please help our 16 year old cat

by emma
(Norwich uk)

my cat is often sick (this morning I noticed a bit of hair in it but not always its generally not a lot of sick)makes gurgling noises in her stomach and sometimes makes yowling noises which stop when I call out her name to see if she is ok. She lies on her back often with her hind legs spread. I think she’s drinking more water. she’s not eating as much, we have tried putting her onto a good quality dried food and mixing with a bit of wet food to try and convert her as we were advised the food we were giving wasn't the best for her,

I've also tried putting a little gravy on dried food to soften a bit. She has occasionally peed a tiny bit in the wrong place but I thought this was maybe an accident and because we had been away and she was anxious. She is 16 years old. she certainly looks different I’m not sure how but her eyes look strange and I feel like she’s not her bright self a friend of mine said she looks old all of a sudden. Please help me she is a member of our family and we care about her so much. I realize she is getting old but want to make her comfortable and at least be prepared and prepare my husband who loves hear so much for the worst. I will be taking her to the vet after the weekend but my husband and I are struggling as there isn't much work at the moment, obviously we put our cats first before our selves but if you can help me figure out what’s wrong before a massive vet bill I will be so grateful. Thank you Emma and Ray

Reply
Hi
Well it is very difficult to be able to give you much idea as to what could be wrong with your cat as the symptoms are quite general.

As you say she is rather old now and so it would not be unusual for things to start wearing out and for illness to start becoming more frequent.

It does sound like she may have hairballs which can be treated with medication which can help her pass them more easily. See my page here for more on this
hairballs.html

However there could also be other things going, a possible UTI or bladder weakness

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urinary-problems.html

However there are many other illnesses which could be starting to develop, there is no point in me mentioning them as until tests are carried out there is no point worrying unnecessarily. In any case many of these illnesses can also be treated successfully. I had a 17 year old cat that lived happily until the end with the aid of medication.

So yes you are doing the right thing in taking her to the vets but don’t start to worry until you see the vet.

I hope the vet finds little wrong with her and that she will be back to her old self soon

Best wishes Kate