Sad Senior Cat Not Eating , Vomiting and Weak

Our question this week was:

I am fostering a senior cat who is not eating. I took him in a week ago after his previous “parents” brought their newborn home and decided they could no longer afford this sweet guy’s food. The past few months, he has been eating only wet holistic food (previously had been eating dry, grocery store brand but couldn’t keep it down). He is currently with two other cats who eat dry holistic food. He seems interested in it, but we find that he throws up a lot. He seems very depressed and reluctant to do anything (maybe he just doesn’t have the energy!). Is there something I can add to his wet food? I will try a different brand of wet food to see if his interest peaks. His gums are healthy looking and wet.

Nauoda Robinson

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. I am always very concerned about cats that won’t eat. Anorexia is one of the first signs of illness in cats. The combination of symptoms that you cat has – not wanting to eat, vomiting, depressed, lethargic is very concerning. I am worried that there is some sort of underlying medical condition creating these signs.

I’d recommend that you take him to your veterinarian for evaluation. They may want to start with some simple blood tests and a urine test to help determine his overall health. I’d be concerned that he could have kidney failure, diabetes, cancer, a thyroid disorder among other things.

An article that might be helpful to you is on our Petplace.com is Diseases that Can Cause Anorexia in Cats.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra