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My cat has bad breath, is weak, and won't eat or drink. What's wrong?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Siamese | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 3 months old

Cats breath smells very bad. He won't eat or drink anything. Is weak and can barley walk.

5 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 13th, 2016

Poor cat. He is very young to have so many health concerns. Your kitty's symptoms are almost indicative of "shock" symptoms and this is very concerning. Based on the severity of your cats condition I am highly recommending you take him to your vet asap for some blood tests, physical exam and medical intervention at this point to help stabilize him. I am suspicious of a congenital kidney defect here if the breathe is acidotic. I hope that you get him the care he needs soon and that he can recover from this. Best wishes!

9Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT
Licensed Veterinary Technician
He needs to be examined by your veterinarian. He may have periodontal disease or kidney disease. He is young for both but there are congenital conditions that can present at his age. At the very least, supportive care is required if he is unable to eat or drink on his own.
8Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jenny, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on January 5th, 2018
Some of these symptoms are consist with kidney diseases or ulcers and stomatitis is the mouth or a viral infection such as feline leukemia and aids. Since it is has been so long he needs to see a vet for testing and to see if he is dehydrated. They can look in his mouth and do a simple blood test to check the rest for you to determine the best course of treatments
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA
Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer
Published on December 30th, 2016
Oh dear! This is very concerning - open-mouth breathing in cats is a sign of severe respiratory distress, since they never do this under normal circumstances. This could be caused by heart disease, a severe respiratory infection, free fluid in the chest cavity, or even a lung tumor of some kind. This is a serious, life-threatening problem, so I would recommend taking your cat to an emergency vet immediately. He/she can listen to his heart and lungs to check for any abnormalities, and will also probably need to take chest x-rays to help determine what's wrong and see what can be done to treat it.
3Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on December 18th, 2016
Many conditions can cause this symptoms such as a foreign body in the GI, an infection, gum disease, kidney failure and more... You need to take him to the vet ASAP, he will need a blood test to start with, there are good chances that the diagnosis will come from there.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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