What's wrong with my cat?
Starting yesterday my black cat, outdoor, started acting somewhat lethargic and wouldn’t eat/drink which is uncommon considering he always seems to have an appetite. Today I found him lying on the porch in front of the door, with labored breathing and emitting long/mournful sounding meows. I brought him inside to the garage, their second home when it’s raining or too cold outside, and he walked to his bed to lie down. Since then he has moved to another location that requires about a 1′ jump, still lying down, still taking short/deep breaths through his nose with some snorting noises occasionally, mouth has stayed close with tongue hanging out a bit and surrounded by a clear/ooze-like substance. He lets out a loud meow whenever someone touches him in his stomach area, his pupils are not reacting very much at all to light. There are no signs of any exterior injuries, I checked him after thinking this may have been the result of a copperhead bite but found no rashes/swelling/bite marks/etc. He has no discharge or any sort of irritation/irregularities around his nose or eyes. He still hasn’t attempted to eat/drink anything, just lays there breathing weird and only lifts his head/opens his eyes for a short time every once in a while and is very sluggish about it. Called the vet and they claim to have no openings, going to try taking him in tomorrow whether they like it or not. Until then, what could this be?
I don’t need to be told over and over "OMG TAKE HIM TO A VET NOW!" He’s being taken to the vet as soon as they open tomorrow, and that’s banking on the hope they even take him in due to their schedule being packed. I’m simply just wanting to know what may be wrong with him, and what to possibly expect out of this.
Also, there’s no 24-hour Vet clinics within a 45-60 minute drive that I’m aware of, maybe even further than that. They do have on-call emergency vets around here but they will only respond to big-breed stuff, such as horses / livestock. I’m in a no-name town in the midwest, so I don’t have many options other than waiting for the local vet to take the case when they open tomorrow.
6 Responses
Lady
27 Apr 2010
Lost Thyme
27 Apr 2010
I really have no idea, but it doesn’t sound good. Please get him to the vet ASAP!
Kellie
27 Apr 2010
Is there a 24 hour animal hospital in your area? Because its hard to know whats happening with him, but it sounds like he’s dying… I hope not.
Joe B
27 Apr 2010
Considering you said he repeatedly, I’m gonna eliminate him being pregnant. I can’t really think of any sickness with how you described it. I could be as simple as a bad case of indigestion or as bad as cancer just now getting serious. Don’t get worried.
oooohjennie2002
27 Apr 2010
This happened to my cat & unfortunately he passed away. 
I believe he got into somthing poisoness. I would call the animal poison control number. 888-426-4435. Don’t waste any time on calling because time is important right now. My cat died within hours of this & a friend of mines cat died within 20 minutes of him coming in the house with these symptoms. When you describe his symptoms to the poison center, they can tell you what it most likely is & what you can do until the vet can take you. & if this vet cant fit your emergency in, then screw them. They must be a horrible veterinary clinic because they are there to help animals stay alive & they clearly don’t care. My vet with make room! He has even stayed after closing time for me to rush my dog in. Please call the number. they do charge a small fee but your animals life is worth it. I hoped I helped & good luck.
xxxsweetiepiexxx
27 Apr 2010
I have had two cats that acted like this although slightly different, both of the cats had different problems, one had a chicken bone stuck in her gut, she would not eat and kept being sick and didn’t like her stomach being touched, She had to have part of her gut removed to save her life as it was life threatening and if we didn’t take her to a vet that day, she could have been 24 – 48 hours away from death, The other cat a male, didn’t eat and didn’t like his stomach being touched a few days after we took him to a vet, he had been bitten and it had got infected, because he was trying it on with another cats woman lol. I know that your cat might have something else wrong but i just thought i would give you a few possible things.
My first thought was snake bite too. But now that I think about it, it’s possible he got into some anti-freeze. This is.. so toxic to animals. If I were you I would make him vomit asap. I think if you put some hydrogen peroxide in his mouth it should educe vomiting, that’s what you do for dogs. But I’d google it anyway. I’m so sorry about the way he’s acting. But it does sound like he’s gotten into anti-freeze or is otherwise poisoned. Like I said, I think you should make him vomit, just to be safe.
And I understand about your frustrations about people just jumping to conclusions and not answering the question you asked.. I complain about that almost every time I ask a question.
Sigh.