Something is wrong with my cat

Question

He is a neutered tom cat, 14 years old, he was born feral and we got him from a fair ground.

Recently he has been weeing behind the tv and going in weird places, which is unlike him as he is house broken. It also looks as though he is having troubles sitting down and he has recently lost ALOT of weight even though he eats LOADS of food, like 2 tins a day and a bowl of crunchy food. Also he really smells and his breath stinks, which is really unlike him. He is also acting really funny. He is going to the vet soon, but my nan thinks that his time is up and he will die soon. He was hiding in a wardrobe earlier (also unlike him) and my nan thinks that he is going away to die.

What does everyone think? I don't want him to die :( I have had him since I was 4!

What do his symptoms indicate, bear in mind he IS going to the vet but I live in a village and the vet does not have a emergency contact number, he is going on tuesday.

Answer 1

Well, it sounds like it could be a few different things. Any time a cat urinates outside the litter box, its usually them letting you know...something is off. Cats are smarter than we give them credit for. So it could be a UTI. It is VERY important to make sure he IS urinating though. If he is squatting and nothing is coming out, he needs to go right away, if he has crystals in his urine, it can build up in his tract and cause a blockage, and his bladder will be huge and painful and it can be very very bad, and in cases fatal. If he IS urinating...then don't worry about that so much. With his age, new urinating habit, weight loss, excessive hunger and bad breath...my guess is renal failure, diabetes or hyperthyroidism. Renal Failure covers all of those. It is when his old cat kidneys are not working like they used to. The bad breath can be bad teeth, which means he breaths in bacteria which can cause damage to the kidneys (as well as the heart, the vet may tell you he has a heart murmur too)  But don't worry, usually a diet change and giving him subcutaneous fluids can help him manage a little better. You can not reverse damage done to the kidneys, but you can at least manage the symptoms, and prevent any more damage. Hyperthyroidism covers the weight loss and excessive hunger. It's just an overactive thyroid. This can be managed with meds usually.  And diabetes is for the weight loss and urinating issue. Glucose spills over into the urine, causing excessive urination, which in turn causes a lot of drinking too, but they usually are not as hungry as you described. And this can be managed with insulin shots (which are not as hard as you might be thinking) and a diet change. And it could be any one of these things, or two of them, or even all three. They all can have a little bit of connection to one another. Your vet will want to do bloodwork, this blood work will probably be a CBC/ Chemistry/T4/Urinalysis. The CBC checks his hematology, make sure his blood is ok. The Chem checks his organ function and glucose levels. and the T4 checks his thyroid. The Urinalysis is going to see what is going on in the urine. Ketones can spill into the urine with renal failure, (which they will want to take care of right away) and glucose can with diabetes. The tests are very important for a diagnosis. I imagine the only way he won't want to do this is if he palpates a mass in the stomach, which will most likely imply a cancer.  If it is not cancer, then any one of the diseases I talked about are very manageable, in some cases depending on how progressed they are. But 14 is not old for a cat. I'm a vet tech and have seen 20+ yr old cats .  Don't give up on him just yet. I hope that I have been helpful. And good luck with your kitty, I hope he will be fine. *and also, when cats get older, they go senile too, so hiding in odd places or acting like they are lost or talking very very loudly can be just some senility, lol.*

*smile*

-Kalani

Answer 2

your cat is pretty old... they usually live to be about 15 years old.

Answer 3

sorry, dunno what that might be - sure he'll be fine till you get him to vet.

Hope hes ok though.

:o)

Answer 4

A urinary tract infection or diabetes.  Hopefully the vet will be able to sort it out.

Answer 5

It could be any number of things, if hes peeing in odd places, hes trying to tell hes not happy about something!! Could be his kidneys, one of my cats had kidney problems and it sounds similar to what yours is like, weight loss etc, he sounds like hes in pain thats why hes hiding away. The smelly breath is obviously his teeth, he might need one or two out because theyve gone bad..Hope the vet can sort him out, dont give up on him yet!! Try and get him into the vet earlier, if you ring and tell them what hes like im sure they could squeeze you in tomorow!!

Answer 6

Hi

  Is he drinking alot?   Peeing more then normal?

This sounds very much like diabetes which is very treatable. No life span needs to be lost and your cat can live well past 20 happily if you take control an treat this disease correctly

Many vets aren't up to date on correct treatment on this and you have to be proactive.

Please click on my name and read my profile. If you wish, I will help you with this every step of the way.

Please stop feeding the dry food and  feed canned foods no gravy

Also. Please smell the breath again. If this smells like nail polish remover, contact me immediately

Best of luck

  

Answer 7

Make sure that he is comfortable, and you spend a lot of time with him. If tuesday is the soonest you can get him to the vet it should be fine, but if it looks like he is in pain go to an emergency vet. He is 14 so remember he has had a long life. I know how hard it is to put a cat to sleep, so hopefully your cat isn't at that point yet.  I would just spend as much time with him as possible though. I hope it all turns out good.

Answer 8

it could be diabetes, a urinary tract infection or kidney disease-kidney disease can cause bad breath but it may just be bad teeth. they are all treatable conditions so I hope he has a few years left in him-our cat lived to 19 with very bad kidneys for 5 years.

Answer 9

Your cat has some problems but may not be ready to die. See what the vet says. He may have a urinary tract infection That can be cleared up with medication. His breath may be bad because he may have an infected tooth or 2.  

Answer 10

It sounds like either kidney problems or a urinary infection.

I have a 15 yr old (neutured) tom cat who behaves in a similar way to yours, but mine peed on anything left lying on the floor - shoes, clothing, newspapers, bags etc (yuk isn't it!)

He also was real thin, smelly breath, sleeping loads in odd places, his fur was all dull and matted and he was just generaly not himself.

The vet gave him anti biotics to treat the original infection, put him on a special food (Hills science diet urinary)  and monitors his condition twice a year.  He has gained a bit if weight, is as fit as a fiddle and now flees about our farm like a kitten!

I'm guessing old age will catch up with him at some point fairly soon, but meanwhile we enjoying the new lease of life he seems to have found!

So, pleases don't waste time, get him to the vet ASAP.  You may well be presently surprised at the outcome!

Answer 11

My cat did that for a while and it was also sleeping in wierd places that it had never been before. This lasted for about 1 week then it seemed ok after.

Answer 12

I'm sorry love but I think your nan may be right.

Stay close to him and give him lots of TLC and maybe a litter tray.

He does seem to be hiding a lot so don't be too close just be there when he wants you.

Good luck to you both.