My old cat is sick, not eating, hiding, gagging, and immobile. Help!

These signs are probably not due to old age alone and there is likely something going on with Shadoe. Unfortunately, without a full physical exam and diagnostic testing, it is not possible to determine what could be causing these signs. However, lethargy and eating and drinking very little along with weight loss are very concerning signs that warrant a visit to the veterinarian. Here are some resources that will hopefully help you afford a vet for Shadoe: 1) You can see if your vet accepts payment plans. 2) Look for a low cost clinic in your area 3) Try to apply for Care Credit online (www.carecredit.com) 4) There is an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants (redrover.org) 5) Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website (bestfriends.org)

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Willow did not have her blood tested when she was in for her exam I would highly recommend having the vet pull a blood sample and check to see if she has any abnormal values. Kidney disease is something we quite commonly see in older cats and this certainly could be the cause of the vomiting / decreased appetite. The sooner her blood is tested the better and the faster you will know what is going on with her. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

The type of symptoms you are reporting combined with Keaca's age is definitely a cause for concern. While lethargy and anorexia are very non-specific symptoms, there are definitely a couple of conditions that come to mind (particularly in an overweight cat). Some of the things I would think of include liver or kidney issues, pancreatitis, diabetes, and certain types of cancer involving the gastrointestinal tract. I think a good start to find out what may or may not be wrong would be to take Keaca in for a physical exam and to have some baseline blood work obtained. This will provide you with some information to rule out several of the conditions I mentioned above. If they are not able to make any determination from that information, some diagnostic imaging may be indicated (x-rays or ultrasound). Hope this helps and that Keaca is feeling better soon!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite and lethargy can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Gimli evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

These symptoms can be caused by a range of diseases, and are often accompanied by severe dehydration. Without an exam and some testing, I can't make a diagnosis, and it is illegal for us to make specific recommendations on medications. You should call your local vet for further advice.

Poor Garfield. At age 17 that is an awful lot going on and I'd be worried there is an underlying issue such as kidney or organ failure, disease, etc. Since he's so old and is having so many symptoms, it's best to bring him to your vet ASAP. They will likely want to run a few tests such as bloodwork or an X-ray to check his organ function, etc. If you can, bringing in urine or stool samples can also help with any testing and help streamline the process. Until you can get the vet, keeping him as comfortable as possible and keeping his eyes and nose clear with a clean washcloth can help. Some cats also do better eating if they can smell the food, so warming up his food or adding some boiled chicken that is smelly may encourage him to eat a little until you can be seen.

I believe these very general symptoms are very worrying, i cannot tell you what is the cause as there are many options but i strongly advise that you take him to the vet urgently to have a blood test done and get this checked.