Why is my cat eating strange things, always hungry, and panting?

Oh my. She could have a number of things causing these symptoms including an underlying heart condiiton, pyometra (spontaneous infected uterus, only seen in cats that are not spayed), or even a viral infection. I would highly recommend getting some blood testing done first to help us know what is going on internally so that we know what she needs to hopefully recover from this. I would take her in to your local vet right away, b/c she sounds very ill and won't get well without medical attention. I hope that your pet Billjeet feels better soon. Best wishes and take care.

Poor Precious! It sounds like she's quite sick. Open-mouth breathing or "panting" in cats is not normal, and usually indicates a serious breathing problem or some type of severe stress. Acting lethargic and not eating are very vague symptoms that could be caused by almost any kind of illness, so it's hard to say what might be going on without being able to examine her and run some tests. It does sound like this may be a life-threatening problem, so I would recommend taking her to the vet today to be seen. If your regular veterinarian doesn't have Saturday hours, I would take her to your nearest emergency clinic. The vet there can do blood work, x-rays, or other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem and see what kind of treatment is needed.

Your kitten will need to have an exam by your veterinarian. She could be suffering from a congenital malformation of the blood vessels near the heart or have a hole in the septum of the heart. This would often not show when the kitten is resting, but when it exercises, runs and plays there is not enough oxygen being pumped to the lungs and muscles because oxygenated and used up blood mixes. Problems often do not occur until 3-4 months of age. Please make an appointment with your vet for an exam.

You're right that it can be normal to see short periods of panting after active play or other exercise, especially in young cats. But, this can also be a sign of heart disease or other problems. If your kitten sometimes pants, it would be best to have him examined be a vet to make sure that his heart and lungs are normal. If no problems are found, then you'll know there is no need to worry :)

It sounds like Keeda has had a pretty thorough workup. With the bronchial pattern being seen on x-rays and a normal echo, it sounds like primary respiratory disease might be the cause. If an infectious disease panel has not been performed to look for toxoplasmosis or parasites like lungworms or heartworm you may want to ask about ruling these diseases out although Keeda's symptoms certainly don't seem typical. If your veterinary team feels like all avenues have been exhausted you may want to consider a second opinion at a university hospital if there is one near you - sometimes learning institutions see the rare cases or have access to other testing.

The skin twitching and running can be a sign of fleas or skin irritation, and occasionally cats will display an extreme version of this with feline hyperesthesia syndrome. The open mouth breathing is a little concerning - this is usually a sign of cardiac or respiratory disease although occasionally some cats will breathe with their mouths open when they are very excited. If you see any labored breathing or the open mouth breathing continues I’d recommend seeing an emergency veterinarian.

I would recommend getting her in sooner than February. Weight loss usually means something more than just not liking a new food, such as intestinal parasites, endocrine disorder (such as hyperthyroidism), kidney disease, etc. The greasy coat could be from the lack of grooming (either because she doesn't feel well or it is too painful to do so - oral pain or arthritis), but could also be cause by hyperthyroidism. Here is some helpful info on hyperthryoidism in cats: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=516