Why Is My Pet Losing Weight Even Though They’re Still Eating?

Pet owner watching a tan dog eat from a bowl in a bright kitchen.

Why Is My Pet Losing Weight Even Though They’re Still Eating?

Have you noticed your dog or cat looking thinner recently, even though they are emptying their food bowl just as quickly as always?

When a pet refuses food, pet parents immediately know something is wrong. However, if your pet is eating normally—or even begging for more meals—it is easy to assume they are healthy. Unfortunately, persistent weight loss in a pet with a normal or increased appetite is often a medical red flag.

At Olive Branch Pet Hospital in Pensacola, veterinary exams and diagnostics can help investigate unexplained weight loss. A healthy appetite does not rule out disease. Losing weight while eating normally deserves a veterinary evaluation.

Why is My Pet Losing Weight While Eating?

When a pet consumes enough calories but still loses weight, their body may be having trouble digesting, absorbing, or using nutrients, losing nutrients, or using more energy than expected. A normal-looking appetite does not always mean calorie intake meets their needs.

Common medical causes include:

  • Endocrine Disease: Diabetes mellitus can cause weight loss in both dogs and cats. Because the body cannot use blood sugar properly, the pet’s cells receive too little energy, leading to weight loss despite an increased appetite. In cats, hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland) raises the body’s metabolic rate.
  • Digestive Disorders: Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) reduces the pancreas’s production of digestive enzymes. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can interfere with intestinal nutrient absorption. Both can cause weight loss.
  • Intestinal Parasites: Some intestinal parasites can cause weight loss by damaging the intestinal lining, interfering with nutrient absorption, or causing blood loss.
  • Chronic Illness: Cancer and other chronic diseases can alter metabolism and cause loss of fat or muscle, sometimes despite adequate food intake.

(Note: A decrease or complete loss of appetite also deserves attention. If your dog refuses food entirely, contact a veterinarian promptly, especially if other symptoms are present.)

What Should You Do?

Do not rely on increasing your pet’s daily food portions alone. Extra food cannot address every cause of weight loss and should not delay a veterinary exam. Your veterinarian can assess your pet’s calorie intake and dietary needs alongside possible medical causes.

Instead, your pet requires a comprehensive veterinary exam. At Olive Branch Pet Hospital, our in-house diagnostic laboratory allows us to run blood chemistry and urinalysis tests. These tests can help investigate diabetes and kidney disease; some conditions require additional testing. When appropriate, we also utilize ultrasound and endoscopy to examine internal organs and the digestive tract.

(Are you noticing other changes? If your pet is also drinking excess water and urinating frequently alongside their weight loss, tell your veterinarian.)

Veterinarian gently examining a gray-and-white cat on a blue non-slip mat.

Schedule a Pensacola Vet Checkup

If your furry family member is losing weight despite a strong appetite, it is time to find out why. Our veterinary team can investigate possible causes and recommend an appropriate treatment or nutrition plan based on the findings.

Call Olive Branch Pet Hospital at (850) 477-2901 to schedule a diagnostic exam. We know your animals are more than just pets—they’re family!

Is Anesthesia Safe for Older Pets? A Real Risk Breakdown

Veterinary clinician listening to a gray tabby cat’s chest with a stethoscope during an examination.

Is Anesthesia Safe for Older Pets? A Real Risk Breakdown

If your dog or cat is getting older, it is normal to worry when a dental cleaning, surgery, or diagnostic procedure requires anesthesia. A common question is, “Is anesthesia safe for older pets?” The reassuring answer is that anesthesia can be safe for senior pets when the veterinary team evaluates the individual patient, identifies health concerns beforehand, and adjusts the plan accordingly. Advanced age alone is not considered a reason to avoid general anesthesia.

What Actually Makes Anesthesia Riskier in an Older Pet?

Age matters because senior pets are more likely to have changes involving the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, or other body systems. But the number of birthdays your pet has had is not the most important factor when evaluating senior dog anesthesia risks or senior cat anesthesia. A healthy 12-year-old dog may have a different anesthetic risk than a younger pet with significant heart, kidney, or respiratory disease. Veterinarians look at the whole patient during a pre-anesthetic evaluation: medical history, physical exam findings, current medications, previous anesthetic experiences, and the type and length of procedure being considered. A routine wellness exam can help establish a health baseline. If something raises concern, the safest choice may be to modify the anesthetic plan, investigate further, or postpone an elective procedure until the issue is better understood.

