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11 November 2009

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catmom5

Good article! This is a fairly common disease that can sneak up on you. My son and family lost a wonderful cat to this disease - he was a big boy and they thought the weight loss was a helpful thing. My own old girl has recovered from HLD via feeding tubes. Unfortunately, when she doesn't feel good, she stops eating! But I know what to watch for now and we have amazing vets close by.



I'm surprised, from some of the comments on the original article, how uninformed some cat people are. Thanks for getting this out there! Hopefully, it will save some cats' lives.

serijna

Excellent article.

Like to add one other reason for weight loss that I have experienced with my cats, both inside and outside. Reduced eating due to dental/gum problems. According to my vet very common and they do not always cry when eating. You might notice some drooling. I have had three cats requiring dental surgery/extractions and subsequent very rapid recovery after some weight loss. They all had bartonella treatment also. When one of my cats acts off, my first task is always checking for dehydration(pulling up scruff at back of neck). Any sign of dehydration results always in a rapid trip to my vet.

I salute anyone that manages to brush a cat's teeth regularly. So easy with doggies, sigh.

Suze

Very good article!



One of my cats had no symptoms other than one half closed inner eyelid and a slight temperature. I was told he had everything from an eye infection to feline leukemia. It turned out to be a bladder infection and he recovered after 14 days of antibiotic.



At first I thought he'd bumped himself (he's a kitty who adores the mad dash). Then the fever started. At the first visit, the vet tested for Feline leukemia and gave me eye drops; next visit was the dye in the eye test; third visit was blood and urine testing.



I guess the moral of the story is if you suspect the cat is sick, be persistent. They hide illness well enough to fool the vets sometimes.



(P.S. He's been well ever since, and I now take my cats to a feline-only vet.)

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