My 11yr old cat's stomach has suddenly ballooned. He was always a nice size but over the last 2wks his stomach has grown so much he looks like he has swollen a canon ball. He is very lethargic and just sleeps all day. His shoulder blades have become very thin. He is still eating and going to the toilet normally. Has anybody any idea what this might be please?

Is he drinking a lot? It might be worth a visit to your vet as I've known a couple of cats that have balloned due to diabetes, I'm not saying it is that but it's the only thing I can think of, especially with the lethargy.

Hi

I would go to the vet asap as you really need to know what it is. It may turn out to be something simple, but you never know.

Good luck and keep us posted

Leigh

Vets-asap! It could be he has an underactive thyroid which will make him drink a lot, one of my old cats had this and it worried me the size she got to! The lethargy would be because of this aswell, it's important to just make sure he has enough water around the place-don't cut down the food though, keep everything normal and seek advice from a vet immediately.

It could also me diabetes, that would explain the drinking, I haven't heard of them ballooning with it though, definately the vets for the kitty though.

Good luck and hope he gets better, keep us posted! If it is thyroid-related and you want to chat to someone who also had a kitty that suffered you can PM me or reply here and I'd be happy to chat about my experience with it.

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*Katania aka Shin*

Mother to the best cats:
Sooty (5yrs)
Smokey (4.5yrs)
Bandit (3yrs)

yep VETS ASAP.

there's so many things it COULD be, all the aforementioned and:

he could have an intestinal blockage, neeps has something that causes this (useless tummy flora from what we can gather), but it can be caused by torsion in the intestines or stuck food (large undigested bit of meat, bone).

he needs to go to the vets to get checked out, x-rayed and get a laxative (will be kept in overnight for that) if it's a food blockage.

let him drink as much as he wants but feed him smaller meals, if it's a blockage of any kind more food on top of the blockage will merely make matters worse. and if it's something else then slightly less food won't make a difference for a few days until he sees a vet.

let us know what the vet says hope kitty is well soon

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It could be ascites (fluid ) possibly from a heart problem or leaking from another internal organ -vet asap-hope it turns out well.

I would agree that a vet visit is necessary. Unfortunately a sudden increase in belly size is often fluid which is usually because of a serious liver disease, heart disease or most often cancer.

Your vet will do a good exam and will likely put a needle in the belly to determine if there is fluid there. They may do an xray or ultrasound as well.

I hope everything is ok!

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Thanks everybody. I will get him booked in asap.

Took him to vet today. Unfortunately it was his heart and there was nothing that they could do, so I have had to let him go peacefully xx

Only just noticed this thread now and am so sorry to hear your sad news.

Take comfort that your boys passing was peaceful and he is now free from pain.

RIP kitty & sending big hugs to you xx