Healthy Cats

Weight Loss in Cats

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.

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.