Why Is Pre-Anesthetic Bloodwork Important for Senior Pets?

Pre-anesthetic diagnostics, including pre-anesthetic bloodwork, can reveal problems that are not obvious from how a pet looks or acts. Blood chemistry can provide information about organ function, while other testing may be recommended based on the pet’s exam and history.

At Olive Branch Pet Hospital in Pensacola, patients are evaluated with a comprehensive physical examination and lab work before surgery and general anesthesia. Olive Branch also offers diagnostic services including blood chemistry, urinalysis, EKG, ultrasound, and endoscopy when clinically appropriate to further evaluate senior pets.

How Is Anesthetic Risk Reduced During a Procedure?

There is no such thing as zero-risk anesthesia. The goal when providing anesthesia for older dogs and cats is to reduce avoidable risk by tailoring medications and supportive care to the patient, monitoring vital functions throughout the procedure, and watching the pet closely during recovery. Veterinary anesthesia guidelines recommend using monitoring equipment and hands-on assessment to track heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and body temperature during the procedure. This real-time information helps the team recognize problems and make adjustments to support the pet’s stability. Veterinary anesthesia guidelines emphasize that safety begins before anesthesia and continues through recovery.

For dental care, pet dental anesthesia is especially important because it allows for a thorough oral examination, dental radiographs, and treatment that cannot be safely or effectively performed on an awake pet.

Owner and veterinary clinician discussing care while a senior beagle sits beside them.

Should Age Alone Stop You From Approving Dentistry or Surgery?

Usually, no. Delaying a needed procedure solely because a pet is older can allow painful dental disease or another treatable problem to progress. The better question is not, “Is my pet too old for anesthesia?” but, “What is my pet’s individual risk, and how can we reduce it?”

Schedule an exam with Olive Branch Pet Hospital in Pensacola to discuss your senior pet’s individual anesthesia risk and the safest plan for needed pet dentistry in Pensacola or veterinary surgery in Pensacola.

When Your Vet Recommends Endoscopy: What It Means

Gloved veterinary professional holding the flexible tube and camera tip of an endoscope.

When Your Vet Recommends Endoscopy: What It Means

Pet endoscopy is a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure that allows a veterinarian to examine the inside of your pet’s digestive tract. By passing a flexible tube with a small camera into the body, veterinarians can directly view areas such as the esophagus, stomach, upper small intestine, or colon. It also allows the veterinarian to collect tiny tissue samples (biopsies) and, in select cases, retrieve swallowed objects without open abdominal surgery. At Olive Branch Pet Hospital in Pensacola, endoscopy is one of the advanced diagnostic tools available for evaluating your pet’s digestive system.

Why Would a Dog or Cat Need Endoscopy?

Your veterinarian may recommend gastrointestinal endoscopy if your dog or cat experiences persistent or recurring digestive symptoms, such as:
  • Chronic vomiting or diarrhea
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Reduced appetite or difficulty swallowing
  • Abdominal discomfort
Often, endoscopy is not the first diagnostic test performed. A physical examination, bloodwork, or an ultrasound typically helps determine whether looking directly inside the gastrointestinal tract is the logical next step.

What Can Endoscopy Find?

An endoscope provides a real-time view of the gastrointestinal lining. During the procedure, veterinarians look for:

  • Inflammation or abnormal swelling
  • Masses, tumors, or polyps
  • Scar tissue or narrowing (strictures)
  • Ulcers or erosions
  • Ingested foreign objects

One of the biggest advantages of veterinary endoscopy is the ability to take biopsies through the scope. These small tissue samples are evaluated under a microscope, which is crucial because many gastrointestinal diseases cause microscopic changes even when the surface tissue looks relatively normal to the naked eye.

If a foreign object is located in an accessible area—like the esophagus or stomach—it may sometimes be removed using tiny instruments passed through the endoscope. However, if the object has moved too far into the intestines or cannot be safely grasped, veterinary surgery may still be necessary.

Does Endoscopy Require Anesthesia?

Yes. For gastrointestinal endoscopy in dogs and cats, general anesthesia is required. This ensures the scope can be passed safely, keeping your pet completely still and pain-free so the veterinarian can perform a thorough examination.

Your veterinary team will likely recommend pre-anesthetic testing and provide specific fasting and preparation instructions based on your pet’s health. Endoscopy is considered minimally invasive because it reaches the digestive tract through natural openings rather than an abdominal incision. Still, it is a medical procedure with anesthesia-related and procedural risks, so the decision is always based on a careful assessment of your pet’s diagnostic needs.

