# Something is wrong - Lethargic Cat - Not Eating



## Itty bitty Kitty

My 5 year old male cat was fine yesterday morning. However something must have taken effect overnight. *This morning he is completely lethargic. He won't get up from his spot and keeps sleeping. He seems almost lifeless and barely responsive.* I would set him on his feet to have a feel of his ribs and stomach, checked his limbs, mouth, ears and they seem fine( from what I can). However once he was at his feet, he'd just slowly walk over to the nearest corner and lay down. He won't even eat or drink. We currently feed him on Wellness and Nutro Max (Occasionally Natural Balance but he has to be ' in the mood) . He's normally a picky eater so the only thing he eats without question and hesitation is Fancy Feast( McDonald's). He even turned that down.

I'm still waiting to check on his litter box activity. I can't tell if he's been straining to urinate lately or not. My mom and sister told me when they tried to pick him up he'd whine or make an annoyed growl so that's another clear indication he is in some sort of pain. I just wish I knew what was causing it. He's always been such an upbeat guy, tail always up with confidence. It's heart breaking to see is dragging on the floor. His whole mannerism and the way he carries himself is different and weak.

Unfortunately the vet was booked today so we're taking him immediately tomorrow. Until then I'm watching him closely and marking down additional signs of worry. *Should I let him rest or should I try to encourage him to move around? *I'm hoping to motivate him to eat later tonight, or at the very least drink something.

He has has a UTI in the past with forming crystals. I'm worried this may be happening again but at that time, are warning sign was blood in the urine. I'm not even sure if he has the strength or desire to use the litter box.

Occasionally, I would hear something close to a cough. Earlier today it was easier to hear his breathing and there was a little bit of a throaty gurgle. This only happened once this morning and maybe 1 month ago. I'm not sure if this is something to worry about or something as simple as me just clearing my throat.

He's an indoor cat. Every now and then we take him out on a leash on our front yard. My mom lets him out in the garage sometimes by himself. Though we're pretty sure we've had all the dangerous things out of reach I'm worried he may have some sort of poisoning. Maybe he ate something while we weren't looking.

I'm looking up more information online and trying to figure out what's going on.

if anyone has had any similar experiences or theories on what could be happening, please, please let me know. Until we go to the vet tomorrow I can't stop worrying. I'm in tears because I can't stand knowing he's in pain and how he was so sweet yesterday morning and so expressive and lively and now he's completely the opposite.

Thank you


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## twoisplenty

This sounds like a UTI with a blockage cause by crystals. Our cat acted the exact same way, stopped eating, became lethargic. Your vet wouldnt get you in due to the circumstances? Thats crazy. This is serious and needs to be delt with immediately.


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## Caty M

Agree with Twoisplenty... blockage is nothing to mess around with. I would go to a different vet if I had to, TODAY.

ACVS - Urethral Obstruction In Male Cats


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## magicre

i have nothing to offer other than you are in my thoughts.


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## Itty bitty Kitty

well I just got into a huge argument with my mom. I too, was worried and started pushing for an emergency visit but my mom is against it. She thinks it's too soon and the vet she spoke to told them since it just started, it's better to wait a day to watch him instead of visit and potentially waste money. 

Although I still consider Francis my cat, he's still technically my parent's. Originally, I was going to take him with me when I moved back to the States but after much thought, I decided it would not be a good choice for him. My parents wanted to keep him and believe me taking him would only stress him out. It was a decision I made for his best benefit where he'd be happiest, but I'm getting panicked that my parents don't want to spend the extra money for Francis. I can understand their reasoning, they think they will go there and find out the vet doesn't understand what's wrong because they went too soon and they paid the extra fee for nothing when they could have waited, but personally I don't like taking that chance. Unfortunately, my husband and I cannot afford to take him ourselves ( we're literally poor, which is why we're living with our parents until my immigration papers go through), especially if we're not going to be the ones to keep him. 

I just hope and pray he will be alright until tomorrow morning. Good news is he started to react a little more and sit up. Showed some interest in looking out the window. Still not eating or displaying any interest in eating. I feel so powerless.


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## Kat

I agree with the others, a blockage is nothing to mess with. 

2 years ago my cat Sam had a blockage. He became stressed when I went on vacation and left him at home with my sister. 2 days after coming home, he went to the litter box in front of me, which right away caught my attention because he doesnt like going to the litterbox if someone is watching. He was staring right at me and pushing, 5 minutes goes by, nothing, he scoots around the box and still nothing. Finally after 20 minutes of this and me telling my mom he definitley has a blockage, I convinced her to drive me to the emergency clinic at 11:30pm. Luckily I went when I did, his bladder was a couple hours away from bursting. 

He had to be hospitalized with a catheter for 24 hours, the clinic wanted him for 48 hours, but I couldnt afford another 200$ hospitalization fee and catheter (It already cost me $1400 for that one night). I took him home and fed him as much canned food as he would eat, and layed puppy pee pads all around my bedroom, he wouldnt go in the box. He would literally lay on the floor and let pee trickle out of him, it was scary stuff. I had to quarantine him in my bedroom for exactly 3 months away from my other cat and keep a detailed catalogue of every pee throughout the day. 

Of course, I am NOT saying this will be the case with your cat. Sam had 3 weeks of his body producing crystals in his bladder, so it got really bad, at the bottom of the urine collection bag, it looks like sand. 

I dont want to scare you, but when a male gets blocked things can go from bad to worse in no time at all. Try and coax him to eat some canned food, and keep an eye on litterbox activity. Good luck!

And I am also surprised your vet didnt fit you in. When I went to the emergency clinic there were I think like 10 other people there before me (cant remember for sure because I was completely hysterical) and I got seen first. They make exceptions when there is a very serious/critical emergency.


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## bett

some wellness got caught up in the diamond thing. i'd examine.


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## mischiefgrrl

Kitty needs the vet ASAP. It does sound like a blockage. You can try giving him some pedialyte but again, if he's blocked that could make it bad. Cats are so delicate, they can go from fine, to deathly ill just like that.

I had one cat that passed the blockage on his own in the car on the way to the vet - BUT he wasn't lethargic yet. Just to the point of growling and irritable.


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## DaneMama

Kitties who get like this need to be seen ASAP as it could be a variety of different things. I'd have a full blood panel run as well as UA. If IV fluid therapy is needed....absolutely have that done. Regardless, keep us posted on the situation!


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## brandypup

Lethargic Cat = vet always. 
Not eating is an emergency after 2 days (actually 1.5 days) after that they can get fatty liver disease. (leathal)
Hugs


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## Donna Little

This is what Jaxson was acting like when I went to feed him one morning. Very out of character for him so I made him an appt for around noon. He was totally blocked and they inserted a catheter and left it in until the next day. When they removed it they called and said he was blocked again within a few hours. After re-inserting another cath and later removing it they knew he needed surgery. They told me afterward that he had some of the largest bladder stones they'd ever seen. 
So hopefully you've convinced your mom to get kitty to the vet. 
Please keep us in the loop and we're hoping all turns out well.


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## Itty bitty Kitty

*Sigh*

Well, I could not convince my mom for an emergency visit, and since she's the one footing the bill and keeping him ( though I wish I could take him), there wasn't really much I could do to push. Came down to her thinking I was stupid and favoring the vet's word over mine on how she could afford to wait. Good news though, is that at 5 am Francis ate some kibble, though personally I wish he chose the wet food instead. :/ darn it, why is he such a kibble junkie. I was disturbed he didn't drink water and still no litter box activity. Yet, somehow, he was suddenly back to normal. Like WHA-BAM! All perky and cuddly with me and what the heck just happened? Don't get me wrong, I was relieved he was fine but I found it strange.

Either way we took him to the vet and voiced our concerns. Currently he's having his blood and urine checked so we're picking him up in a couple of hours. I just hope and pray that, I was wrong in worry about the blockage and that it's not too late. I'm still sorta upset with my mom but now she's still rubbing it in my face how I over reacted over nothing. Well, I just hope she's right and the results are clear. I also face-palmed at my mom buying Science Hill's Prescription Diet for UTI treatment. I can appreciate why but I'm just not a fan of the brand at all. There are better, more natural alternatives to help prevent future UTI occurrences that my mom doesn't feel is as effective. Thankfully, she only plans to use them as 'kibble sprinkles' and not for a meal, so I guess that's reasonable, sorta. Still if it were up to me, I wouldn't. 

