to get too skinny. Cats who are over weight at at a much greater risk for diabetes but if they get the disease, they tend to lose weight and drink excessively. To answer your questions though, both conditions require blood work for diagnosis. Most cats get heavy because they eat too much and their metabolism slows down. Feeding multiple cats is difficult when one needs to lose weight and requires commitment on the humans part. You cannot leave food down all the time. You must separate the cats at feeding time. You must switch the heavy cat to a light cat food and control the portions. Cats do best if they are feed 4-6 times a day. For my own fat cat, I got an automatic feeder that stays shut in a room. It portion controls and is timed. All I do is open the door and shut it behind him. It’s pretty easy and I like that. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi there. Based on these lab results, I don't see anything concerning here - it looks like this kitty's liver and kidneys are in good shape, normal blood sugar (so no diabetes), and normal thyroid. The minor changes noted (slightly elevated protein, and slightly elevated eosinophils) do not generally have any major clinical significance. So this wouldn't concern me at all, as long as he seems healthy clinically. It sounds like he's a pretty hefty boy, so I agree that getting him started on a weight loss plan would probably be a good idea! I hope everything works out well for the adoption. :)

Exercise is definitely a good way to help him lose weight, but make sure you do it at his pace and don't push him too much. The most important thing you can do to control the weight is control his nutrition. Knowing how to feed George properly is an important first step. I've put a couple of links below that have good information about feeding cats to prevent obesity and information about obesity. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/health_information/brochure_feedingcat.cfm http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/obesity.cfm The next step is knowing how to implement a diet. This is often the most difficult thing for owners to do, but I can't stress enough the importance of sticking with the diet. Below is a link to information about getting your cat on a diet. http://www.petmd.com/cat/nutrition/evr_ct_obesity_in_cats_and_what_to_do_about_an_overweight_cat It is best to have George examined by a veterinarian, because it is possible that he has medical condition like hypothyroidism or diabetes that could be causing the obesity. The vet can also help to formulate a diet plan specifically to your cat. Weight loss plans often take a long time to work in cats, so don't be surprised if it takes a year or so to get her slimmed down. I hope that helps and George does well on the diet.

I would recommend having some blood work performed on your cat. Hyperthyroidism is a common disease in middle aged to older cats that causes an increase metabolism so cats are often very hungry but unable to gain weight. I would also recommend having your vet check a fecal sample to ensure that Koda does not have any intestinal parasites as this can cause weight loss as well. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

The type of symptoms you are reporting combined with Keaca's age is definitely a cause for concern. While lethargy and anorexia are very non-specific symptoms, there are definitely a couple of conditions that come to mind (particularly in an overweight cat). Some of the things I would think of include liver or kidney issues, pancreatitis, diabetes, and certain types of cancer involving the gastrointestinal tract. I think a good start to find out what may or may not be wrong would be to take Keaca in for a physical exam and to have some baseline blood work obtained. This will provide you with some information to rule out several of the conditions I mentioned above. If they are not able to make any determination from that information, some diagnostic imaging may be indicated (x-rays or ultrasound). Hope this helps and that Keaca is feeling better soon!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I’m glad to hear Grippet has lost the weight you wanted him to, but at his age we would want to ensure all the weight loss is for healthy reasons and not an underlying medical issue. As cats age, they frequently can get an overactive thyroid, diabetes, or kidney issues (among others) that can lead to unhealthy weight loss. I would recommend he be evaluated by his regular veterinarian and have bloodwork done to ensure all his weight loss is healthy and there isn’t an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Good luck!