Should I be worried about my cat? - Updated

[PoohBears#1fan]

Toby's 13, he's always been a cat who enjoys being outdoors /hunting etc. We always bring him in at night though and he will sleep on our bed, not going out until after his breakfast the next morning

Over the last few weeks though he's looking scrawny, he wants to be outside all the time, which to be fair isn't particularly unusual, but now other than at night I can't keep him indoors, if I bring him in and shut the cat flat he'll just sit by it or the front door waiting to be let back out - or for his opportunity to bolt!

He is eating, but is just being incredibly fussy, we're having to change his food every week as he'll eat something one day, then decide he doesn't like it the next so we keep a variety! Whilst he's always preferred fish, he's never been a particularly fussy cat. He's not eating anywhere near the quantity that he always has.

He doesn't appear to be in any discomfort and can still scale a 6' fence with no issue so I'm torn as to whether I'm over thinking it, but his reluctance to eat and stay indoors is worrying me, along with the fact that he does look like he's lost weight.

Do you think it's worth a vet visit?

[PABBY]

Could someone else nearby be feeding him too?

[Tinkerbell]

This happened to all of our cats when they reached a certain age. I’d take him to the vet for a once over. Purdue, George and Mog were like this for about the last year of thier lives. Scrawny, would eat food one day want something different the next and then have burst of energy

Keep us updated

[maidmarian]

I think it's that age I'm afraid, all our cats ended up like this, it's just getting old 😢

[Guest]

Although I bet it’s just an age thing I would take him to the vet for a check over just in case. Many animals will hide being unwell.

[sam7]

I would take him for a little check up, they will probably recommend a full screen blood test which at his age will especially check for diabetis or thyroid issues

[lizzie145]

cats are very good at hiding pain. My cat, 6 years old, spent the night in the vets with an acute infection but seems much better now.

If it is just old age then you will know

[PoohBears#1fan]

Thank you all, we'll get him checked over, but do worry that it's time to face him getting old.

[fudgie]

If your cat is outside alot, you might not be aware of it if he could be being sick when he's outside.

My 16 year old cat became very scrawny and thin. She would eat but started being sick quite often so couldn't maintain her weight.

I still have her sister who's now 17, and she's always been naturally slender but looks even thinner now. She's healthy though - it's just old age.

[PoohBears#1fan]

So it wasn't good news as we feared.

He's in heart failure, they found that his chest cavity was full of fluid, they drained it and put him on diuretics, he's now eating well again but it's only a matter of time until he deteriorates and we'll need to make a tough decision as we can't keep putting him through this procedure.

They've warned us that we probably only have a few weeks left with him, so we're just spoiling him with sardines, salmon & tuna and letting him live the life of riley until he decides he's had enough.

So sad, doesn't seem like 5 minutes ago when he was a teeny little kitten with eyes almost as big as his body.