Stella is fifteen (which is probably pretty geriatric in cat years). Which makes me feel old, because I've had her since she was a kitten, and I wasn't any spring chicken when I got her.

She lives for three things--lying in my lap, clawing expensive furniture, and food.

Yesterday, she didn't show up for dinner. In fact, she didn't show up for lap, either. I didn't see her at all.

When I got home from work today, she wasn't upstairs complaining about being fed late. Indeed, she wasn't upstairs at all. I found her downstairs, lying on the floor in the middle of a bedroom.

I picked her up, and carried her up to the kitchen. Normally, she'd be crying by the cabinet in which the cans of food are kept, but she seemed indifferent. I opened a can and put food into the bowls for her and Jessica (the younger cat). She didn't eat.

I couldn't get her to drink, either. She wandered out of the kitchen, and seemed to be walking quite wobbly. She's spent most of the evening lying on one of the stairs.

I don't have a good thermometer for taking her temp, but I'm wondering if she's come down with something. It seems too sudden for her to just be getting old.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Update on Tuesday morning]

Per the advice (and I'm sure I'd have done it anyway) she's ensconced at the vet. No word yet on what the problem is. Thanks for all the good wishes.

Possible stroke. Had this happen with the cats I grew up with at that age. Look at her eyes and see if they react the same to light. See if symptoms tend to be on one side - and one part of the body. Might want to pinch her to see how she reacts.

Go to a vet tomorrow.

Speaking of cats

Our cats sniffing Mars

Our cats 'Tip' and 'Biner' sniffing a piece of ALH84001 - THE Mars meteorite (loooong story)

Thanks, Keith, but she seems to be symmetrical from an ocular standpoint. I did notice when I was holding her to look at her eyes that her abdomen seemed distended somewhat, so she may be clogged up.

I'll get her to the doc tomorrow.

Feline leukemia? It seems a bit sudden for that (from what I can remember) but the listless bit fits.

As you noted above, a visit to the doc is in order. Good luck with her.

Get her to a vet, pronto. Our cat Buddy had the same symptoms, and it turned out that he was backed up, big time. It cost almost a thousand dollars to get him fixed up -- besides being backed up to the nines, he was badly dehydrated. It took three days, ten enemas(*), and a saline IV to get him back on track.

The earlier you get the cat to a vet, the better for the cat and the cheaper it will be for you.

(*) Giving an enema to an irritable cat is my definition of a horrible job.

Get her to a Vet. If it's a terminal disease, you need to do the right thing by your cat, no matter how hard it seems to contemplate. A good Vet can help you here.

We had to put down our beloved twenty year old Russian Blue, Sal, two years ago. She wouldn't eat or drink at the end and it was a hard thing to do, but it ended her suffering.

Sounds like a blockage to me too, Rand. Just my two cents, and I hope and pray for the best.

While urinary blockage tends to occur more often in male cats (their ureters tend to be a little narrower) it can happen to female cats as well - especially older ones. The culprit often tends to be food high in ash content. Not that you want to cause the cat undue pain but of she is tender in the lower abdomen then it could be a distended bladder. But I am just guessing. Get thee to the vet.

I'm going to direct my wife to this post. We have an elderly cat who seems to have suddenly gone blind in recent months, and yesterday my wife wondered aloud if it might have been a stroke. Maybe Keith's description will reassure her on that count.

And I know my cat-loving wife will want to pray for your cat.

Cats are rather notorious for not having notable symptoms of health problems until they manifest themselves in rather notable ways - lethargy, irritability, bumping into things, staggering, etc.

I have no idea, but as a cat owner myself I extend my best wishes for Stella's speedy recovery.

If all else fails, buy a copy of "101 Uses for a Dead Cat"

-p (still mourning my cat years later)

Rand, please get your cat to the vet NOW: what you describe is an emergency. This could be liver failure, urinary trac infection, any number of things. But such extreme behavior is SERIOUS and the quicker you get her to the doctor the better off you will both be.

I saw similar symptoms in my cat a couple of weeks ago. I gave him a weekend to recover on his own?he seemed intact through Saturday, just listless?but he deteriorated fast on Sunday and by Monday morning he'd lost so much weight I only had half a cat. Turned out to be a really nasty ear infection?nothing a course of Clavamox couldn't clear up?but he was touch and go for a couple of days and he still purrs like an asthmatic tribble. Time is not your friend. She needs to see the vet.

Rand,

Glad your'e taking her to the vet. As Keith pointed out, cats have a habit of not showing symptoms of illness until late in the game - that's what happened to my mother's cat a few years ago. All of a sudden she started losing weight and acting lethargic. Turned out she had a nasty kidney infection and unfortunately it was too late at that point to save her.

Anyway, I hope Stella gets better

Rand, Please let us know as soon as you can how she's doing.