Is My Cat Sick? Help Needed.

Feliway is cat pheremones. very helpful for spraying or other bad behavior.
my cat doesn't travel well at all either, you's think I have 10 cats in the car with the noise he makes!- be sure no food or water for about 1/2 day before you go to the vet otherwise you may have a mess in the cage. (my vet is very good about this) best of luck! hopefully it was just a cold or something....

 

Glad to learn the gums are pink - that is an encouraging sign.

I am hoping it is something like a hairball. While a nuisance, a hairball is relatively easy to deal with.

Keep us posted.

 

I guess technically you might call Feliway a drug, but according to my vet it's not going to physiologically alter the cat to skew an exam since you don't actually apply it to the cat.
From a vet's website:
Feliway

Feliway is a synthetic feline pheromone use to control inappropriate urine marking behavior and to reassure cats in strange surroundings. ​

You have noticed that your cat rubs his chin on things. He rubs on your leg, the corners of furniture, doorways – pretty much all over the house. Naturally, animal behaviorists have noticed this too and have also observed that when cats are stressed and spraying urine to mark their territory, they rarely mark the areas where they have been rubbing their chins. It turns out that cats have a specific pheromone which they apply to things they consider their own. It is called feline facial pheromone, and where cats have applied it they feel at home. They have no urge to urine mark these areas, and since they feel at home, cats are more comfortable and relaxed.
You can actually buy this pheromone in a bottle, which is pretty remarkable all by itself, and the pheromone has some remarkable effects. It is used most frequently to eliminate urine spraying by female cats and neutered male cats and works pretty well, since urine marking is usually the result of uncertainty and anxiety over territory.
Cats who get worried and upset in strange situations can benefit from Feliway in other ways. Feliway is non staining, colorless and odorless. Spray it in your house when introducing a new pet or use it in unsettled multi cat households. Spray it in the cat carrier before stuffing Kitty in there. Behavioral studies of normal cats in stressful situations show that Feliway reduces anxiety by about 50%.

 

Thanks for the update. I'll be hoping your kitty will be OK.

 

Well, 13 years is not all that old for a cat. I hope its something minor...

 

I just saw this thread... it reminds me of something that happened to one of my mom's dogs about a year ago. She was only 5 at the time, but she stopped eating for about a week or so, really scared us a lot. My mom had her into the vet several times, and ended up with a special (and expensive!) dog food for her, that helped to get her "back on food". It was probably a month before she was eating regularly and properly again.

I hope your cat pulls though and gets back to normal soon!

 

My cat is terminally on vet-prescribed diet food! Otherwise he gains weight at the drop of a hat! My Mini Schnauzer is also terminally on vet-prescribed food and half a Pepcid daily due to a sensitive stomach. Otherwise he's a daily barfer! The only hardy soul in the bunch is our Australian Shepherd. 10 yrs. old and gets the Costco senior citizen dog food. We tried giving him a little treat yesterday from our Memorial Day bbq, a couple little pieces of grilled teriyaki chicken but he went and barfed that up! Guess he's getting too old for that! The things we do for our pets; small price to pay for what they give in return! Maybe not the cat so much...

 

I'm glad you got him to the vet. Hopefully the labwork, etc. will reveal a little something towards the mystery.

 

I'm glad that you got TJ to the vet.

Appetite loss is a pretty serious symptom in a cat of any age (if it goes on for long enough cats can develop what's called fatty liver syndrom, which is not good.) If his gums and the insides of his ears weren't jaundiced he likely hasn't gone there yet, which is really good.

Hopefully, your vet has gone through that (and a few other things.) Please keep us up on what's going on with him.

 

Thanks for the update. I hope all turns out well for the kitty. Keep us posted.

 

Wchardin
Any update on your cat, many cat lovers out here care.
Fernsmom
Also mother of Chaplin, blk and white kitty with a moustache (hence Chaplin)

 

I am glad the tests came back OK! Do you plan to make him an indoor-only kitty now? Mine is.

 

Maybe he ate something that didn't agree with him. Toad?

 

I don't have kids - at least none that I am aware of or remember making ...

So it goes without saying my boys get all the attention. And yes, my cats are *far* nicer than Tony's

 

That's absolutely correct, and cats who are obese are at particular risk.

I had a cat who stopped eating after she moved into a new environment. She started losing weight, and we really didn't notice it all that much because she was incredibly fat!

Bottom line, we were required to force feed her two or three times a day -- anything to get calories into her and stop her body from processing triglycerides to stay alive. Eventually, after nearly six weeks of this, she started eating on her own again, and four years later, she's fine.

The clinical diagnosis is feline hepatic lipidosis, and it's nearly always fatal. We were lucky to have Kitty with us today. She's sleeping at my feet as I type this, fat, dumb and happy!

Just like me.

Glad your kitty got a clean bill of health!

Dan