My 20-year-old cat is sick, not eating, and I'm leaving town. Help!

If 22 years of age is accurate, that is definitely very old. While cats can live considerably longer than dogs, that is still pretty far past the average lifespan. That being said, I would still advocate taking her into the vet to be examined to see if anything can be done to either make her more comfortable, or to offer you some information as to her quality of life moving forward. Some of the most common issues we see in older cats include kidney disease, thyroid disease, lymphoma (particularly of the gastrointestinal tract), and liver problems. Some of these are addressed with medication while others are far less treatable. I certainly wouldn't advocate just letting her go at home. If anything, if they feel she is in pain then they can make her transition much more peaceful. Hope this makes sense.

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)

Unfortunately there may not be anything you can do for Matt at home except to try to offer him tasty foods and encourage him to eat and drink. The fact that he has lost weight indicates that he may have an ongoing disease process. Many things can cause weight loss including kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, parasites, cancer and other causes as well. The only way to know for certain what is happening is if physical exam and blood work. Other diagnostics may also be needed. Most health conditions are best addressed early and need to be for the best prognosis. You may look into financing with a company like Care Credit or Scratch Pay. You can go online to find information about these companies and requirements. Certainly try to get a ride from friends and family. Other services may also be available like rideshare. I hope this helps and best of luck.

CJ really needs a vet visit when you can manage it. In older cats hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease are possibilities and require bloodwork to diagnose. The good news is many of the conditions can be treated or managed but you need a diagnosis in order to determine the best treatment. Some areas may have low cost clinics or many vets accept Care credit http://www.carecredit.com/apply/ I would contact local humane societies to see if they can offer any suggestions. Some have programs that may help with vet bills. Good luck and thank you for using PetCoach.

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.

I am very sorry to hear about Skylee. Unfortunately in an older cat there are a large number of conditions which could cause lethargy, nausea, and anorexia. I would strongly recommend taking him in to see the veterinarian as soon as possible. A good physical examination may help them get a better idea of possible causes. Most likely they will want to do bloodwork to check for signs of kidney disease, liver disease, infection, or anemia. They may recommend x-rays depending on his examination and history. It is best to have older pets acting ill in this way checked out soon so that if there is a serious disease we can start treatment as quickly as possible.

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!