Cat not eating normal when husband went away.

My 9-year old cat has been not eating much since Saturday afternoon. It started when my husband went out of town. I noticed not much of her food was gone on Saturday night. She eats dry cat food. 

I threw out and refilled the food on Sunday morning and still I did not see a change in the amount in her bowl later that day, so I tried some canned food which she turned up her nose at (which she typically does).  She HAS been drinking water. On Sunday, I also tried giving her a cat treat (which I only give her about one every few weeks) and she would not eat that either.

This morning she finally ate a few kibbles before I went to work. When I came home I noticed not much more was gone and she seemed like she had been sleeping most of the day,  I tried giving her a few cat treats again and this time she ate them.  I looked in her litter box today and it appears she had one loose stool. When I came back upstairs from checking that she did the read-end scoot across the rug. 

Overall she is acting relatively normal when I am home, perhaps mildly lethargic. But she is still playing with her toys, chasing the laser light, etc.  even initiated a game with her ball a little while ago.  Mainly she is just not eating much. 

So, I don't know if I should bring her to the vet, which she hates with a passion, to the point of where sometimes I think its worse for her to go there. Or perhaps I should try buying her a small amount of another kind of dry cat food to see if she will eat that since she is eating the treats. I am sort of thinking this is all a depression thing because my husband is away and he is typically home with her all day.

Any suggestions?

Well, cats don't have very many ways to let us know something's wrong. And if she hasn't eaten anything new, I'd wonder why the loose stool?

Is she overweight? I ask, because unfortunately, cats' livers are not designed to use body fat as an energy store, and not eating - especially if they're overweight - can lead to a disease called hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver).

I'd consider buying some plain chicken baby food (Beechnut, if it's available where you live) - it has no corn starch. Just check the ingredients - it should be just plain chicken, no veggies or spices/onion/garlic. Or even just some plain boiled chicken, shredded, fed in the water the chicken was boiled in. If she isn't eating tomorrow, I'd get her to the vet. Vibes for your girl.

I do not think she is overweight, she has been 11.5 pounds since she was full size. 

After my last post she threw up the few treats that she ate (probably cause she is not used to them). 

I ended up buying some different food for her to try last night and she ate a bunch of that and kept it down fine. 

However she seemed to be becoming more lethargic. Then, when she was sitting on my lap last night she leaked something on my pants.  

This morning, she seemed more worn down and hadn't eaten much overnight so I called the vet and took her in today. They said she has had anal gland problems in the past (a few years ago) and felt that was the issue. The doctor 'expressed' her and said she seemed irritated on one side. So she thinks that is the problem but said to keep an eye on her.

Since we got home from the vet she stopped at her food bowl a couple times. She is still pretty lethargic, but hopefully she will start feeling better and is still worn down from not eating very much.

Thanks for the advice!

Oh poor baby! I do hope she'll continue to feel better, and there wasn't an infection.