9 year old cat has begun to act very different.

[amarshall0919]

I’m writing this in hopes somebody can help me. My 9 year old cat, King, has always been on the grumpy side, but he loves to play and run through the house. However, this past week, I started to notice him act slightly different. He was not wanting to play, and was sleeping most of the day. He started to get better, and began playing with me. I got excited and thought he just had an off day. Yesterday though, he started to make a gulping noise every time he swallows, and goes and stands in front of his food dish, but will rarely eat. He has not eaten in 7 hours, and that is not like him at all. While he was napping, he woke up and tried to barf. It was absolutely awful. My mom said he couldn’t even get up to his feet, he just laid on his side. He’s been laying behind the chair, but has come out quite a few times to lay on me. Instead of going back behind the chair, he is now laying in the middle of the floor. All the vets are closed right now, and I live basically in the middle of no where so if an overnight emergency occurs, I have to drive about an hour to get to the nearest vet hospital. All the vet places that are around here are booked up, and I’m worried that they won’t take him in. There is a place that I for sure know I can take him to, but he’s been there before and I honestly didn’t really like them. However, I will do whatever it takes to make him feel better. Not even two weeks ago, my outside cat, Milkshake, passed away. I cannot deal with this. Does anyone have any idea what this could be?

 

[Antonio65]

Of course it's hard to say what it can be, because we're not seeing your cat and we're no vets.
The only good thing to do is to drive to a hospital, the one which is an hour away from you, because all the others are closed and maybe booked up.
This is the quickest thing you can do at the moment, in the utmost interest of your cat.

I hope it is nothing worrying and the hospital dismiss it with a simple and reassuring diagnosis.
It's better to be on the safe side .

 

[amarshall0919]

That is what I was thinking. He is now up and walking, and even played with me. He has also stopped laying behind the chair. I feel like he feels a little better. He still will not eat though.

 

[klunick]

Do you think it could be from the loss of your other cat? Did this start up around the same time?

 

[amarshall0919]

They never really met except through the screen door. I don’t believe it’s related, but I mean, anything is possible.

 

[FeebysOwner]

He has to start eating. All the vet places that are booked up might squeeze him in if you call them and tell them what's going on, particularly the fact that he is not eating.

What have you tried to give him that might entice him to eat? He might be willing to eat/lap up liquids, such as the water from canned tuna or chicken. If he displays interest in that, you can mince the tuna or chicken into a puree and see if he will eat that. Another thing to try would be baby food meats (Gerber, Beechnut), many cats are inclined to eat these even when they unwilling to eat other foods - and, it can pretty much be lapped up with little effort.

 

[amarshall0919]

He has started to eat a little. I took him to the vet, and the vet said he had a head cold. I’m not too sure about that.

 

[moxiewild]

He has started to eat a little. I took him to the vet, and the vet said he had a head cold. I’m not too sure about that.

Do you know how they determined that?

Did they do blood work? Urinalysis? Etc?

Did they give you any meds? Something to treat the nausea?

 

[amarshall0919]

My 9 year old cat has a head cold, and received a pct booster, and rabies shot today. He had the shots almost 7 hours ago, and only ate once when he got home. He has been sleeping ever since. He will wake up when I turn the light on or come pet him, but he doesn’t wanna get up. Is this serious?

 

[LTS3]

It's normal to be lethargic for a day or two after receiving both rabies and the FVCRP vaccinations. As long as your cat is eating and drinking and using the litter box just fine, don't worry. If your cat stops eating, call the vet and ask for advice.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It usually takes Hek a full 24 hours before she's herself again. She's a bit older than your boy, at 13. Not sure if that would make a difference. Her vet advised me to call at the 24-hour mark if she hadn't perked up considerably, and she had.

 

[amarshall0919]

It usually takes Hek a full 24 hours before she's herself again. She's a bit older than your boy, at 13. Not sure if that would make a difference. Her vet advised me to call at the 24-hour mark if she hadn't perked up considerably, and she had.

During that time, did she eat? He hasn’t ate in now almost 8 hours.

 

[amarshall0919]

Do you know how they determined that?

Did they do blood work? Urinalysis? Etc?

Did they give you any meds? Something to treat the nausea?

I’m not sure. They did not do any blood work or urinalysis. They gave me an antibiotic, but nothing to treat the nausea. They gave him a PTC booster and rabies shot today as well, and is wanting to sleep a lot. He has not ate in almost 8 hours.

 

[stephanietx]

If you've been stressed, he might be picking up on it and has become stressed. The stress can trigger an upper respiratory infection. The gulping is often a result of drainage, so it could also be allergy related. To stimulate eating and encourage him to eat, try offering plain meat baby food, no onions or garlic.

UGH! I wish they wouldn't have given him shots while he wasn't 100% healthy! That's going to aggravate his lethargy and his response. Keep an eye on him.

BTW, do you live anywhere near the fires? Has your weather changed recently?

 

[amarshall0919]

If you've been stressed, he might be picking up on it and has become stressed. The stress can trigger an upper respiratory infection. The gulping is often a result of drainage, so it could also be allergy related. To stimulate eating and encourage him to eat, try offering plain meat baby food, no onions or garlic.

UGH! I wish they wouldn't have given him shots while he wasn't 100% healthy! That's going to aggravate his lethargy and his response. Keep an eye on him.

BTW, do you live anywhere near the fires? Has your weather changed recently?

He is so contrary, and has a very sensitive stomach. He refuses to eat anything other than his Purina Gentle hard cat food. I am worried since I have to start giving him medicine tomorrow, and he has to eat with the antibiotic. They didn’t give him anything for his cold while he was at the vet, so the first time he will be treated with something is tomorrow. It is obvious that his throat is sore. The shots definitely made him more lethargic.
I don’t live anywhere near the fires, and the weather has been pretty much the same.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

She ate a couple of times, but not like normal. They can go, depending on underlying issues, 3 days before non-eating becomes a real health issue...I'd say two if they have known liver issues. But eight hours won't hurt him a bit. Do put his food and water near him, though, to encourage him to eat.