Help -- I think my cat is sick!

I'd recommend calling a vet and getting an estimate for seeing your cat. If the price is too high, ask the vet where the most economical place to go would be. An alternative to this would be to force feed the cat. My wife figured out a way to do this that saved the life of one of our cats that the vet had given up on. Buy some canned cat food that has a liguid gravy in the can with the primary food stuff. We found some made by Friskies that had this, but I'm sure others do. Use the plastic throwaway part of a disposable hypodermic that has had the "sharp" thrown away. Suck up the "gravy" with the hypo and squirt it down the cat's throat. We had a cat with a fever that quit eating. The vet kept trying to save the cat but nothing worked. Since what was killing the cat was sever loss of weight from not eating, she figured out how to force feed the cat. It saved her life. This should be tried after talking to the vet.

She could just be coming down with a cold. Cats get them too. Just watch her, make sure she is drinking and if she develops a fever, or doesn't drink anything for 24 hours, get her to a vet. Most are willing to take pyments

You can try force feeding like a few have said, but please don't give her any aspirin...It is deadly to cats. Check her mouth to besure she doesn't have any mouth snores as that can be a problem of why she isn't eating. Also is she up to date with her shots?? That is so important now days. I know what you mean on the cost of going to a Vet but you also call them and get some ideas for Free. But really you should take her to a Vet as it is so touchy on what to give a cat...We lose our Big Boy a year ago, he wouldn't eat, started to lose weight and wouldn't come out with us much..We took him to the Vet and had blood work done, his kidneys had failed and a few other things wrong. He was 14 years old. No way would he let us force feed him, he also had snores in his mouth. So we did what we had to do and that was to put him to sleep. That was the hardest thing we had to do. But we do now have a sweet little girl who is fitting in with the family now soooo good. We had to get another one as she is company and friends with our Mini Schnauzer....

Hi Grace...I truly hope you did NOT administer your cat any aspirin as this can be very lethal to cats as they metabolize human medications much differently than dogs and humans. Please see the following information to learn more: http://www.petplace.com/cats/aspirin-toxicity-in-cats/page1.aspx When cats act lethargic and show a lack of appetite this seriously warrants concern. The other fact you mentioned her nose pad is pale indicates she is dehydrated and anemic so this could be indicative of kidney failure (CRF). Kidneys produce red blood cells and regulate blood pressure. This is very life-threatening and truly merits an EMERGENCY trip to the VETERINARY hospital Senior cats are even more compromised since they commonly develop age-related disorders such as chronic renal failure (CRF), hyperthyroidism, diabetes, etc. Furthermore cats shouldn't have any milk because cats lack the digestive enzymes to break down lactose (sugars found in the milk) causes diarrhoea and the end result is dehyration which the pale noise also indicates. Please see the following article about why cats should not drink milk: http://www.cat-world.com.au/CatMilk.htm Source: 27 year friendship with a veterinarian

I, agree with the rest, to call a vet. Usually when a cat is lethargic and not eating something is usually wrong with the cat that merits an exam. Cats will usually hide their illnesses because of instinct. If she is showing symptoms, she really needs to be seen because she is at a point where she feels so bad, she can't hide it any longer (that's my experience with my cats). Whenever they have showed symptoms of being sick, they were and needed medication. You could try calling the Humane Society in your area for low cost vets. Hope your little one feels better soon.