I'm not sure if this is the right forum or not, but I couldn't find any others that pertained to animals where members seemed to be active, so I thought I'd try this one.

My cat seems to be getting increasingly ill with diarhea, frequently vomitting, having trouble eating, and sleeping quite a bit more than usual. I'm not sure if it's just because he is getting older (he's either 13 or 14 years old) or not. My mom insists that taking him to the vet will just leave us running hundreds of dollars worth of tests, so I thought I'd try the internet first.

Also, any suggestions for special foods or recipes for his sensitive stomach would be appreciated!

Thanks. :angel:

This is not normal cat behavior, even for an older cat like yours. You really need to take him to the vet pronto. I don't want to scare you, but things can take bad turns really quickly.

Maybe you can offer to help pay for vet bills or something from your allowance or doing housework if your mom is unwilling to pay.

How long has this been going on? Has the cat gotten into anything lately such as snail bait or other chemicals?

Unless it's something obvious like that, get to a vet. It's a myth that going to the vet will cost you hundreds of dollars.

We thought our pup was showing symptoms of Parvo. We called a vet at home and had him test our pup at 9:30 on a Saturday night. He was neg, thankfully. The bill was less than $100.

The vet will find out what you're dealing with and you can go from there.

He needs to have tests done. That is the only way you'll be able to get a proper diagnosis. The symptoms you've listed can be a result of any number of things. Top of suspects on my list would be the start of various organ failure, for which he'll need medication and proper treatment. Yes, it'll probably cost a couple hundred dollars. But seriously, would you rather spend that money finding out what's wrong or paying for his euthanasia?

He needs blood work and xrays. No question.

Thanks everyone!! I forwarded the link to my mom so that we can get him all fixed up. :)