My cat is acting different..

Question
My friend had found my cat about 4 years ago and i taken her in. I cant give an exact date but i do no she is not a kitten. Shes lazy and heavy for a female. She has excess skin under her stomach. (i think she was pregnant before) one thing that she has always done was meow at me when she sees me. I figure this is her way of communicating. Yesterday my dad mentioned to me that she might be sick because she wasnt eating or drinking and all she was doing was sitting on the couch. I had also noticed that her poop was a very light brown/beige. my dad thinks she might have gotten into something but also, her pupils are bigger than usual, the way she is meowing it sounds completely different like she is upset or in pain. i dont know whats wrong with her but she is acting very weird..is she sick?

Answer
Jade,

Based on your description it sounds as though the cat may be quite sick. I'd recommend that she be evaluated and treated by a qualified vet immediately. Since cats typically hide illness or injuries instinctively the fact that there is such a noticeable change in this cat's behavior and demeanor likely means she's much sicker than she looks. This is a situation where the sooner she can be seen by a vet the better the outcome will be because there's no way of knowing how long she's been sick or what's wrong with her unless she's evaluated by a vet. This cat could potentially be in quite a bit of pain based on your description mentioning that her pupils are dilated quite a bit and she's sounding like she's in pain. Some possibilities for what could be wrong include poisoning (which may have been intentional if she's allowed outdoors, some people hate cats and treat them as vermin), a serious infection in her body, ingestion of a foreign body that's caught in the stomach or digestive tract, dehydration secondary to refusing to eat or drink, organ failure or other potentially significant health problems. I would suggest that this cat sees a veterinarian immediately, waiting may cost her her life if there's a serious medical problem. Your vet may possibly want to do x-rays, blood work, place an IV catheter and rehydrate this kitty with fluids, testing urine for infection or crystals in addition to a thorough physical exam. The treatments or tests recommended by your vet will depend on what s/he thinks is going on with your cat's health and what her history is. In light of your description and your father's observations any number of serious things could be happening with this cat and I would treat her health crisis as an emergency because sometimes time is everything when it comes to finding out what's wrong with a cat. If your family uses rodenticides, pesticides, antifreeze or other toxic chemicals I would recommend that you bring the containers along to the vet just in case you think she may have gotten into something poisonous - if this is the case treatments vary based on the suspected poison. If you have any reason to suspect that your cat may have gotten into over the counter or prescription medicines intended for use in people I would recommend bringing the original bottles so that the vet can rule these substances out. If you regularly play with your cat using string, ribbons, shoelaces or similar items it's possible that she may have eaten something along those lines which would potentially cause injuries to her digestive tract that would require major surgery to address and repair. I would be interested in hearing what your vet diagnoses, it may help me to help other pet parents in the future. This situation with your cat sounds like an emergency and I realize that in some cases finances can be an obstacle to proper vet care. If your financial situation is such that paying for vet care is difficult or impossible I do keep a list of charities and other resources that may be able to help you out with the cost of treatment. Obviously due to the number of resources it isn't practical for me to list all of them each time that someone needs them so I'd recommend that if you need these types of resources you write me back with the general area you're writing from and I'll do my best to help you find the help that you need.