This sounds most likely to be an infection of some sort, or possibly he could have been run over. Whatever it is you really should not have waited this long to get advice - make sure you go to the vet.

hi i feed a group of ferals and when i went to feed them yesterday one of my toms is not putting any weight on his right back leg. he is keeping it tucked into him but got close enough to have a look and cant see any kind of wound and no blood i left him over night incase he had jsut pulled it but is still the same today tried to catch him this morning but everytime i got close he moved away he seems to be eating ok and seems ok in himself apart from the leg. i am going to try and catch him again 2moro but im worried i cant what do you think it could be could he just have sprained it ?? or do u think its broken please help

If he is still holding it up then it could be broken, the hip dislocated or there could be an abscess. Unfortunately without a vet examining him you will be none the wiser so get him checked out.

Hello , my cat is 11 years old he has lossed appetite to all foods, we have tried him with milk, he has had a little but not a lot, he has started to have some tuna however it taked him a long time to eat it, he growls when we try and stroke him, all he seems to do is sleep and finally he has started having trouble jumping any height almost as if his back legs will not let him, can you please help?

Unfortunately the symptoms you describe are very non-specific and do not really narrow things down without being able to examine the cat. It may be as simple as an infection or an abscess which your vet should be able to fix easily or it may be more complicated. Take your cat to the vet and hopefully he will be able to sort this out for you.

Hi,
I'm looking for some advice, my 3 yr old female cat was in a fight with a larger male this evening, it sounded and looked a nasty fight, the male was on top biting/scratching, then she tried to climb a fence and he grabbed her tail/rear leg area pulled her down and fought again, I ran towards them and he ran off.
My cat is on my daughters bed, she hasn't moved, seems to be in a state of shock, glased eyes, very listless, growls if I touch her below the shoulder area. There is no blood, when she tries to move she clearly limps and can't put any weight on her left rear leg.
I have decided if she gets worse this evening I'll take her to the emergency vet. If she improves tomorrow can you provide me with any advice on how I can help her. Should I comfort her or give her space to be in a quiet and peaceful environment?

Many Thanks,
David.

You are quite right that she may just be in shock from the whole traumatic experience but it does sound like she took a bit of a beating so I suspect she may have some wounds or bruising. Cats are best left alone for awhile after something like that - they don't go for the tea and sympathy thing much. Of course if there is an obvious serious problem then you should take them to the vet not sit staring at them. In this case leaving things to the next day to see what the aftermath is would be fair. When another cat jumps on their back it can strain/bruise the back muscles and ligaments which can be quite uncomfortable and your vet can provide pain relief for this. The main concern is whether they have been bitten and whether the bite will turn into an abscess - some do, some don't. If an abscess is brewing your cat will usually go off her food within 24 hours and then if you get some antibiotics into her before a true abscess forms then things clear up very straightforwardly. Once the abscess forms this needs to be opened up to let the pus drain out and then the wound needs regular cleaning, as well as antibiotics, so it becomes more expensive at the vets! As a general rule I would say that if the cat is off her food the next day, lethargic or uncomfortable then an abscess is probably brewing and the vet can just give an antibiotic injection which will last 48 hours and probably sort things out without much fuss. One way of looking at it is that it is cheaper to get the antibiotics early than wait for an abscess to form, but as I said earlier an infection may not set in and your trip to the vet may not have been necessary but I suppose it is better to be safe than be much more out of pocket 3 days later.

hi i have a 10 week old kitten that we found in the back of our out side firdge, its having trouble breathing and meowing( its like he has half lost his voice) , he keeps moving around as if he cant get comfortable. he has had a lot to drink but still seems thirsty, he wont eat, also he is staying close to warm things like our heater. what do you think???

A kitten of this age that is not eating will quickly become very sick. Also if it is having trouble breathing then this could be a chest infection, or many other things. It is best to see a vet asap.

Can you tell me what's wrong with my cat? She is a persian mix, 15 years old, and is an indoor cat. Lately, she's been walking as if she were disoriented and is off balance. Also her left ear is lopsided showing that she has something in it. I cleaned her ears just yesterday but she is still showing signs of discomfort. Please help

Thank you,
Mallory

This could either be an ear problem like an infection that may have perforated the eardrum, or it could reflect a problem with the brain like a cerebrovascular accident or tumour. You need to see the vet so he can differentiate between the two. Hopefully it is just an ear problem and can be sorted quite easily.

My cat has been showing agression towards me - not other family members. He has jumped at me and bitten several times over the past month or two. He did have worms, and was treated several weeks ago. I have been watching carefully, and do not see any rice grain looking evidence since he was treated. He also has vomited 3 or 4 times in the past month. I can't afford expensive vet care, and if the agression continues I worry that he will harm someone else, and I'm beginning to be scared of him. Any obvious thing going on with him?

The cat's aggression may reflect the fact that it feels unwell or is in pain but since the aggression is directed at you and not anyone else then this is more likely to be behavioural. Have you done something to upset the cat - cats have long memories if you have and can be spiteful. Have a good think back to when this started and see if you can remember doing anything that may have upset the cat - it could be something that was an accident like treading on the cat's tail. Try and spend more time with the cat, make sure you feed it rather than anyone else and generally do things to repair your relationship. Hopefully this may resolve the problem.

my cat hasn't eaten anything for the past 4 or 5 days and we took her to the vet and they said that if she didn't eat by the end of the 3rd day that we would have to force feed her. We force feed her and she went to that bathroom and had a really smelly really bad looking stool, she hasn't eaten or gone to the bathroom in days so we thought she might have been constipated and feeding her and getting her hydrated and stopped the constipation. But we awoke this morning to find that she had vomited it all up. She has gotten much skinner and were worried. We had her in for blood test and everything came back fine. But we used to have 2 cats(1 cat 1 kitten) and the other one died on the 24th and it had round worm. We cleaned the hole house and kept the cats away from each other but the day we cleaned every thing and the kitten got the worm medicine within a couple of hours it was gasping for air and then passed away in my hands. What's wrong with my cat? she is a siamese female and she nuetered.

