My cat is sick, thinking constipation?

So the past week or so, my cat has acted more or less the same as he always does.  As an older cat he likes to lounge around, does play fights with the dog, enjoys plenty of cuddle time, and has a favorite spot on the couch.

Then I woke up this morning to the sound of a cat desperately trying to jump up the 1.5-2 feet onto the couch (he had gotten down to go explore or something), with almost no real indication over the past few days that he was feeling ill.  His food & water dishes require a hefty jump (waist-height on me, and I'm 5'11") which he's been able to make just fine, but after his failure to get up on his perching spot, I don't think he'd make it to his food & water today, but he was just up there yesterday evening.

The other awkward symptom he's showing is rather extreme off-balance, he can't take more than a few steps at a time before stopping to sit down.  Small jumps up to things end in failure and falling down.  Small jumps off of things have so far ended up with him landing with more of a roll than the usual "cats always land on their feet".  When he was going to rub around my legs when I was just standing there, he was pretty wobbly during the maneuver, and ended up leaning on me more to stay upright than he was affectionately rubbing against me.  Every previous day this week he has been his usual self (maybe a bit more lazy than usual, but still playful, eating, etc.)

I'm only guessing it's constipation because he does feel a little bloated, and reacts with some amount of discomfort when trying to pet his rear (which he usually enjoys; and I can tell he wants to enjoy it but is not comfortable with whatever is going on).

As of hitting post topic//submit, I'm on my way to the vet, because with a spry terrier of 3 years, against a sick & off balance 15 year old cat, things just won't go so well.

I am glad you are taking him to the vet. Those don't sound like normal constipation symptoms to me. Many vibes for him. Please let us know what the vet says.

Please keep us posted on what you find, it could be an infection causing inner ear problems or even a small stroke. They should be able to tell from blood tests. An x-ray would reveal a blockage or constipation. Good luck!

Hoping you find some answers at the vet.  Definitely doesn't sound like normal constipation symptoms to me either.

Good luck at the vet. This does not sound like normal constipation to me, either. And I have a cat that never exhibited any of the classic symptoms. He just stopped going, got backed up, then was very sick with vomiting, coughing, and panting. But his balance and jumping were never affected. Let us know!

Yeah, not constipation near as the vet can tell.

Basic groping?  Nothing seemed out of whack (maybe a little under on his body temperature, while a couple other parts of him felt a little warm).

X-Ray?  Nothing appeared fractured, broken, no "x-ray visible" constipation.

Blood tests?  Appeared normal, electrolytes, hydration, diabetes, passed with flying colors.

Echo Cardiogram?  His heart is a slight bit more thick on one side than the other, but not anything that would/should be cause for concern.  Abdomen appears normal.

They are leaning toward neurologic, and gave some examples of perhaps a ruptured blood vessel, or small tumor that is swelling/bleeding against part of his brain//nervous system - neither of which can be confirmed without MRI or CT scans (and both of which would be costly measures to diagnose something - he'd need cat brain surgery to fix the aforementioned, or some other equally costly measures to correct whatever is wrong).

In the case of bleeding, they suggested against any aspirin treatment, and instead wanted to lean toward a steroid treatment, and gave him a shot on the spot, saying that if he was going to get better, he should show signs of rebounding within 24 hours.

Except now I'm home, and he only appears to be getting weaker in his one leg - I sure hope the shot works!

next day update:

Very little improvement.  Kitty has managed to go #1 and #2, but he pretty much can't get around without either getting picked up and plopped in front of his goal, or otherwise tremendous effort getting upright & then actually walking//waddling around.  He does tend to fall/roll over getting up or walking around, especially if there isn't something to lean on, or someone to help him.  I can tell by his meows that he's frustrated with it (definite meows, he hasn't yowled in pain for years, and that was when I rolled over on him!).

The improvement part is that his attitude is a bit better today; he wanted to play a lot - of course he was laying down and rolled around a bunch, but he seemed in high spirits.  He still has his appetite, and drinks, even if getting to either of these takes a lot out of him.  At least once, he managed to climb the pillow-stair-case we made for him to get up on the bed, all on his own, without supervision.  He doesn't seem to be having issues breathing, even with all the extra effort to get around.

After calling the vet, they reassured me that it seems like a neurologic issue, and that our current course of action is to treat the symptoms as lovingly and supporting as possible.