Old neglected cat?

Question

There's an old neglected cat walking around in my neighbourhood. Does anybody recognize these symptoms ?
- dry cough
- swallows very oft
- has diarea
- extremely thin
- hardly any theeth
- terrible looking fur

I think I will take him to a vet, I'm just curious about what he could have and what the costs will be. Could he have astma ? Or a throat infection ?
Thank you

Answer 1

Worms. They can be the diarrhea, the thinness (aside from not being able to compete for food), dry cough, swallowing problem. The clumpy looking fur is from malnutrition. Bad teeth and missing teeth are also part of the malnutrition.

This animal could very well clean up nicely. If you have him wormed, get him an exam, blood work and shots, and put him on a soft diet he doesn't have to chew, you could wind up with a real sweetheart.

Give it a try. I suspect the problem is simpler to solve than all the horrible symptoms appear. And you would be the biggest winner of all.

Answer 2

I find it interesting how many people are telling you that you should tell the neighbor to mind her own business. When someone posts here, "My neighbor's cat is too skinny, we think it's being neglected," everyone chimes in to advise calling animal control or the humane society, or to take the cat away. It is definitely a good idea to get the cat to the vet for a check-up, because there could be metabolic issues such as hyperthyroidism or diabetes, or dental pain, or a variety of other issues causing weight loss in your cat. Some of these things are easily treatable, and providing that treatment could extend this elderly cat's life even further. And at the very least you will be able to tell your neighbor something very polite, such as "thank you so much for your concern, but the vet said she is a perfectly healthy 19 year old cat," even though what you might really mean is "blow it out your ear, you old busy body". You know, score some style points for treating your elders graciously.

Answer 3

Dry cough could be heart problem, or something pushing on trachea. Swallowing a lot may be because he is drooling a lot, which can come from nausea or mouth sores. Diarrhea could be from any number of sources. Thin and terrible looking fur just goes along with very sick old cat. Hardly any teeth could be any older cat - they all get dental disease really badly. My guess is he's got something terminal like cancer, renal failure, or advanced hyperthyroidism. Maybe also Feline AIDS or Leukemia positive. If he's really a stray, the best thing you could do is take him to a vet. There they can give him an accurate prognosis, and if it is likely to be terminal, you can have him euthanized so that he won't suffer. Most vets if you tell them its a stray and you just want to end his suffering probably wouldn't even charge you for the euthanasia.

Answer 4

Do you know the cat is old? Is it a Tom cat?the constant swallowing thing might be a fur ball. The general health and out of condition look, might be due to fighting for food,females and/or territory, losing more fights than it wins,kidney problems or? From the way you describe it, it sounds like an old cat that has had it tough.

The vet will give you a straight answer on its condition, prognoses and chances of survival etc... pre treatment.

Your kind to have noticed him, sounds like he could do with a friend.

Answer 5

These are very general symptoms. The cat could have one or more infections, malnutrition, or even diabetes or feline leukemia. It is good that you would like to take him to a vet. The costs could really vary depending on the vet and where you are. I have met vets that would do this for free if I was planning to adopt the animal, to vets that would charge up to $200 for all the tests this cat would probably need.

Answer 6

You are a good person. God Bless and I would wish every person in this world would be so loving. Good luck and I hope it is just because he is so hungry and you can give him a loving home. Cats are lovely pets.
http://catinfo.org/ This will tell you the perfect diet for any cat.

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html pick a high protein low under 10% carb canned food. Fish no more than 1 or two meals a week if you must feed it.

Answer 7

You got great answers, just adding a thought. Let the vet know it is a stray. My vet will go cheaper on the bill when he knows about a situation like this.

This old world would be a better place if there was more people out there like you.

Answer 8

Honestly, there are so many things that it could be from something very simple (like a parasite) to something more serious like a kidney problem, cancer, thyroid condition. You won't really know unless you take him to the vet, which is a very caring and compassionate thing to do. Hope it's nothing too serious.

Answer 9

Upper respiratory infection, malnourishment, simple neglect are the first to come to mind. He would need tests to uncover some diseases. This poor guy needs a vet and some TLC like NOW! Take him soon! *pats you on the back for caring*.

Answer 10

.He may not be that old, but could have been living rough for a long time. Give him access to water, food and shelter and gain his trust before trying to catch him and take him to the vets. He will have worms and fleas which are both easily treatable