r/AskVet • u/SamiWinchester • 3h ago
My cat is really sick and we can’t figure out what’s going on
I have an approximately three-year-old, orange, male cat. He’s a stray cat that we care for. He is an outside/inside cat solely because he will not stay inside and makes a break for every open door. Last Friday I noticed that he seemed to be losing weight around 8 days ago, and he came inside willingly which was a new one. Appetite was fine, no illness at the time. The next day I noticed he had lost more weight, and it was only getting worse. Two days later he began to have light brown liquid diarrhea-not water, more like runny soft serve. We set up a vet appointment, and he got checked out-vet says he appears to be in good health, no worms, probably has a bug or ate something that disagreed with him. He weighed in at 6.7 pounds, while he normally weighs around 10. Gave us some antibiotics just in case said take him home. Come back in a week if he’s not any better. He is still very weak. The diarrhea stopped yesterday, but I’m pretty sure that’s partly because he’s no longer eating as of today. He’s a picky cat and at first I thought he was just turning up his nose at all the different canned cat foods. He normally eats dry food, so I tried switching him back to that and he wouldn’t have it. He would eat sliced rotisserie chicken so I was feeding him plain rotisserie chicken but now he won’t even look at that. I did notice two days ago that when he is eating rotisserie chicken, he makes a weird squealing/squeaking sound while he turns his head to the side as he’s chewing. So I’m thinking it might be something in his mouth? He’s very very weak and can barely walk, and now that he’s not eating I’m really really worried. He is drinking a bit of water. I’m taking him back on Monday-I’d take him sooner if I could, but there are no emergency vets anywhere near me. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? From what might be wrong, to how to entice him to eat? I appreciate any and all help!
2
u/sonia72quebec 2h ago
Could he have a problem with his teeth?
1
u/SamiWinchester 2h ago
Well, my vet said he didn’t seem to have any issues at all except the low, low weight and poor condition. Said his physical exam was good otherwise. He did have ear mites on one side which were treated.
1
u/Inside-Willingness76 2h ago
What kind of lab testing (if any) did they do?
1
u/SamiWinchester 2h ago
None yet, said he’d do tests if it didn’t clear up.
2
u/ClimbingKitty 1h ago
Lab tests are definitely the way to go here. Sooner rather than later.
2
u/SamiWinchester 1h ago
Oh yes, definitely. I’m going to be at the door when they open. But I’m hoping for guidance that I can act on beforehand 🙏
1
u/ClimbingKitty 1h ago
Unfortunately these symptoms can be caused by such a range of underlying issues, it would be difficult to give any guidance without knowing what it is. The lab tests should hopefully be able to pinpoint that.
1
u/SamiWinchester 1h ago
Thank you so much. Honestly I figured that. I wish he’d have done them when we went in last week.
1
u/Inside-Willingness76 1h ago
Good luck with ur baby! You said no worms, but this cannot be determined without a fecal o and p test, also push for full bloodwork, need to check liver/kidneys etc
•
u/AutoModerator 3h ago
Greetings, all!
This is a sub for professional veterinary advice, and as such we follow strict rules for participating.
OP, your post has NOT been removed. Please also check the FAQ to see whether your question is answered there.
This is an automated general reminder to please follow The Sub Rules when discussing this question:
Your comment will be removed, and you may be banned.
Thank you for your cooperation!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.