Gray-and-white cat sitting on its owner’s lap during a veterinary consultation.

What Happens After the Procedure?

While structural abnormalities or foreign objects are visible immediately during the procedure, biopsy results take additional time because the tissue must be sent to a laboratory for microscopic evaluation. Your veterinarian will use those results, along with the rest of your pet’s diagnostic workup, to create a targeted treatment plan.

If your pet has persistent digestive symptoms or endoscopy has been recommended, contact Olive Branch Pet Hospital in Pensacola to discuss the appropriate next diagnostic step.

Feline AIDS

Feline AIDS

Feline immunodeficiency virus or FIV (similar to HIV or Human AIDS) is an infection that attacks the immune system of the cat. Up to 1 in 12 cats tests positive for FIV nationally. In cats that are at risk or clinically ill, the infection rate rises to as high as 15%. This percentage is higher here in Florida as I diagnose this disease at least 3 to 4 times monthly.
FIV is a lentivirus that is transmitted primarily thru bite wounds, but also may be acquired from the mother while pregnant. Unlike Feline Leukemia, the virus is not transmitted thru intimate contact such as with grooming behaviors, because the enzymes in the mouth destroy the virus just as HIV is in humans.
Clinical signs usually begin 6-8 weeks after infection and include low white blood cell counts (wbc fight infection), neurologic signs (behavior changes, dizziness, seizures) and severe sickness in general. Cats with AIDS have poor immune systems and do not fight common illnesses as normal cats would. In other words, a simple cold can kill a FIV infected kitty! Many FIV infected cats will have no specific signs of illness and can live 4-5 years without any problems. This disease, however, will eventually kill the patient as does HIV in humans.
There is no treatment or drug cocktails in veterinary medicine as there is in human medicine. There is a new vaccine, however, that was introduced in July 2002. A patient must test negative for FIV before vaccinating. There is a series of 3 vaccines initially with 1 vaccine given each year thereafter.
Any kitty that goes outside at all in Florida is at risk for FIV infection. It is transmitted primarily thru a bite wound commonly occurring during a cat fight. This is a terminal illness, but the vaccine has tested almost 100% effective in preventing the disease. As always, if anyone has any questions, feel free to call the hospital for more information.

Feline Leukemia

Feline Leukemia

Feline Leukemia(FeLv) is one of two diseases we routinely screen for in new kittens and outdoor cats, with the other disease being Feline Immunodeficiency Virus(Fiv)or Aids. Thankfully, we are not seeing this disease too often due to diligent vaccinating and routine screening.
FeLv is caused by a C-type retrovirus or oncornavirus that has a propensity to cause cancer of lymphoid cells and bone marrow stem cells. FeLv is spread by carriers in the saliva (richest source), urine and feces. Thus biting and intimate contact (mutual grooming/oral contact) is a very common mode of transmission. FeLv may also be passed in utero (transplacental) from mother to fetus, however most kittens die at birth. Survivors may mount an immune response and overthrow the virus resulting in a cure, become a carrier (10%) or have active disease.
The primary stage of illness has varying severity and may last several weeks. One may see enlarged lymph nodes and low grade fever. Two to four weeks after infection, anemia and low platelets may be seen. In 70-90%, the patient’s immune system will overthrow the virus and fully recover. Others will become carriers and continue to worsen. In carriers, the virus will cause cancer (lymphoma, blood related cancer etc), anemia (1/3 to 1/2 of patients develop severe anemia) and immunodeficiency (simple infections can cause severe disease and/or death). The average lifespan of a FeLv carriers is 1/2 to 1 year. Cats with active disease will usually die from a common respiratory infection or “cold” due to a poor immune system caused by the virus.
Diagnosis is accurate, simple and takes 10 minutes. Currently we use the Idexx Snap test which utilizes a few drops of blood. It also screens for Fiv or Aids.
Prevention is always better than treatment. Several commercially available vaccines are available and are very effective. Two vaccines are required initially 3 weeks apart and then once yearly thereafter.
This is a very serious and lethal disease. Some pets can live fairly normal lives, but will eventually die from the virus or illness caused by the virus. Early testing and proper vaccinating is key to hopefully someday eradicating this disease.
As always, please feel free to contact the clinic if you need further information regarding Feline Leukemia.

