My 17-year-old cat is wobbling, licking, and peeing outside the box. Why?

This wobbly gait is called ataxia. It can be caused by trauma, neurological disorders, endocrine imbalances, nutritional deficiency or infection. Sister should be examined by your veterinarian to diagnose illness or injury. Bloodwork (CBC, chemistry/thyroid panels, urinalysis) and x-rays may be indicated after a physical exam.

Zoie very likely has arthritis, which may make it painful to get into her litter box and/or squat to have a bowel; movement. She may also be suffering from a typical old cat disease, such as hyperthyroidism or kidney disease. Both of those are easily diagnosed with a simple blood test. Diabetes can also cause weight loss, as can severe dental disease. Please take your kitty to your vet for a geriatric exam. You may also want to make it easier for your kitty to enter her litter box. The bigger the box the better and it should have a low entrance.

Your kitty needs to be seen by a vet. These are concerning symptoms in an older cat. They can become dehydrated very easily. Not eating can be caused by numerous things including things with the gi tract itself and diseases of any other organ system (kidneys, liver, etc). Your vet can perform an exam and then likely will recommend starting with bloodwork +/- xrays. This is the best plan to figure out what is going on and to get your kitty feeling better. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor kitty! In a 13 year old cat, I strongly suspect that she has a medical problem causing these issues. Some common possible causes would include hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. I would recommend taking her to the vet for an exam as soon as you are able to - he/she can do blood work and a urinalysis to help diagnose the problem and get her started on appropriate medication to treat it.

Poor Bob! He could be walking wobbly and sideways due to pain. It could be he's suffering from arthritis, and it hurts for him to walk. While it's good that he's drinking and eating, it is concerning you haven't seen him urinate. That's could be another cause of him suddenly walking funny, there could be a potential he has a blocked bladder. That would explain why you haven't seen him urinate. I would watch him very closely. If the wobbliness continues or gets worse, you see him try to urinate but nothing comes out, he strains to urinate, he cries in pain when trying to urinate, he starts vomiting, or he becomes very lethargic, you will need to take him into a vet immediately. I hope this helps!

This sounds more like a respiratory infection. Losing bladder control happens also when the cat all of a sudden cannot breathe for a second. Make sure you wipe the discharge off her nose and take her to a vet (pet ER) tonight. The wobbly walk is very concerning.

Yes, you need to take Katie to the veterinarian. Weakness in the hind limbs can indicate many things ranging from hyperthyroidism to a spinal issue. A physical exam, blood work and potentially x-rays are needed for the correct diagnosis and treatment. Certain conditions, if caught early, are highly treatable. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.