Hey Gabbysue!

Whenever a senior kitty starts to lose weight, a vet visit is in order to determine *why*. Common reasons are; sore mouth/needs a dental cleaning, diabetes, and renal failure.

Can you open Alex's mouth and look inside? Are the teeth covered in tartar and plaque? Are the gums angry red and swollen or bleeding? Are there any sores?

Take a peek in the litterbox - does he urinate more frequently? Is there greater volume with the urine? With clumping litter you will find softball sized clumps of urine indicating he is voiding more than normal.

Cat's with diabetes often have a huge appetite and drink lots of water while still dropping weight; as the disease advances the cat loses his appetite, may vomit frequently and will become very weak. Cat's with renal failure have similar symptoms, the main difference being renal cats typically lose their appetite.

Supporting your cat might mean a dental if a sore mouth is preventing him from eating and thus causing the weight loss. Renal failure and diabetes typically require a blood panel test for diagnosis. If it is diabetes it is treatable with good success. If it is renal failure special diets will help extend Alex's life.

The big picture here is not that Alex needs to gain weight, rather we have to ask *why* is Alex *losing* weight - and for that my only advice is to see the vet for a proper diagnosis.

Maybe a good check up by a good vet would be the best done at the earliest. I don't want to worry you, but this could be serious.

Wish you well, Namaste, Om

Along with the vet checkup, try adding raw meat (chicken, turkey, duck) to your kitty's diet. You didn't say what kind of dry food you are feeding it, but dry food all the time (especially the cheap, grocery-store kind) will create many problems, as you can read about throughout this site. Check your area for pet food stores that stock raw meat especially made for cats.