My 15 year old Tabby, Ninja, has developed some issues as of late. He started losing weight about a year ago, went from 16lbs down to a hair under 10lbs, he was chubby before and appears a little underweight at this point.

I took him to the vet a few weeks ago, they said everything looked good, but I requested a blood test, which came back normal with a slightly elevated Kidney level (106, 100 is the normal cutoff).

Last week he started crying out in pain when he was trying to climb things- front paws elevated, rear legs ready to jump off, body elongated. Because the vet said he was basically fine just a few weeks ago, I’m hesitant to go back to them. He seems lethargic much of the day, will let me hold him, take him upstairs, lay on my chest, etc.

So here’s the long/short, has anyone experienced these symptoms so I can point them in a direction? Should I take him to a different vet?

Not sure about your specific issues but the vet make all the difference in the world. My gf had a “chain” vet. Seemed like every time we went they were charging hundreds of dollars for snake oil. I told her to switch and we found an old country vet. Lots of experience really cared and gave several options with every decision. Never did it involve driving 60 miles to get some sort of scan that would cost thousands of dollars.

Good luck with the kitty.

Cats make noises for a lot of reasons but pain is actually very rarely one of them. Still if there have been no dietary or lifestyle changes and your cat has lost 40% of it's body weight I would probably be concerned enough to get a second opinion. As another poster mentioned, I would avoid any of the chain vets. Google and Yelp reviews are the best guide in my experience.

Your cat is 76 years old in people years.....nothing you can do about the aging.

Yep. Another vet.
It could be many things - almost all of them not good at that age.
Don't want to be too negative here ... just realistic.

I appreciate the replies, looks like I’m off to a new, private vet tomorrow.

I know it’s not going to be good news, but I hope I can get an actual answer and maybe prolong his life for another few years.

Getting old sucks, even for pets.

We had a similar issue.  Our vet prescribed K/D wet food and we do IV fluids for her 3 times a week at home.  It improved things greatly.  She went form not eating and being lazy to begging for food like a cat should.

Its already been recommended = you need a new vet and a second opinion.

You owe it to your pet.

Try another vet.

It could be as simple as something like arthritis. My cat is very close in age to yours and stopped jumping
and would hesitate to climb, and started meowing loudly early in the morning and it just turned out to be
aging. They did an x-ray and could see mild arthritis, they gave us meds for really bad days, which fortunately
are few.

But any sudden change is vet worthy at this age, imo.

Best of luck with kitty.