Senior cat, hungry but no interest in food?

I have a senior cat. He's roughly 15 years old. Recently he's been loosing a bit of weight so I took him into the vet to do a physical and a senior panel. Other than being a bit thin, the physical went great, she was very impressed with him. After taking samples for the senior panel I got a call saying everything {but one} looked great. He has a history of Bladder Infections and there were signs of bacteria, so we sent that off to be cultured. Got antibiotics. Treat as before. Now they can't see anything that would cause the weight loss. As there have been no real behaviour changes, no health issues {minus that one thing, but he's never lost appetite on that before} and no changes to his environment. I have noticed he's not really interested in his food "Nutrience Care Urinary". He normally got some kibbles of that mixed with 1/4 can of wet food. But now he's not interested so I've been searching for food he will eat. The vet suggested an ultrasound just to "see" if there was anything going on. But after dropping over $600 on his last visit I'm a little tight on funds at this exact moment. And a $1000 plus ultrasound for a "let's have a look just to see if there's anything" is a bit too much at the moment. She did say try and get his weight up first, then try the ultrasound. {I will find a way if that is the only option available. But I'm looking for alternatives first} I have noticed, he is very interested in what I am eating. I fried up a plain, unseasoned chicken breast the other day and he inhaled it. Absolutely loved it. So I guess I'm wondering two things: 1} Is there any food with the texture of chicken breast that I can safely feed him as a meal? {I am in Canada} 2}What are the recommended next steps? Any suggestions to get an old man to eat? Any potential conditions, tests, or treatments I should ask the vet about during his next visit? This cat is my world, and I hate to see him so down. He looks hungry but will only eat small bites. I am currently trying different foods to see if he will eat, and offering small amounts throughout the day. Thanks ~ SeaBat

Hello - I'm afraid that your old man does sound as though he could be sick.  He sounds passingly interested in food, but his appetite does sound to be depressed.  Admittedly, he 'inhales' novel or interesting food, but as a human I know that I'll experiment with more interesting / palatable foods when I'm not really hungry and yet shun my normal diet; the same can be true of cats.  This sort of thing can happen in kidney disease, cancer, liver disease, diabetes, pancreatitis and potentially hyperthyroidism, especially if co-occurring with something else.  Many of these wouldn't necessarily show up on a routine blood test alone.  A further work-up, including other tests such as urine tests or ultra-sound, could definitely be important.  An ultrasound is often the method of choice for checking the pancreas and indeed, pancreatitis might easily explain the signs that you are describing.  Heart signs can sometimes depress the appetite and this can be seen on ultrasound too; your vet will likely have ideas as to what to look for based on their clinical examination (and the bloods) from your cat.  Even 'normal' bloods can be a part of a jigsaw.  Please therefore go back to your vet; if they don't see you again, they may assume that your cat is fine and a chance for early intervention could be missed.

It may also be worth mentioning dental disease or some kind of blockage of the food-pipe; hunger but an unwillingness to eat could also manifest in this way.

Ultrasound is quite a specialised technique and if vets do not routinely ultrasound the pancreas, it can be somewhat difficult to make a diagnosis;  for this reason, referral to a medical specialist or ultra-sonographer may be useful.