Thank you for your wishes and concerns everyone. I will let you know the results when I pick Francis up.


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## Itty bitty Kitty

*UPDATE*

Well, I called it. He had a blockage. However we were lucky it was relatively minor so flushing it out wasn't too difficult. However my mom still thinks we did it early enough :/ I guess the only reasonable motivation she had was to make sure we got the better vet of the two we contacted. I admit I like the doctor for the vet we went to, he's the type who sincerley cares about the pets and I appreciate his tenderness on the way he handles them. I seem to remember the other one who had an available emergency visit are a little more rough witht he handling that I'm not comfortable with. Not too sure on the details since my mom handled the phone calling and decision on this. I had no say. 


Anyways, Francis is fine now. He's recovering nicely. Regained his appetite and started drinking again. As for the cause, we're waiting to hear back to see if it was a result of an in balance of magnesium or calcium. Whichever we find out, we're hoping to change his kibble. Personally, I want to switch Francis to an all wet food diet but he's too much of a stubborn kibble junkie and my mom is buying into the whole " Kibble helps their jaws and teeth."

Boy if only I could feed him raw...

But I guess having at least one can of wet a day is better than no can. Thankfully, the food Francis ate today were all canned.

Thank you for all your support everyone! I know Francis won't be mine for much longer but I still want to do my best to care for him. My parent's hearts are in the right place and over all, I know he's better staying with them, however I still can't help but think they're a bit slow :/


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## DaneMama

So glad to hear that Francis is doing better! I'm glad that it was just a blockage and not something like kidney failure or something more serious!

I'm assuming it was a urinary blockage? Or was it intestinal?


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## Itty bitty Kitty

DaneMama said:


> So glad to hear that Francis is doing better! I'm glad that it was just a blockage and not something like kidney failure or something more serious!
> 
> I'm assuming it was a urinary blockage? Or was it intestinal?


Ah yes, sorry. It was Urinary. I guess we were lucky it didn't develop into anything worse 

Thank you for your wishes!

Here's a happy Francis.


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## mischiefgrrl

I'm really glad to hear this update! Good luck with finding the right diet for him if you can't convince your parents to do raw. If he doesn't like the canned food, he might like baby food.


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## Itty bitty Kitty

mischiefgrrl said:


> I'm really glad to hear this update! Good luck with finding the right diet for him if you can't convince your parents to do raw. If he doesn't like the canned food, he might like baby food.


Baby food you say? That's something I never considered before. What kind/ ingredients should I look into?


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## brandypup

HUGS! so glad all is well. 

I know how frustrating it can be to have a mom who wont listen to your advice. Been there done that and I am know probably one of them. :/ 

In any case, here is a link about how to get a cat to eat canned as well as what Urinary blockage actually entails. While I know you knwo how serious it can get, perhaps your mom would look at it. 

In any case hugs and prayers glad kitty is ok. 

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

Feline Urinary Tract Health: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM :: cat urinary tract health


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## Kat

Itty bitty Kitty said:


> *UPDATE*
> 
> Well, I called it. He had a blockage. However we were lucky it was relatively minor so flushing it out wasn't too difficult. However my mom still thinks we did it early enough :/ I guess the only reasonable motivation she had was to make sure we got the better vet of the two we contacted. I admit I like the doctor for the vet we went to, he's the type who sincerley cares about the pets and I appreciate his tenderness on the way he handles them. I seem to remember the other one who had an available emergency visit are a little more rough witht he handling that I'm not comfortable with. Not too sure on the details since my mom handled the phone calling and decision on this. I had no say.
> 
> 
> Anyways, Francis is fine now. He's recovering nicely. Regained his appetite and started drinking again. As for the cause, we're waiting to hear back to see if it was a result of an in balance of magnesium or calcium. Whichever we find out, we're hoping to change his kibble. Personally, I want to switch Francis to an all wet food diet but he's too much of a stubborn kibble junkie and my mom is buying into the whole " Kibble helps their jaws and teeth."
> 
> Boy if only I could feed him raw...
> 
> But I guess having at least one can of wet a day is better than no can. Thankfully, the food Francis ate today were all canned.
> 
> Thank you for all your support everyone! I know Francis won't be mine for much longer but I still want to do my best to care for him. My parent's hearts are in the right place and over all, I know he's better staying with them, however I still can't help but think they're a bit slow :/


