First of all, insist that your vet see him immediately. If they can't accommodate you, call another vet.

This happened recently with our cat Lily. She held a steady weight for years, and in a matter of weeks she lost two pounds. She was in renal failure. They performed surgery and removed the kidney stones and crystals that were blocking her ureter, but a week later the ultrasound showed she developed more stones and crystals. We now have her on a strict renal diet, she has gained some weight back and is doing much better.

The water drinking can be a sign of diabetes or kidney failure.

Lily didn't show us any signs of illness either, that is the downfall of pet ownership, they don't tell you when they don't feel good!

So get your furbaby to a vet today or tomorrow, get blood and urine tests, and x-rays to see if there is any blockage in his bowels or ureter.

Good luck, and keep us updated. If you catch it in time he can live a long, healthy life.

Manx are special, and I know because I've had two, both living 18 years.

It's good you scheduled him with the vet, but I agree with Michelle that you should not wait. Blood and urine tests won't take them much time. Even though he's young, the risk of kidney stones, crystals, etc. exists. Noticeable weight loss could be something serious.

Thank you, I was starting to feel paranoid feeling his shoulder blades and wondering. I'll call first thing. If they can't see him, I'll call our old vet who is 30 miles away. She always left plenty of space for urgent cases.

Oh Michelle, I just spotted your post on the forum. I hope your lovely ragdoll is doing alright.

Petaloid, they are special cats. He's a real character and a handsome little devil. :)

First, what a beautiful cat!

Second, "overreactive", what's that? This, coming from the person who spent yesterday at the exotic vet with the ferret who decided to catch his toe on something and limp around all morning...three x-rays and no broken bones later, we got a diagnosis of, essentially "take two (ferret)-aspirin and call me in the morning," lol.

Third, the weight loss is the most important thing to me. Try to get him into the vet sooner rather than later. A cat that young shouldn't really be dropping weight that quickly. If he'd simply lost enough weight for you to notice it after returning from your vacation, that would be one thing. It's hotter now. A lot of species of animals tend to slim down a *bit* in the summer months. Your absence during the vacation would give you that "outsider" perspective upon your return. However, you're saying he's lost weight since you returned from your vacation. Those of us who interact with our pets on a day-to-day basis are usually the last ones to notice a weight gain/loss. If it's severe enough that you've picked up on it, I'd recommend trying to get him into the vet ASAP.

What a handsome guy! I love his markings, he looks like a sweetheart. What is his name?

I am glad you are taking him in sooner than later, I am kicking myself and don't want anyone else to go through the emotional and financial woes Lily's illness has caused. Petaloid is right, blood and urinalysis only take a few minutes, X-rays are pretty quick too and will show stones or blockage. This was our first solid evidence of problems and helped us get her to the surgical hospital quickly, they worked with our vet to transfer her history and info.

You aren't an over-reactive parent, you are a caring one who is worried about their furbaby. I am sending good thoughts to you, please let us know what the vet says.

Lily is sending sandpaper kisses.

Northy, what did the vet say? Please keep us updated!

I've just now noticed this thread. I hope the vet was able to provide you with a diagnosis. I hope, also, that your vet ran a thyroid test (typically run separately from other blood tests, so it usually has to be specifically requested). Hyperthyroidism can cause rapid weight loss, hair pulling, and hyperactivity. It's more common in older cats (as are most chronic illnesses), but it does occur in young cats, as well. Diabetes can promote excessive drinking, as can renal failure (which can also cause rapid weight loss). Or there could be some form of toxicity or probably a dozen or so other possibilities.

In any event, I hope the vet visit provided some answers for you.

Laurie

Just to update. My vet did agree to squeeze us in for visit the day after I posted this. He was very patient with my grumpy kitty who was chomped his hands and arms the entire exam. He had a very thorough exam, blood and urine screens (including thyroid ).

Our vet actually felt his weight was just fine. He complimented us on our kitty's good condition (great coat and skin, shiny eyes, good muscle tone). He also suggested that the weight-loss could be due to summer heat.

The tests results which came back all clear this week. It's great news and I feel better. The vet does want us to keep a close eye on his weight and food/water intake daily (no more free-feeding) to see if the cat is just not eating as much -perhaps also due to the heat.

He does wonder if our cat is borderline diabetic and told us the screens for it can be hit/miss...and that we may want to rescreen just to be sure.

Yay! Good news. What a relief for you, I am glad things are good, keep your eye on him for drinking excessively, this would be a sign of diabetes, otherwise do the monitored feeding your vet recommends and give your kitty a belly rub for me.

That is great news. And you are not being unreasonably paranoid to be concerned about your cat's weight. Cats can suffer stoically for a long time. I learned the hard way that a cat's weight, appetite, and BMs offer the first clues to problems. Gradual changes in eating and elimination may be difficult to moniter if you have a multi cat household...so I weigh my cat every month and keep a record.

Take note of what your Manx weighs now...and see where he is a month from now.

northy this comment has me puzzled.
"He does wonder if our cat is borderline diabetic and told us the screens for it can be hit/miss...and that we may want to rescreen just to be sure."

Why does he feel your cat is borderline diabetic? The screening for diabetes is very accurate if a fructosamine test is given.

If your kitty seems to be eating normally or even more than normal and drinking lots, but still losing weight, that can be a classic sign of diabetes. Can I ask you what kind of food you feed?

If there are even remote concerns about the cat being diabetic, the best thing you can do right now is start feeding him a low carb diet. It's not has difficult as it sounds.

Canned food is the best thing for all cats, but it is essential for a diabetic cat. There are several brands of canned foods that are low carb and will help lower your cats blood glucose (BG) and maybe help prevent him from becoming full blown diabetic.

Below is a great website with loads of information about the nutritional needs of cats and how feeding them a proper diet will prevent many diseases like diabetes. There are links on the right side to guide you to finding a low carb food you can start feeding right now.

I have a diabetic cat, and after I became educated in his nutritional requirements, he was able to go off insulin and is now doing wonderful. If I can help just one person and their cat from going through what I did, I feel I did some good.

Please keep us updated on how your kitty is doing, (he's a real cutie by the way) and if I can be of any further help, just let me know.

Janet

Here is a link that might be useful: Feeding Your Cat