My cat is sick, what should I do?

Have you taken her to a vet to have her checked out?

I’d get her checked out by a vet before you do anything drastic.

How old is she?

[mod says] Minor typos in title corrected via internal edit.

Augustlan says: Take your kitty to the vet, please.

Go to the vet – yesterday!

Obviously take her to a vet.

Don’t euthanize her unless she’s suffering.

Is the floor cold? Do people still drop her to the floor as if she’s a healthy young cat? (That could hurt her legs and back a whole lot…. she should be placed down, not dropped down). And if she goes through phases of skinny, start feeding her high quality (Natural Balance) wet and dry food, all she wants. No more store food. But since she’s old… the transition to good food will hurt her, so just slowly switch the food in her bowl over a period of 8 weeks. Just adding a little more of the good stuff each day, and taking away a little of the bad. Definitely do not rush this.

Again, take her to the veterinarian.

Yes, please don’t just have her put down, go to the vet first so that they can find out what’s wrong, even serious looking health issues can be successfully treated and let kitty be happy and healthy again.

VET…....ASAP

THAT MEANS NOW.

i think shes sees things on the floor she stares t it the way a person would stare at another person with a gun to their head.

to see vet.

It could be the light reflecting off the floor an insect sound below the floorboards that humans can’t hear.

Or she might be going blind. We have no idea. All we can do is guess all night long.

Get her to a Vet. You need the facts. If she is blind that doesn’t necessarily mean death. Animals adapt.

But you need to have the facts. That’s what Vets are there for.

To the vet with you!
As for the floor, if she is weak and unstable she may be afraid her legs will go out from under her. Does she do better on carpet?

I’m going to have to agree with everyone here, you should take your cat to the vet. the vet will be able to tell you if they think the cat is in pain and if it might need to be put down. The cat could be having somewhat of like a vertigo type disorder. many pets in their old age develop it (my dog had it once she got old and she wouldn’t want to leave lying on her bed because the world was spinning)

definately take your cat to the vet, the vet knows best. if you dont’ like their conclusion then go to a different vet.

other than her skinny phases she is physically healthy. her legs are strong and never buckle. when she has to cross the floor she runs extraordinarily fast. she will go on the floor but not directly. like she’ll sit on a paper bag. Its weird. and she especially hates carpet. oh yeah shes 15 or 16

Do you sprinkle the carpet with carpet freshner or something that might smell weird or taste bad when she licks her paws? Are there other animals leaving a scent? Do you have a regular vet you have taken her to over the years for all her annual shots and things? Sometimes I can get a vet tech that works at my vet to answer some questions on the phone or give advice. I notice you seem hesitant to go to a vet and I know times are hard with the economy. It can be so many things. My cat has a history of pancreatitis. Changing his diet to a special food helped him a lot. Now I just have to keep the critter from eating anything else. lol. But yeah it could be a little hair ball, and nothing to worry about, or a bowel obstruction. Watch her litter box closely. I know that sounds “sick” but really the vet is always very interested if my cat hasn’t urinated as frequently or if he hasn’t had a bowel movement for a while. It can give the vet important information. If it is digestive, remember things go in one end and out the other. The vet asks questions like if the cat is eating and dreaking and going to the bathroom ok, I have learned to watch for such things because the vet always asks. This is important to help him understand what might be going on.

awwwwwww poor baby. please take her to a vet!

I agree with @escapedone7 , there may be something on the floor that she doesn’t like. I know cats sometimes hesitate to being on the floor and run across rooms quickly when there are fleas on the floor – maybe they bit her while she was on the floor and is now hesitant to touch the floor.
15 or 16 is a little old, but cats get much older than that and easily live to be past this age, so i wouldn’t be ready to just have her put down yet “just because” she’s “old”.
And it really is important to pay close attention to her, especially what goes on in her litter box and her eating habits.
But please do take her. At one point my sister didn’t have a lot of funds at her disposal and she let the vet know this, and they gave her a discount no their fees (if this may be a concern for you).

shes been like this for 3 years. we haven’t got her shots since she was 3. and we dont sprinkle anything on our floors. i think she sees something thats not there

13 years and you havent brought her to the vet. What is wrong with you.

How’s your kitty? Have you taken her to a vet yet?

No i haven’t my parents won’t take her.

My mum’s kitty had a similar experience like that before i think, where he seemed to see things that weren’t there and it scared the crap out of him. I can’t recall what was wrong with him (it may have been a fever shortly after an op he had), but he did get past it and it never recurred again. Although if it’s been happening for 3 years with your kitty, it can surely not be the same cause.
Isn’t there someone you can call to help you out with taking kitty to the vet? I’m not trying to sound mean, but your parents have a responsibility to take pets to the vet when there’s something wrong, otherwise they are not fit to allow pets to live with them. But this aside, is there not an animal organization you could maybe call and ask for assistance in having someone look at the kitty? It borders on animal cruelty to have a pet suffering and not do anything about it, i don’t understand why your parents don’t do anything… :(

Your parents won’t take your cat to the vet?!! I hope they don’t do this when you’re sick!

To them its just a cat.

Well, I guess to answer your question; nothing. There’s not much you can do if you’re not a vet and you can’t take your cat to see one.

Does anybody know whats wrong with her. is she just going senile.

I wish i could give you some advice, this whole situation makes me really sad… :(

Give her a better protein diet. She might be getting full before she gets enough nutrients.

@wolvesallaround is she better standing on carpet? If so you might lay area rugs in the paths she takes over tile or wood. She could be very weak in the legs. If you can’t go to a vet maybe describe her symptoms to a vet online like here or here

if you’re parents won’t let you bring the cat in to the vet because “it’s just a cat” then what you could do if you start feeling like her life is in danger (one of the times when she suddenly loses weight) you could call the vet and explain what’s happening with the cat. tell the vet that you’re parents don’t think she needs to be brought in so you don’t think you can bring her in. The vet should either (1) be able to tell you to hand the phone to your parents so that the vet can give them a talking to for the mistreatment of animals and express her thoughts on the importance of bringing her in when she has such a problem OR (2) The vet should be able to give you some ideas on what to do for her that might work over the phone that you can try. phone advice is free. Also it’s possible that if your parents wont’ let you bring the cat in because they dont’ want to pay for it, then the vet, if the cat’s ailment seems interesting enough the vet might do it pro-bono (free) but that’s a long stretch

PS what is your poor kitty’s name? I didn’t see her name in the question and briefly scanned the thread so far and i didn’t see her name (though i might have missed it)

Her name is Rebel. @anartist She is scarred of all floors, but most scared of carpet.

thank you all for helping

I give you all lurve