Cat suddenly lethargic/less energetic

moreknow

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Hope im not too late to post this
I have a semiferal cat that has spent around 80% of her time inside since May of last year, sleeps indoors with me. (I mean semiferal because she's only comfortable around me, my parents and brother, anyone else shows up and she'll hide) Last week she appeared normal, no changes in her diet, and was all playful with her mom and boyfriend, who also stay inside with me. Then randomly on Saturday i noticed that she stayed in my bed for over 8 hours, and since then she's been less and less energetic, and now she's barely eating. She'll willingly go outdoors to go do her business and just get some air, but once she's inside she just rests. This is the only normal behavior i noticed was from yesterday and today:
- scratched a tree and a post
- laid down on the floor relaxing in one instance
- saw a bug crawling on the floor and showed interest in chasing it

but she stopped purring, still shows interest in eating, but barely eats anything i give her
I want to take her to a vet here in Houston and i plan on taking her tomorrow if the cat carrier gets here on time, but since my parents are strict w me, they say that i should let time pass and see if she feels better

I know that the only solid conclusion determining what's wrong w her would be from the vet, but has anyone have advice or suggestions, or any type of feedback as to what could she be having?

many many thanks,
Uriel m
 
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danteshuman

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I vote take her to the vet. She could have eaten something that she can’t digest (string) or worse poison.

My mon’s reformed feral started suddenly peeing in the house with blood in it. Rushed to the vet (maybe antifreeze) & he had to get daily saline via IV for about a week, plus pain meds to get his kidneys back on track. He was fine 2 weeks later.
 
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moreknow

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I vote take her to the vet. She could have eaten something that she can’t digest (string) or worse poison.

My mon’s reformed feral started suddenly peeing in the house with blood in it. Rushed to the vet (maybe antifreeze) & he had to get daily saline via IV for about a week, plus pain meds to get his kidneys back on track. He was fine 2 weeks later.
it would be unlikely that she ate poison, maybe a foreign object or possibly those daddy longleg flies. Just noticing how its gradually getting worse, but there's no fatal symptoms of something :/
 

danteshuman

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People always ask hoping to avoid the vet. To me it is worth the $ for peace of mind. Might I suggest something like Care Credit if money is tight?

If the cat stops eating or drinking or grows dehydrated they need to go to the vet. If they get dehydrated they need to go to the vet right now, even if it is urgent care.

If your gu says something is wrong, trust your gut. You live with your cat and know your cat best.

Until then I suggest onion/garlic free chicken baby food mixed with unflavored pedialite or fancy feast broth in chicken flavor.


279DA593-AB4E-4A94-846D-4F9DAD1C6F0B.jpeg
 

danteshuman

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Ok mild dehydration is bad severe dehydration is life threatening. So above all you need to get some fluid in your cat. You may not need an emergency vet but the least I would do is rush them to the vet the minute they open.

However if your cat doesn’t drink for 24 hours (and isn’t eating only wet food) things may have entered into life threatening territory. Espcially since cats naturally get most of their water from their food and dry food makes them slightly dehydrated to start with.
 
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moreknow

learning to help ferals :)
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People always ask hoping to avoid the vet. To me it is worth the $ for peace of mind. Might I suggest something like Care Credit if money is tight?

If the cat stops eating or drinking or grows dehydrated they need to go to the vet. If they get dehydrated they need to go to the vet right now, even if it is urgent care.

If your gu says something is wrong, trust your gut. You live with your cat and know your cat best.

Until then I suggest onion/garlic free chicken baby food mixed with unflavored pedialite or fancy feast broth in chicken flavor.


View attachment 374659
she's eating a lot more than yesterday, and i saw in one instance that she was trying to cough something up. Im pretty sure there's something that made her stomach upset, i just don't understand how it can cause her energy levels to be so low for 5 days
How can help her with her upset stomach, should i try making her throw up whatever's upsetting her?
 

danteshuman

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Again I say that dreaded word: vet. What if she ate something she can’t digest? Better to pull it out of her stomach now then surgery later.

Good news she might just have the flu or a upper respiratory infection (cold.) Worst news she might have cancer, pancreatitis or a mega hairball that requires surgery. I would feed her those fancy feast chicken broth pouches and monitor her closely. Really if she isn’t eating regularly by Sunday night, take her to the vet in the morning. There is an article on this forum about all the ways to get vet care when you have no money if that is your Ahurdle.

When Dante suddenly got all groggy all day long I figured he was just getting old since he was 13.5 years old. He had severe asthma and pancreatitis. It was because of the asthma that I had to let him go. Pancreatitis can be survived but it is a hard road. I will say this though, the pain meds and antinausea meds made a huge difference. Suddenly he started acting more like himself. I got a week to say my goodbyes to him..... though sticking him with a daily saline IV 3 days in a row was difficult. He just couldn’t catch his breath and he was in pain so I let him go.

I think your cat is telling you something is really wrong atm & you should listen to her.
 
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moreknow

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Again I say that dreaded word: vet. What if she ate something she can’t digest? Better to pull it out of her stomach now then surgery later.

Good news she might just have the flu or a upper respiratory infection (cold.) Worst news she might have cancer, pancreatitis or a mega hairball that requires surgery. I would feed her those fancy feast chicken broth pouches and monitor her closely. Really if she isn’t eating regularly by Sunday night, take her to the vet in the morning. There is an article on this forum about all the ways to get vet care when you have no money if that is your Ahurdle.

When Dante suddenly got all groggy all day long I figured he was just getting old since he was 13.5 years old. He had severe asthma and pancreatitis. It was because of the asthma that I had to let him go. Pancreatitis can be survived but it is a hard road. I will say this though, the pain meds and antinausea meds made a huge difference. Suddenly he started acting more like himself. I got a week to say my goodbyes to him..... though sticking him with a daily saline IV 3 days in a row was difficult. He just couldn’t catch his breath and he was in pain so I let him go.

I think your cat is telling you something is really wrong atm & you should listen to her.
Is surgery the only way for her to get whatever's in her stomach? She's over 1 year old, and she isn't sneezing, her behavior's all fine except that she's sleeping a lot more and shows interest in going outside at night like she does daily. I heard her trying to cough up something earlier today but nothing came out. She just now ate a whole Sheba portion pate, and ate a hairball care cat chew supplement (though this product is misleading b/c i thought it would relieve her of her hairballs, but it's actually a coat and skin supplement). She's doing better than the past 2 days, im just trying to see what i could do, i don't think it's a fatal problem but im on standby.

I'm so sorry to hear about Dante's passing. The passing away of a loved animal has got to be one of the worst emotional pains ever . But as some lovely people have told me on this platform "we gotta be happy they crossed the bridge and continue with them in our hearts" 🧡
 
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