Poorly cat

by Darren
(Warrington)

We've had our cat since about 1994 so she is 14-15 years old now.


She's always been an absolutely healthy cat, at one point she did a disappearing act for 2 years and we thought she'd gone, but then she returned one day (she returned shortly after a person down the road died, we still wonder to this day whether or not that person took her in, and then she decided to return when there was no company there)

Anyway today she doesn't seem well at all, she seems to have rapidly gone down hill. We notice she hasn't done anything in the litter tray at all, she is mainly an indoor cat, so she wouldn't have done it outside, we have two other cats one of whom she really doesn't get on with so she spends most of the time indoors.

About a month ago she let all her fur go matted at the back, but has since removed that.

Now she is sat on the bed purring all the time, looking at her rib cage she seems very thin and one side is really pressed in and she miaows if you touch that side.

When you watch her stomach area you can see it is rapidly pulsating in and out, in time with the purring.

She also hasn't eaten or drank much today, the only thing she's eaten is a tiny amount of tuna, and some of the tuna brine for a drink. Normally she loves tuna and would finish the tuna off quite quickly, but she's left most of the tuna and just took one or two small bites.

Anyone any idea what could be wrong with our beloved little feline?

Answer by Kate
Darren, what are you waiting for. you must take your cat to the vet for a check up. these symptoms are impossible to diagnose without an examination. She could have many different things wrong with her, but whatever it is it does not sound good and she needs to be seen promptly by a vet.

Weight loss can be a sign of so many things ranging from thyroid issues to heart problems to digestive problems.

best wishes kate

Comments for Poorly cat

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RIP - Shelly
by: Darren

Sadly our cat passed away on the 3rd January 2009. The fast breathing started again on the night of the 2nd of January and then in the morning she was under the bed, she was still alive at first and my sisters boyfriend stroked her, and then he closed his eyes, and when he woke up again he stroked her again and found that she had died. She was a really nice friend and she will be really missed. We are still amazed that she disappeared for 2 years and managed to make it back to us and still recognize us after 2 years. We buried her today in the back garden, under the angel statue near to one of our other cats Tim, he died very young after chewing on grass that the council had put pesticide on.

Comment by Kate
I am so sorry to hear of your loss and also of your previous loss.
Thank you for letting us know the outcome, even though it was a sad one.
I hope you can find some peace in the knowledge that she is no longer suffering and that she obviously was happy with her life with you if she found her way back to you after so long.
Best wishes kate
Thanks for the answer
by: Darren

Thanks for the answer, we did take our cat the vet before receiving the answer. The vet isn't too sure what is wrong with her. She says that it could be one of two things, either the cat has a cold and that is why she is finding it difficult to breathe, or it could be a heart problem. Unfortunately the cat is purring too much for the vet to check the pulse properly, she did say that they could x-ray the cat but doing so could cause more problems and possibly kill the cat anyway due to the stress, or she could just give her two injections, one antibiotics and the other heart medication and see if one of them works. We decided to go down the route of just giving Shelley the two injections, hoping that one will work. One of the injections will last for about 48 hours (the heart one) and the other will last for 2 weeks (the antibiotics). The vets also told us that the reason she isn't eating is because she is breathing so fast she can't stop breathing to eat. Since the injections though she has perked up a lot, we took her back to the vets the following day for another check up, and there was such a huge difference, when she went the vets the first time she just lay in her pet carrier and allowed us to put the top on, this time she put up a real fight to get into the carrier, and since then she has started eating again. We are really hoping that it is just the case she has caught a cold from somewhere, it is winter and at present we've all got coughs and colds, I asked the vet whether or not we could have given her something, the vet told us that coughs and colds can't go between us and animals (except rodents), but I guess at this time of the year coughs and colds will be circulating in the animal population as well as the humans.

Thank you for your help.

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