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Why is my cat not eating, drinking, lethargic, and breathing fast?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | neutered

My indoor/outdoor cat just stopped eating and drinking for the last 2 days. Sleeps all day and just gets up to either go hide or to use the litter box(once so far). He breathes in shorter breaths than usual. Has he been poisoned or just sick? Is it too late for him to live through this?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Makenzie Kurth, DVM

Answered By Makenzie Kurth, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 27th, 2018

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I’m sorry to hear about Luke. There is no way to tell what’s going on without examining him but some common possibilities are: a cat bite wound/ abscess, kidney disease, pancreatitis, something stuck in the GI tract, heart disease, diabetes, and others. Take Luke into the vet tomorrow. He or she will ask many more questions, do a physical exam, and rank these in order of most likely depending on those findings as well as his age, etc. He or she may recommend bloodwork which can help rule out some of those things mentioned above and may raise or lower suspicion for a toxin.

Best of luck to you and Luke.
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