Cat acting funny

Question
Hello, my name is Scott.  I'm really hoping you can give me some advice about my cat.  I'm planning on taking him to a vet as soon as I can, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't something I could do for him first.  I have a 1 year old (neutered) male named Bubby.  One thing I'm slightly concerned about is a little ball of fat on his tummy.  He's not a fat cat.  He stays active, and doesn't eat too much, yet he's got this little ball of fat that hangs down from his belly.  I'm also greatly concerned about him the past day or two.  He's been acting a bit funny lately, hiding behind the bed (which he never does since we first got him as a shy little kitten) and not being as cuddly.  He's been pretty playful with us, except for today he doesn't seem like he wants to.  He just follows the toys with his head and seems like he just doesn't care, or he's depressed or something.  When I got home from work today my girlfriend had told me he puked up some of the food he ate.  I didn't really think too much about it, and thought maybe it was just a hairball or he got choked.  Then when she was cleaning his litter box today; (we've got a litter-box with a cover on it, because he likes to fling litter everywhere.  Usually when we clean the litter-box he jumps right in and uses it before we can even put the cover back on) He jumped in as usual, right after she finished cleaning it, and when he was pawing around for a place to urinate he just started going.  He urinated on her and then turned around and peed on the floor while still pawing through the litter.  I'm not even sure if he knew he was going, or if he just couldn't wait any longer.  It was very strange, because he's NEVER done anything like this before, he ALWAYS goes in his litterbox.  About an hour or so later he went to use it again, and I kinda kept an eye on him.  As he was going in the little door on his litter-box he started urinating again before he was completely in.  After he was done I opened the litter-box and it looked like he also had a bit of diarhea.  I'm very concerned about his health, and am planning on making an appointment to take him to a vet as soon as possible.  Tomorrow is a holiday, though, and I won't be able to take him until probably Thursday.  Is there anything I can do to help him, or am I worrying over nothing?

Thank you very much for your time.

Scott

Answer
Hi Scott.  Glad you'll be getting him to the vet.  I'm no vet, but from my experience, I'm thinking he most likely has a virus that's making him feel really terrible, which will pass.  However, there are some things that could be causing him to vomit AND have some incontinence.  I think of diabetes (I've got 3 diabetic cats, so I'm pretty familiar with that one!) or kidney failure (I have 1 kidney patient at present).  They produce massive amounts of urine so quickly that cats do often lose control of their bladder.  Additionally, they cause exhaustion, which can make getting to the box in time difficult.  Also, a urinary tract infection or crystals can cause a cat to go outside the box.  

There's nothing you can do at home for any of these things.  If you have one in the area, I would recommend getting him to an emergency hospital, only because when a cat starts hiding, I find it's usually something pretty serious.  Also, if he becomes very dehydrated from not drinking, diarrhea and vomiting, he's going to be in real trouble, as loss of electrolytes can cause heart failure.

As for the ball of fat, cats do get what's called a lipoma, or fatty tumor.  They're benign deposits of fat under the skin and are soft to the touch.  They're nothing to worry about.

Cats can also get sebaceous cysts.  These are sort of like a huge pimple!  It's a fluid-filled pocket of sebum, an oily substance produced by oil glands.  Those are usually of no concern, either, although if they rupture, they can become infected.  If that's what your vet thinks it is, be sure to watch it to make sure it doesn't start weeping or crusting over.

If you mean he's got a belly flap, then this is no problem at all.  Even on skinny cats, a flabby section of skin can develop between the hind legs.  It's more genetic than anything else and is nothing to be concerned over.