Is it normal for a senior cat to lose body
weight and muscle mas, with the increased
activity in the spring and summer? She is 16
years old, eats well, is still playfull and
active. Vocal too!

Joan
Saint John, N.B. Canada

Seasonal weight fluctuations are not uncommon in pets (or people, for that matter). The long, warm days of spring and summer offer more opportunities for exercise than the inclement nights of winter.

As well, some degree of weight and muscle loss naturally occurs in all individuals as they age. An 83-year-old person can be expected to have less muscle mass than a 23-year-old; the same is true in cats and dogs.

However, and this is a big however, 16-year-old cats are at increased risk for a number of diseases and syndromes that may cause visible weight loss. Hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, tumors and a host of other glandular and metabolic problems are prevalent in older animals. Hyperthyroidism is especially known for causing weight loss and high levels of vocalization.

Your best move will be to have a vet examine your cat. He or she will be able to quantify the weight loss and run tests to check for the various syndromes I have mentioned. Hopefully the vet will determine that nothing is wrong. But it is better to be safe than sorry.

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I would like to thank Amanda of Environmental Working Group for alerting me to a report that her organization recently released. An excerpt from the report is below.

High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats And Dogs

. . . In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group found that American pets are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns.

The results show that America’s pets are serving as involuntary sentinels of the widespread chemical contamination that scientists increasingly link to a growing array of health problems across a wide range of animals—wild, domesticated and human.

I recommend that you read the report. The findings are disturbing. For instance, consider the following.

Dogs and cats were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested, including 43 chemicals at levels higher than those typically found in people, according to our study of plastics and food packaging chemicals, heavy metals, fire retardants, and stain-proofing chemicals in pooled samples of blood and urine from 20 dogs and 37 cats collected at a Virginia veterinary clinic.

Diseases such as cancer and hyperthyroidism are becoming more prevalent in pets. Part of the increase in prevalence can be explained by the longer life expectancies that pets currently enjoy. Cancer, in particular, is more likely to strike when animals are older.

However, the bodily effects of many chemicals listed in the study are not fully understood. In my mind, it is very likely that chemical body burden is playing a role in these disease processes.

Environmental Working Group has launched a campaign to raise awareness about this issue. You can view the campaign’s website by clicking here. The campaign’s spokesdog, Eddie, has a good blog. He also has a profile on Dogster.

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