Sick Mogy...

[Dougie69]

One of my colleagues cats is ill. Apparently he mews every time he tries to eat. She's taken him to the vet, who thought his teeth were needing treatment. He's since been in and had them seen to but still isn't right. The vet told her that he had slight "thickening of the gut" whatever that is. He's 13 years old and in good physical condition. My colleague also reckons he's lost a bit of weight, which is probably unsurprising if he's having trouble eating.

Any help or advice I could give her would be appreciated. (I've already told her she must take him back to the vet, but her reason for not doing so is that she's scared it's something serious and wouldn't get him back.)

[drgnrdr]

Yes she needs to go back to the vet, my in-laws had a cat that was acting strange and I kept telling them to take it in, when they finally did it was something they could of treated but had gone on for to long and had to put the cat to sleep, I wanted to tell them off, but did not, they were just afraid of what IF? At 13 it could be any thing, the vet should have been more informative, he may have been but your colleague may not have given you the full story. He could have an ulcer forming on his gum, loose teeth, to his hearing may be going.....Have no idea what "thickening of the gut" is, must be a technical term? Unless it's a nice way to say getting fat? Who knows...I am sure others will have an opinion on here, stay tuned...

[Eels]

I think your colleague should call the vet for a chat - both to get further information and to arrange another examination. There are a number of reasons why an older cat may have these problems. Only by getting a diagnosis will they be able to treat the problem!

Many people worry that they won't get their animal back - but the decision to call it a day and put an animal to sleep is the owners' decision, and the vet will not euthanase an animal without the owners' full consent. On the other hand, they may not want to hear bad news, but if the vet finds a problem that suggests the cat is suffering, at least the cat won't have to endure continuing pain.

[veritymoon]

did they do blood test before he had his ga?

he needs to go back and have a check they may have left a bit of root in the gum making it uncomfortable to eat but he needs to be checked overto rule out anything else.

[Dougie69]

Yes, he's had blood tests and nothing showed up. Thanks for your answers, I'll pass them on and keep trying to persuade her to take the cat to the vet.