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October 10, 2008 10:52 PM

Dehydration, lethargy, and horrible bad breath in a six year old cat. What are the potential problems

We have a six year old mixed breed cat we adopted about 5 years ago that seems to be incredibly sick all of the sudden and I'm looking for some ideas on what could be wrong. We took her to the vet today and are waiting on test results before any conclusions on what's wrong with her. I'm hoping to get some ideas to discuss with the vet in case the test results are inconclusive.

History:
We adopted this cat almost six years ago from the local Dumb Friends League. She is an extremely loving mixed breed (unknown, found on street) de-clawed black cat and she was estimated to be a year at most. She had her full round of shots and has been completely healthy as long as we've had her. We've been a bit lax on getting her vaccines but she was seen by a vet last four years ago and was fully up to date on shots then and had no health issues.

Problem:
About 3 weeks ago we noticed her breath to be even fouler than normal. Going from "She has bad breath" comments to "Keep her out of the room" smell. We figured she needed her teeth cleaned and were looking at vets to take her too in the near future.

In the last few days she has suddenly become extremely lethargic and seems to have dropped weight. We have two other cats in the household who all eat the same food in the same dish but we assume she's stopped eating. She's also extremely dehydrated and hypothermic (lower temperature than normal) according to the vet.

Other potentially relevant data:
We just moved to a new house about four weeks ago and there is another cat in the household (total of three cats). All three cats are strictly indoors only and are up to date on vet checks/vaccinations.

So hive mind, what are the potential problems we may be facing? Obviously she may pass but what all should we be considering as far as outcomes?

posted by Octoparrot to pets & animals (7 comments total)

What did the veterinarian say about her teeth? It's not uncommon for a cat to have a tooth absess (which smells like hell warmed over) and the pain can throw them off of their food. And once a cat stops eating, they can actually starve themselves into kidney and liver failure.

I'm assuming though that the vet examined the teeth first thing, which is why knowing their findings could be helpful. What sort of tests were run, as well?
posted by internet!Hannah at 10:59 PM on October 10, 2008

Thanks for the fast response.

No tooth absess although there was some sort of sore under her tongue I forgot to mention. They commented that her teeth were fine. My wife also mentioned that she was laying with her just today and she was fine until she "burped" and suddenly there was a horrible stench.

Also, the stench is directly related to her breath and not her fur or body in general.

The vet mentioned something about the possibility of her eating string and it being only partially swallowed although they couldn't physically see anything. This cat is partial to eating random things like string.
posted by Octoparrot at 11:03 PM on October 10, 2008

Diabetes?
posted by naturesgreatestmiracle at 2:38 AM on October 11, 2008

I meant to include this link.
posted by naturesgreatestmiracle at 2:40 AM on October 11, 2008

Seconding diabetes. This exact thing happened to my mom's cat this summer. Now they give her a shot every day, but she's tolerating it well, and has perked up and is feeling much better.
posted by kimdog at 6:56 AM on October 11, 2008

In addition to diabetes, bad breath, lack of appetite, weight loss and lethargy are also symptoms of feline kidney disease (CRF, or chronic renal failure) .
posted by lovermont at 8:32 AM on October 11, 2008

Is your cat at the vets now?

If the vet has said that the cat is extremely dehydrated and hypothermic and she isn't at the vets in a heated cage on IV rehydration therapy now, then she probably needs to be. Similarly with the speculation that she might have swallowed some string - has the vet done full body X rays? If not, these need to be done. Pronto.

Foul breath, loss of appetite, loss of weight, lethargy could point to any one of a huge number of problems - anything from a simple sinus infection to IBD, diabetes, calici virus, feline infectious peritonitis, acute renal failure, liver disease or a whole world of feline cancers are possible. I'm not intending to frighten you, just to illustrate that at this stage, speculation on your part is unlikely to help you, your cat or the vet. I do understand that it's only natural for you to want to solve the problem. Try making some detailed notes and a timeline of her recent health problem and behaviour and give the information to the vet. Sometimes clues reveal themselves with a pen and paper that are easily omitted when you are at the vets with a very sick animal.

You do need to be sure that the vet has performed a full range of tests (biochemistry, haematology, parasitology, virology) and has examined the results before you start looking for possibilities yourself. If and when the vet tells you there are no conclusive results, if and when treatment of the symptoms yields no improvement, and after you have consulted via referral with a veterinary medical specialist, that is the time for you to start seeking possibilities yourself.

All the best to you and your cat, I hope there is a happy outcome for all.
posted by Arqa at 8:51 AM on October 11, 2008