Old cat not feeling well

[crowen]

Hi,

I got up this morning to diarrhea spread around the house and my 15+ cat hiding under the dining room table.

As it turns out, she was sleeping in the chair downstairs when she had to vomit. This was below the chair. After, she went around the corner towards the litter box, where she vomited again - this time bile. She was unable to get to the litter box in time, leaving a very large, but solid, poop on the stairs. I gather she then had the diarrhea, as it was spread around the litter box and up the rest of the stairs, around the house to the dining room where she's been hiding.

It's evident she's not feeling well. She came out to see me when she saw I was up, walking as if her rear end bothered her, but quickly left to sit under the chairs again.

I cleaned out the litter for a fresh batch, which she came to investigate about an hour after all this, but was unable to go to the bathroom. She tried for a while then left without depositing anything.

She is old, and she has been drinking a lot of water the past few months, so I wonder if she may be ill?

However, I also got a new bag of food the other week which could be the culprit. I have fed my cats this before, but it is a newly bought bag. My younger cat also had diarrhea after eating it, but I assumed it was because the cats get fed Kirkland dry food during the day by other people. The food I bought and feed them is a dehydrated raw, feline natural, and I know that eating raw and dry together can upset stomaches. The youngest is fine today.

I will keep an eye on the eldest, but I wanted an opinion. She is old, does not eat as much, is underweight, etc. Is it possibly just an upset stomach or what else more serious should I be on the lookout for?

 

[vball91]

I would really recommend a vet visit for your eldest cat. The drinking a lot of water could be a sign of diabetes or kidney issues. Combined with the diarrhea and vomiting, something's wrong. It's not just a food switch problem IMO.

 

[betsygee]

I would really recommend a vet visit for your eldest cat. The drinking a lot of water could be a sign of diabetes or kidney issues. Combined with the diarrhea and vomiting, something's wrong. It's not just a food switch problem IMO.

     It sounds like a visit to the vet would be the first step.  

 

[crowen]

I will try to convince someone to take her to the vet, but unfortunately it would not be in my hands

The folks who the cat belongs to doesn't like to spend money on them and have a negative philosophy of feeling like if their pet goes to the vet, it won't come back (they've lost two other pets about a year ago who only made one vet visit).

What would they be looking for specifically that could be what caused this, so I can look up more on it? If I can tell them more about what might be ailing her I might be able to convince them to take her at the end of the day. 

I've seen her go to the kitty litter a few times, and one of which she urinated, but it was not a lot and I think it bothered her that I kept checking around the corner. Could it be some sort of obstruction based on renal failure or some sort? I don't know much about it. 

Some children are babysat here during the day, so she's currently hiding on the lower floor with me. She doesn't like to walk - seems her rear end is still bothering her. It reminds me of my 20 year old cat who died of kidney failure and how she walked around the day she died, would this be a common thing? 

Either way, I have her here with me for the day so I can watch her. She's just pouting under my work table. I set up a hoodie to block the light so she'd be more comfortable. I do agree she should see the vet based on what I see now, but I also know she's feeling well enough to wander around a bit. Any information on what you think it might  be if it's not an upset stomach would be good  

 

[vball91]

The drinking a lot of water could be a sign of diabetes or kidney issues.

Unfortunately, these days kidney disease is not uncommon.

 

[crowen]

Thanks, I've read up a bit on kidney disease. 

This is probably right. It's also similar to what my other cat went through, and there are definite parallels. The one suffering right now has always been a little cat, so it's hard to tell, but I do think it's probably a side effect of weak kidneys, too. 

Based on that, I don't think she would come back from the vet. She is relatively old and the environment here is not stress free (the younger cat, the kids who are babysat), so I think the owners would choose to have her put down instead of treated. 

Unfortunately, they think it might be the food I was giving them (the dehydrated raw). I think this is better food for them than the Kirkland kibble, but with this lining up as it has I'm worried that they will pass it off as a side effect of the food. They asked me earlier today to throw the rest of the raw I had batched up for today out, just in case, and not to feed them anything but dry kibble ("especially nothing runny") until they weren't having diarrhea any more. This is counter logic in my mind, but I know it's not in theirs. 

I'm still going to feed my kitty the raw, of course, but it's been such an up hill battle as it is to get them to switch I'm a little sad I didn't switch them earlier - it might've helped with the older ones kidneys. 

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I can find something to read that'll give some suggestions based on kidney failure for making her more comfortable. 

 

[crowen]

Quick update on this:

She just came out from under the work table and seems much healthier. She had big kitty eyes and did a big kitty stretch as she meowed at me. I can tell she's not 100% still, as she's still moving around as if her rear end bothers her and sitting down a lot. She wants on my lap, though, which is a big improvement over her reclusive behaviour earlier. 

Unfortunately, she hasn't had good muscles in her hind legs for a few years and is unwilling to pull herself up to places in her current state, so I've made her a bed of towels and blankets in the dogs old kennel. 

It's going to be hard to convince anyone to bring her to the vet if she's acting better. They won't take her unless she stays the same or gets worse. Which she probably will, since she'd do better on the raw food for meals than kibble, but I know that she'll just be getting kibble now. 

What do you think? I could push to try to get her taken to the vet, but I am not sure if that would be best for her. Is there some canned food I can suggest for them to buy for her now? Would that be a better idea? I know there's some sort of mineral specifications that go with renal problems. 

Though, maybe it was the raw food I bought! A bad batch perhaps. Maybe I will give the dry kibble a few days then try the raw on my youngest and see if she has diarrhea.  Gosh  

 

[betsygee]

Is this not your cat--are you taking care of it for somebody?

 

[armina]

A vet visit would probably be the best idea just to see what's going on in her system- the vet can probably pinpoint the issue and prescribe necessary meds/food supplements. 

I have the same question as betsygee--can you try explaining the situation to whoever is responsible for taking her to the vet?

Best wishes for your senior kitty. 

 

[cprcheetah]

Definitely recommend a vet visit, cats are REALLY good at hiding their illnesses, a lot of times until it's too late.  The drinking more water could easily be kidney disease and/or diabetes.  She sounds like she is in pain from arthritis, so it may be a good idea to get her on pain meds such as tramadol and/or buprenex.

 

[crowen]

We simply live in the same house, is all. The license for her is not mine. 

She is much better today than she was yesterday. I'm afraid that bodes ill for her being brought in. I agree entirely that she should see the vet and probably has some form of kidney disease. She has always been a small, frail kitty who drinks a lot of water - I think the seeming of drinking more water the past few months is partially illness related and partially because she eats less. 

This might be a bit of a silly hypothesis, but she seems so much better today than she was yesterday. I think if she was having serious kidney trouble it would last longer than a day? While I do think her kidneys need help, that she should go to the vet and probably needs pain killers and a special diet, I'm wondering if something else bothered her yesterday instead. Is it possible the diarrhea I cleaned up around the house was actually from anal glands that had previously been blocked? The feces on the stairs I found that was still solid was rather large for such a small kitty - I could've believed it was from a bichon instead. 

That doesn't explain the vomit, of course. It was half digested kibble and a furball, so I don't know on that front. I'll let you know if I manage to get her to the vet! Until then I suppose I'll just have to make sure she gets enough water and warms

 

[betsygee]

It's so good of you to try to take care of this kitty!  

There are so many variables.  I have a 17-1/2 year old with kidney disease.  He's also got a very sensitive stomach--if I change his diet in any way, he goes through a day or two of vomiting and/or diarrhea.  I keep him on a diet of wet food and add some water to that to give him as much moisture as possible.  

I don't have any experience with blocked anal glands--hopefully someone else will come along who might have some thoughts about that.