Im glad he's doing better now. Since both of my cats have had urinary issues in the past and my male was blocked I contacted a lot of different pet food companies to see which ones would be safe for them to eat.

Natural Balance, Natures Variety, Holistic Select, and Before Grain are all good. I feed my cats canned food from NB, NV, HS, and I give a small palmful of BG chicken kibble morning and night. I could never completely take them off the kibble or they wouldnt eat the canned. So I find using the kibble morning and night, and leaving canned down throughout the day triggers their hunger or something because they always eat their full servings of canned food.

Tell your mom to return the bag of Hills to the vet, that is a horrible food and just masks the problem, eventually it will come back (thats what I always found with prescription diets). The canned food I listed above with dissolve all the crystals too. 

My cats used to be on the Royal Canin Urinary S/O prescription kibble and canned. They would be fine for a while then out of no where get another UTI or crystal formation, and back to the vet we go. Since feeding no more prescription for the past two years I have not had to take them back to the vet.


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## Caty M

Agree- my Benny never had a blockage but he would get constant UTIs even on the prescription food.. he rarely did on EVO and never did since starting canned/raw. Will he eat kibble with water added?


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## magicre

i'm glad to hear the good news....

i think you ARE doing the best you can for him.....


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## mischiefgrrl

Itty bitty Kitty said:


> Baby food you say? That's something I never considered before. What kind/ ingredients should I look into?


When my Sh*tty Kitty was recovering from a blockage I just used plain chicken baby food, no veggies. There's a lot of water in it - which is what they really need. He didn't care for it plain, so I put it on top of his kibble  I also fed him raw salmon when he started loosing his appetite because the scent is so strong he would go for it.


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## lovemydogsalways

I am really glad you caught this in time and he is recovering.


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## Itty bitty Kitty

brandypup said:


> HUGS! so glad all is well.
> 
> I know how frustrating it can be to have a mom who wont listen to your advice. Been there done that and I am know probably one of them. :/
> 
> In any case, here is a link about how to get a cat to eat canned as well as what Urinary blockage actually entails. While I know you knwo how serious it can get, perhaps your mom would look at it.
> In any case hugs and prayers glad kitty is ok.
> Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health
> 
> Feline Urinary Tract Health: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM :: cat urinary tract health


Yes! Hugs all around for Francis! Thanks for the links! I like archiving more information to learn more. 

Ah, unfortunately my mom is a little ignorant sometimes. I was offering to print out the information on the links you showed me, plus others I've found and she turned them down because "You shouldn't listen to things on the internet. It's okay, I know what to do, the vet told me."

 I understand why she'd want to rely on the vet for your final word but why not accept additional information if it's offered from a reliable source? She's a one-source lady and doesn't really want anymore. I think think this vet is very good over all but I wouldn't trust them in all their recommendations, especially food. Of course, she refuses to return the Science Hills bag. She doesn't think a mostly kibble diet is bad because Francis drinks enough water and he eats a can of wet a day. I was telling her that more moisture is better but she sorta thinks I'm naive on information. Long story short, she's pretty hard-headed and doesn't take me seriously enough to listen, so I give up. It usually ends with " I know what I'm doing, don't worry. When you get your own pet, you can do what your want."

Fair enough I guess. If she's the one keeping Francis in the end and she's footing everything, then it really is her call. Still, I can't help but be a little sad and hurt that I was originally going to keep him. I even made plans and bought a Sleepy Pod Carrier for him  He was mine. I found him, I raised him and I think I'm always going to see him as mine no matter how hard I try.

At least I get to sleep with him every night


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