My Cat Is Hungry, But Cannot Eat?

Question

Tonight I noticed my 7 yr old cat is hungry, but can't eat. With every attempt at eating, he spits up about a tablespoon of white/clear, frothy, mucousy saliva. I don't see any food in what he's spitting up, but it happens immediately after he tries to eat or even if he tries to just lick his food. He also spit up once when I picked him up and once when he was just relaxing. He still walks around, but doesn't seem interested in too much movement (totally unusual for him as he's usually VERY energetic, especially at night). If I hadn't seen him throw up, though, I wouldn't think anything was wrong (besides being a little more relaxed than usual) as his weight and his coat are fine. He also has a small bump near his left ear that looks like a bite of some sort. Larger than a flea bite, I'm thinking maybe a spider bite?

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Assuming it's a bite, what can I do to help him? I'm taking him to the vet if he's not better tomorrow, but in the meantime, what?

Answer 1

Does he cry at all when you pick him up? Is he meowing a lot in general? I know my previous cat had the same vomit thing going on as you are describing and I'm trying to jog my brain....

http://www.kittencare.com/askKC_Vomiting.html

I'm sorry. I don't remember exactly what it was. All I can reccommend is that you take your kitty to the vet in the morning. I'd also wrap a warm blanket around him just to make him more comfortable. The thing I always watch out for with my cat or with any of my pets is, that things are generally always more serious if your pets behavior is different. When your cat isn't acting normal, something is very wrong.

I hope you get some answers from your vet and I hope your kitty is better soon. :)
Hang in there.

Answer 2

Do take him to the vet in the morning, since the bump could be an abscess, but another possible diagnosis is a hairball. Once you have had him checked to see what else might be wrong, you might want to try the traditional Mexican prevention/remedy for hairballs rather than buying some expensive meds. Keep him well combed (you didn't mention if he is long-haired, but your reference to his "coat" implies that he is), and about once a week dab a little room-temp butter (not margarine) on his front paws. He will lick it off and enjoy the taste, and it will help lubricate his gastrointestinal tract.

Hairball Symptoms:

Vomiting, especially after eating. Hairballs are the number one cause of vomiting in cats.

Coughing, gagging, or hacking.

Loss of appetite.

Inability to make bowel movements.

Tube-shaped masses of hair and vomit on the floor or furniture.

P.S. Seven is not old for a cat. My current cat is ten and lively, my previous cat lived to 18 and my neighbor's cat lived to 25.

Answer 3

Glad your taking him to the vet. The bump could possibly be the start of an abscess, which may or may not be to do with why he's not eating. If it is an insect bite, it won't be involved in the not eating, insect bite reactions aren't like this.

In the meantime offer him yummy food like tuna to tempt him, and make sure he has water out at all times. He's obviously ill, but it sounds like you're getting him to the vet in good time.

Chalice

EDIT: Re: Tasha's comment: it doesn't sound like Parvo, 7 is NOT old for a cat, and cats don't get parvo.

Answer 4

If your cat had the 3 in 1 vaccine, it's not parvo.

I'd suspect a burned mouth (battery acid did this to a stray we took to the vet with this problem, he needed a cortesone shot), mouth ulcers, a broken but not completely fallen out tooth, or something inside the mouth causing extreme pain. A vet needs to do a mouth exam.

Oh, and 7 isn't 'old' it's just coming up on middle age. A senior cat is about 14 years old, with "OLD" being 17 years or older.

Answer 5

Do you live in a region that has poisonous snakes? A small snake may have gotten a nip on him/her if it's an indoor/outdoor cat. Or it may have gotten into some other type of poison (like anti-freeze) outside. I'd be concerned, to say the least.

If it's an indoor only cat then I'm at a loss, but would suggest a trip to the vet to be safe.

So sorry your pet isn't feeling well. I hope everything turns out ok. Good luck!

Answer 6

My three eat well together most of the time, but my older cat wants extra sometimes. I lock my younger, larger pig of a cat up when my older one wants extras. He has started getting the idea that he can't eat every time the oldest eats and has started staying out of the kitchen then.

Answer 7

Get him to the vet immediately, as the others said. My fiance's father had a cat with the exact same symptoms and no one could figure out what it was and he tried a few dietary things. He finally took the cat to a specialist but it was too late. I don't remember exactly what he had but it was fatal.

Answer 8

It could be a reaction from a bug bite. It really is hard to say tho. I know for sure that it isn't Parvo. Only dogs get Parvo, cats cant get it. Until you can get him checked out, just let him have water. You could try to give him a little milk and see what he does with that. I wish I could tell you more, but, I just don't know.

Answer 9

The swelling sounds like it could be a nymph node. Which means he could be fighting an infection. He definitely needs very urgent vet care. lack of food and reduced energy means something is definitely wrong and an early finding might just save his life.

Well done for noticing the symptoms and best of luck at the vets.

Answer 10

Your vet should tell you everything you need to know. My suggestion - bad tooth, something stuck in his gullet/throat, bitten his tongue - even a twisted gut - the lump by his ear could be a bite or even a growth from his neck/throat. The ears, nose and throat are all connected including sinuses.
Hope he gets better soon