Vaccinations

Vaccinations

“To vaccinate or not to vaccinate… That is the question!”

Recently, there has been much debate, fueled primarily by the media, regarding yearly vaccinations of pets. The media, as well as other non-veterinary groups, are asserting that veterinarians are over vaccinating pets in this country. This month’s article will look at this important issue and try to shed some light on this controversial subject.
It is uncertain why or when the veterinary experts at the time decided that yearly vaccinations were the best protocol. Maybe, 50 years ago when supposingly this began, veterinarians extrapolated from human vaccine protocols and continue their recommendations today. I recently attended a large vaccination symposium discussing these issues to determine are vaccinations necessary and do they pose a health hazard to the pet or human.
Major points of the meeting looked at current human protocols compared to veterinary medicine and detrimental health issues to pets and humans as a result of vaccinating or not vaccinating yearly.
I do not have any children, so I have no concept of what vaccines babies/kid/teenagers receive. Experts at the symposium presented a slide from the American Board of Pediatrics regarding their current vaccination protocol for babies in their first year or so of life. It was amazing! According to the protocol, vaccines are given every week for several months. This differs from veterinary medicine in that vaccines are started at 8 weeks of age and done every 3 weeks until 16 weeks of age, then recommended yearly. The program expert calculated a several fold increase in the number of diseases babies are vaccinated against in the first year compared to dogs/cats. Many diseases in children have not been seen in decades, but why do kids still receive vaccines for them? The answer to the question is with a question… would you rather your child get a potential deadly disease or would you rather have them vaccinated prophylacticaly? Most pediatricians have never seen some of the diseases they vaccinate for and would never see them unless visiting a third world country. The same holds true for our pet friends, except, I personally have seen all the diseases I vaccinate yearly for in the past 8 years. Some of these diseases I see every month such as Aids, Leukemia, Hepatitis. Recent research has shown that adverse effects attributed to vaccines themselves cannot be substantiated. Some people ask me to run a blood test on their pet instead of vaccinating to determine if their vaccine level is high enough to protect against disease. If every pet were exactly the same with the exact same immune status, blood tests may be useful. In other words, a flu shot may protect me, but not you since our bodies require different amounts of vaccine for protection.
Current recommendations by immunologists, veterinary colleges and vaccine researchers is to continue with yearly vaccines for Rabies/Distemper and twice yearly for Bordetella in dogs and once yearly vaccines in cats. I guess the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” may apply to disease prevention and vaccine protocols.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this month’s health article, please feel free to call the office.

Feline Heartworm Disease

Feline Heartworm Disease

Canine and Feline Heartworm Disease share only one similarity…both are transmitted by the mosquito. Florida ranks first in the country for heartworm disease in both the dog and cat.
Past teaching in veterinary colleges was that when cats got this disease, it would cause only a transient illness and the patient would fully recover. However, over the past few years, research has shown about 30% of all cats either have been exposed or possess the disease. Indoor cats are more susceptible than outdoor cats to heartworms.
Symptoms include vomiting, asthma like symptoms, lethargy and poor appetite. In some patients however, there are no symptoms and death is sudden. In canine disease, as many as 50 to 100 worms may reside in the right heart ventricle and pulmonary arteries whereas cats may only have 1 to 2 worms in the lungs. Hence, a common symptom is an asthma like syndrome.
Currently, supportive care is the only treatment.Some patients will respond and recover and others will not. Unlike canine heartworm disease, testing is unreliable. Two tests currently available are the Antigen (detects heartworm material in the patient’s body) and the Antibody (examines the patient’s immune system for heartworm exposure). A positive or negative response to either or both tests does not rule in or out heartworm disease. In most positive tests cases, the patient has only been exposed to the disease and infection never occurred. Usually, further testing such as radiographs and bloodwork are required to fully assess the disease status.
Although there is no cure for this potentially deadly disease, there are two preventatives available: Heartguard (ivermectin) which is a chewable product given every 30 days that most cats dislike and Revolution (selamectin) which is a topical product also used every 30 days. Revolution not only prevents heartworm disease, but also treats fleas, ticks, ear mites, intestinal parasites and skin scabies. It is very easy to apply and should be used every 30 days. Unlike canine heartworm disease, Revolution may be used regardless of heartworm status. That is, the dog must have a negative heartworm test result prior to using prevention, whereas in the cat, it is not necessary.
If you have any questions to this puzzling disease, please don’t hesitate to call the clinic.