posted 08-24-2003 07:28 PM         

she may not like the type of food we give her (fancy feast), no dry food because she doesn't seem to eat it. If this is the case would there be any food brands to recommend?

there's another cat in our neighborhood which constantly comes over and "hangs out" in our yard and has even come into our house before. In their confrontations the other cat seems to meow quite friendly yet my cat is terrified and makes the strange almost "moo" like sound and hisses. Could the presence of this cat have affected mine? I've heard of depression in animals but I doubt this is the case.

She also appears to be more lethargic than usual, including walking slow and not responding occasionaly.

Do these symptoms appear familiar to anyone? We're thinking of taking her to a vet very soon just to check her out. Or am I just being overly paranoid and she's just becoming an old cat.

posted 08-24-2003 09:08 PM         

I think you should get your cat tested by a vet asap. She will need blood tests at least. You have listed several symptoms that show the cat is suffering from something, and it sounds life threatening to me.

Something you should know about cats is they are very good at hiding their illnesses so there are proberly other symptoms you haven't seen or haven't realised are important. Also by the time owners realise their cat is sick the illness is often quite progressed and needs attention.

As a rule of thumb any change in eating (more food or less, or timing and amounts), drinking, toilet etc show there is a change and attention needs to be given to see if there is a problem. Weight loss is a definate problem.

Also, eight isn't old for a cat, and anyway old age isn't a disease.

posted 08-26-2003 04:30 PM         

Well I just got back from the vet and I can't say the news is very good. We were informed by the vet that she has a significant sized "mass" on her left side near her kidney and intestines. While he told us there was a possiblity in it being an inflamed kidney, he did not know exactly and also emphasized the "worst case scenario. The only way we could know what it is though, he said, was to get an actual sample of the mass. I do not want to subject my cat to the pain of being cut open. Are there any other options which are open to me? No blood tests were taken though, I find that a bit strange.

I edited what I wrote before because took some time thinking and I realize that I'll try to do as much as I can to keep my cat healthy. While trying to look around for my cat's symptoms I found this article, which seemed to me pretty interesting
http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/201/300/cdn_medical_association/cmaj/vol-153/is sue-5/0621.htm

Could this be a possible situation with my cat? I also want to know how expensive the X-ray's would be and if I should go through with them, which I highly presume I should. The problem is I'm worried about my cat and the psychological strain which all these tests would put her through. I'm sort of torn right now because my parents do not want to spend the money on all the tests and want her to just to live her life as it is and make it enjoyable. But I'm stuck because I'll always be wondering if it was just a simple fix. I myself do not have the money to pay for it. Please suggest me some options.

----

I've done some follow up research on possible disorders my cat has and I've come up with three possible ones.
Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies- http://webcenter.petplace.aol.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=2498

or

Renal Lymphosarcoma
Renal (Kidney) Neoplasia http://webcenter.petplace.aol.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=4602 http://webcenter.petplace.aol.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=2235

I'm hoping it's the first one. However, I'm going to do my best to get my cat tested.