Hi, new to the forum and wanted to post a possible concern we have with our 13 year boy. He's been getting skinny over the last year or so, but has always been a slender cat for the most part. His torso is longer than usual Bengal's I've seen. His ribs are starting to show a bit more, along with his hips.

He had a check up 4 months ago (no blood work) and weighs 14lbs and vet says looks great. He's eating a ton, doesn't gain much weight and is active like a 3 year old cat would be.

I'm taking him back into the vet on Friday to do blood work, but wanted to check if Bengals get slender at older age?

Thank you!

A lot of cats lose condition and become skinny in old age. My last two that were 14 & 15 when they died were quite thin. That said, I would definitely get blood work done, just to see how everything is functioning.

I don't want to worry you unnecessarily (but you asked!), but the one thing that comes immediately to mind based on what you wrote, is possible Feline Hyperthyroidism. Where the body kind of gets "revved up", and increased appetite, increased activity, and decrease in weight for elderly cats, are the symptoms. Hopefully the vet will check for that. If that happens to be what it is, it is treatable. I had a cat with that years ago, and got it cured by a moderately expensive procedure (radio iodine therapy). There's tons of other stuff it could be too, don't get too freaked out, but it's something to bring up as a concern to the vet perhaps, and hopefully you can get some answers.

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinehype ... hyroidism_

Let us know how it goes.

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The little monsters 3

Thanks for the replies, I'll post the results after I get the blood work done!

The key is making sure the vet tests for EVERYTHING. Typical blood work checks kidney and liver function, glucose level, white blood cell count, etc. The vet may have to dig deeper to find other things. Do not give up until you are satisfied that you know what is going on. I do know kidney and liver functions can tell a lot as to what is going on in the body, but cats get the same diseases that humans do.

I don't believe a cat's body will change much over their life without an underlying cause. Older cats may eat less and lose a little weight -- but yours has a great appetite. Diabetes can cause a cat to lose weight but they will drink a ton of water. Hopefully, the vet will find something that is causing the weight loss.