Not sure if my cat is sick.. need help

Hi All,

I took in a 1 year old female feral about 5 months ago, had her spayed, vaccinated dewormed etc.. she has been a great cat all this while, very bold, friendly and talkative..she continues to be inside outside cat but has gradually been spending more time inside than ouside.. we have tried to make the house as comfortable for her as posaible.. she usually eats well and plays a lot


However, for the past two days she has been acting weird. Does not respond to calls, stays away and tries to avoid any contact with us. Her eating habbits are a little off.. she ate very little in one meal and a little bit more on other..she seems to be drinking a little more water than usual..she just sits lazily and gazes.. she does walk around from time to tme but it is very unusual for her as she is otherwise a super active and very vocal cat... its been about 24 hours thats she has not even used the litter box...

Could she be sick as her personality is completey different.. her vocalization is also not like the usual... she is staying aloof and not really eating normally. Shows some affection some times by rubbing herself against our legs... or could it just be that we have quests staying with and she has been getting a lot of attention from them and a lot of petting which she may not like..

Any thoughts/suggestions will help

The signs she is giving you is that she is sick.  I would definitely get her to the vet soon.  Cats should not go too long without eating and also not using the litter box is not a good sign. 

If she's been outside, she may have eaten a mouse or something that has either upset her tummy or given her worms again.  I agree with ShadowsRescue - get her to the vet.

Thanks @shadowsrescue ... I do plan to her To the vet but it will be a few days before I manage that. About using the litter box.. she does slip out from time to time and sometimes does her business outside the house..so it becomes difficult to keep a track but generally she does use the litter box to urinate... now, I have changed the content of one of the litter box from soil to kitty litter as it is more convenient..so I thought that could be the reason.. but I left the other litter box with soil to see what she does... but she hasn't used both... and I don't even know whether she I doing it outside somewhere... and she is eating but not finishing a meal which is unusual but has happened before.. any other signs I can look for ?

SunnyKew said:

Thanks @shadowsrescue ... I do plan to her To the vet but it will be a few days before I manage that. About using the litter box.. she does slip out from time to time and sometimes does her business outside the house..so it becomes difficult to keep a track but generally she does use the litter box to urinate... now, I have changed the content of one of the litter box from soil to kitty litter as it is more convenient..so I thought that could be the reason.. but I left the other litter box with soil to see what she does... but she hasn't used both... and I don't even know whether she I doing it outside somewhere... and she is eating but not finishing a meal which is unusual but has happened before.. any other signs I can look for ?

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I would not allow her access to the outside right now.  When a cat is truly sick, they may go somewhere to hide.  Please keep her inside until you can get her to the vet.  Offer lots of food and water.  Tuna and tuna juice is something very appealing to cats.  I often start with the liquid (water) in the tuna can and add a few flakes of tuna.  After they drink a bit , I offer more and then transition to wet food.  When a cat does not eat for several days, it is often a sign of illness.  She may have eaten something bad outside and may need medication to get rid of the infection. 

You can also try chicken or turkey baby food - try just a dollop to see if she'll eat it.  If she doesn't eat the tuna/water, that might tempt her.  Don't use the beef (too heavy) or ham (too salty).

If she's used to using the soil for the potty, you could also sprinkle a little over the litter.  It will help her learn that's what litter is for.

Its good that you're getting her to the vet.

Thanks folks.. she ate half her usual meal this morning which is encouraging, is a little more talkative which is also encouraging but still not the usual super active cat.. she has not been avoiding us also since yesterday and stays around us.. now the only thing is the litter.. not sure if she went outside.. I guess I will keep her inside and keep a track of the litter.. I did give her a tuna last nite and she only ate 70% of it and left the rest which is very unusual coz no matter what she would otherwise gobble it up in a flash.. will try chicken tonite too.. she does seem better from the yesterday.. the weather has changed drastically too.. could be playing a role... will take her to the vets once I get a confirmed slot.. Hopefully soon

Just a shot in the dark, but she may just be constipated as well, which would explain the loss of appetite and the lack of litter box droppings. Also, have you noticed if she is peeing in unusual places, like a floor drain, tub drain or even the sink? These can indicate some urinary tract infections (UTI).

Please get here to the vet. Some illnesses can worsen over time, and what could have been easy to treat with no lasting injury, becomes permanent damage to the cats systems. Remember, her organs are much smaller than a humans, and any amount of damage is huge when compared to what a person can recover from on their own. The kittykeepers.

So I took her to the vet.. to the vet she seems normal.. we even got her blood tested and it comes back normal... she did manage to poop and has done so at least a few times in the last two days.. a couple of times it has been a runny poop and other times a little hard.. I also noticed some blood and mucus in her stool... spoke to the vet who has asked me to watch her and if in case I find blood again put her on antibiotics.. but that gives her diarrhoea as well... any thoughts on what could this be.. something like a stomach infection.. her food intake is ok now and she is her usual playful and talkative cat... she is sneaky and does sneak in to the kitchen to get her hands on some milk and curd.. could this be the cause.. but she usually is very comfortable with dairy and has never had diarrhoea in the past coz of it..

It could be the milk - most cats are lactose intolerant.  She may very well have just eaten too much.  Cut all dairy products out and see if she improves.  But definitely call the vet if there's blood or mucus in future stools.  And let the vet know about her eating dairy.