Cats mostly spend most of their time sleeping and that is considered natural. However, due to this fact, you might not be immediately aware that lethargy is associated with something wrong with your cat.

What is lethargy? Lethargy is a condition where your cat is not feeling well and it could be related to any medical conditions or even more serious illnesses, such as pancreatitis in cats and runny eyes on cats.

Lethargy is possibly experienced by all animals, not only cats. Knowing the signs of lethargy in cat will help prevent your cat from getting worse condition.

While a cat experiences lethargy, it will tend to be inactive and passive, just like losing the energy. This is not a right condition, so as a cat owner, you must be aware of this condition.

Let’s take a deeper understanding about lethargy in cats, including the causes and the symptoms.

Causes of Lethargy in Cats

Cats spend most of the time sleeping, but excessive sleep or inactivity could be a sign of illness. Rest could be a sign that your cat doesn’t feel well or even a normal part of recovery of a certain condition.

Here are the common causes of lethargy in cats:

Overfeeding – get the knowledge about cat feeding from do the cat- can be feeding by vegan diet
Being under exercise
Stress
Depression
Side effects of medication
Arthritis
Obesity – find some tips on ways to deal with cats obesity
Infection with a minor common virus, such as flu

Aside from the causes above, there are more serious conditions causing lethargy in cats, such as:

Anemia
Urinary tract infections
Diabetes
Bacterial infection
Heartworm
Viral infections, such as feline immunodeficiency virus

Symptoms of Lethargy in Cats

Actually, lethargy is a common symptom itself for some other conditions, but lethargy can be noticed by the following symptoms too:

Inactivity
Lack of interest to stimuli or surroundings
Lack of energy
Sleepiness or drowsiness
Weak physical movement or possibly tremors
Decrease in normal active behavior, such as playing, roaming and grooming
Quiet – look at the reasons why your cat is suddenly quiet

Aside from those symptoms, there are some more common symptoms that are associated with the causes of lethargy. They are:

Diarrhea
Weight gain
Fever
Weight loss – find out the other reasons of your cats sudden weight loss
Vomiting – it can be experienced by kittens too, just like stated in vomiting in newborn kittens
Thirst or increase in urination
Pain or discomfort
Dull hair coat or loss of hair
Breathing difficulty

How Should I Treat a Cat with Lethargy?

As lethargy itself can be one of the symptoms of certain illnesses or diseases, then the treatment of lethargy will be based on the causes. The treatment could include the improved diet and supplements, and also an intravenous liquid or oxygen therapy if needed. Rest is also one of the ways treating lethargic cat.

Here are the ways of treating lethargy in cats:

Antibiotics – they are used to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics cannot be given without doctor’s prescription as there are some side effects of giving antibiotics to your pet dog. Though this is for dog, but there might be similar effects given by antibiotics to cat.
Dewormer – for parasites and heartworm
Surgery – if a tumor or injury is found
Antiviral medications – for viruses
Diet and insulin – for cats who suffer from diabetes
Antidepressants – for cats who get depression or stress

Your vet will check and identify the main cause of lethargy then he will decide which treatment will be best for your cat. More specific and further treatment will be given and prescribed as needed by the vet.

Psychological problems can also be the roots of lethargy in cats. Cats that experience stress and depression are known to become more lethargic.

While they experience lethargy, they will tend to show hiding and avoidant behaviors. Senior cats are also exposed to lethargic more. That’s why if you notice any changes in the cats’ behaviors, it is better to contact your vet for diagnose and further treatment.

When you take your cat to the vet, then your vet will diagnose by doing some tests, such as analysis of blood and urine, X-rays and many more. Once the condition is diagnosed, then your vet will have some treatment plans so that your cats back on track.

One way to prevent your cat from getting lethargy is by providing sufficient nutrients for your cat. Make sure they get essential nutrients your pets should have. Besides, make sure your cats have enough exercise too as elaborated in benefits of walking your cats outside.