I am sorry your cat is unwell: your history is a bit confused. The main problem seems to be that the cat is not eating and some sort of infection would be the first consideration. What did your vet think was the reason your cat was not eating? Did he give any medication? How old is your cat? The second problem seems to be the kitten that died ?a few days ago? Worms should not have killed it so it is possible the kitten had an infection that has spread to your other cat. Normal blood tests unfortunately mean nothing. Is your cat vaccinated? Unfortunately without more information it is almost impossible to give advice - if you can answer my questions I may be able to be more helpful.

We inheritted a male cat, nuetered five years ago when we rented a house..........it came in and never left so we really don't know how old he is but I asume he is about 9 years old. He has always been very active, a night owl and good hunter. At present he is just sleeping a lot, his fur is falling out in little patches and when I rub my hands over him, his skin feels very scabbie. We don't have a lot of money and the vet is so expensive I am afraid if I take him there I will end up having to put my precious Sooty down because I can't afford all the vet fees. Any suggestions?????

My cat is 9 almost 10 years old and lately she has been very odd. Usually she's a very quiet nice cat. Lately she has been pacing around and meowing hissing and growling. She won't come near me and her heart has been racing a lot. It worries me because it's not like her. Please help? She hides in dark places and I'm not sure if she's been eating or anything. I'm very worried.

Sandy
This is probably what we call feline miliary dermatitis and the commonest cause is fleas - make sure you are using and effective flea treatment and treat the house if necessary. It can also be caused by a variety of allergies but usually responds well to corticosteroids - your vet can either give you tablets which are very cheap or an injection of depo steroid which will last 2-6 weeks. The cost of treatment really should not justify euthanasia as an alternative.

Lizzie

This is suspicious of an overactive thyroid in a cat of this age- is your cat losing weight? A blood test can diagnose this. Alternatively this may be a sign your cat is in pain/unwell or it may be behavioural. I would suggest you get the cat examined by a vet to narrow down the diagnosis.

Hi, my cat as not been eating for 2 days and been sick. She also sounds like she's sneezing all the time ! Help please

This sounds like a respiratory infection. Perhaps you would find veterinary attention helps sort things out?

please help, my male 14 year old cat is usually very active for his age with a good appetite. from yesterday afternoon it changed he can hardly move at all for some reason he has no strength in his back legs and when i tried to pick him up to move him by his food bowl he did a really high pitched meow as though he was trying to tell me to leave him alone.Oviously me touching and putting pressure on the rear of his body really hurts him.As i say this seems to have come on very quickly as yesterday am he was out in the garden.I am really worried so would be greatful of your help regardin this thank you.

Hi,

today whilst sroking my 5 year old cat i noticed three small spots/lumps on his tummy the size of a ball pen tip, they are white the same colour as his fur but also look a bit scabby i'm unsure what they may be? i have also noticed he appears to have lost weight, he was a house cat but a few months ago we moved home and he now spends some time outside he has become very withdrawn and keeps himself to himself so unsure how long these smalls lumps have been there. any suggestions what this maybe or is it just the change in his enviornment. unsure whether this is serious enough for a visit to the vet or not?

many thanks

Jodashanne

This could be due to a blood clot stopping oxygen getting to the back legs or it could reflect damage to the spine, pelvis or limbs; possibly a cat bite at the back end but what you describe seems a bit extreme for that. In any event you say it really hurts so you need to see a vet for pain relief at the very least, the vet can then assess what is causing the problem. Leaving clots and spinal injuries reduces the chance of them responding to treatment.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2011 08:29PM by MarkRicher.

Emma

I am not exactly sure what these are but the description makes me think they might just be an area of injured or infected skin - little pimples really. I doubt they are a big deal.

I dont know why my 12 year old over wieght female cat is not eating? She is a outdoor/indoor cat. I find her sometimes munching on grass when she is outside.
She hasn't had any cat food to eat in 5 days, only sipps on water. She also has not had a bowel movement in 5 days, when she tries to go to the bathroom she cries. I did notice some pus and a very bad odour around her anus, and now has cleared up some bit.Also her nose is not moist, its on the dry side. When I try to put food in front of her, even her treats, she will have a hurl or dry heaves and walks away.

Thank you,
Sandra

Unfortunately you do not really give much to go on here but if she has not eaten for 5 days then this can really start to upset the liver amongst other organs. You really need to get her examined by a vet.

last week my 3yr old cat went to the vet to have tests done as wasn eating or drinking also didnt want to come into the house seemed to be paranoid; she had same tests about 6 months ago nothing found both times. since shes been home this time she seems to have had a personality change where as before was quite independant now is very clingy on our laps all the time. this didnt happen when she went the first time.we just wondering why she has changed thanks ...june

I expect the stressful visit to the vet has worried the cat that she might have to go back again and this is her way of showing you she would rather be at home with you.

hi,

Yesterday my 2 and a half year old cat started to smell really bad and today when she came in the smell was even worse, she doesnt apear to have any wounds on her and is still active and seems to to be eating and drinking