Hoping I got the right forum. 

So my cat has been sick for almost a week. His throat is swollen (but he doesn't seem to have any trouble breathing), he can't eat and he's been drinking very little water. He's also been drooling quite a bit, but that may be because of the swollen throat, I'm not sure. All the vets in this area close early on saturday, and are closed sunday, and I'm not sure my cat can wait until monday. Does anyone know anything about this? Can someone please help me? In case this information might help, he's somewhere between two and three years old.

Do you think you can take a picture of your cat's throat? that may sound weird, but we can't really tell what the problem is in just text unless you can clearly explain what it looks like.

Also, people say that 1 year= about 7 cat years. That would mean your cat is about 21 years old. For a cat, that is still pretty young, so i wouldn't think it's because it's aging. We can't really be sure at this point. x-x

Gingercream1 : Okay. But it's really, really gross, and I hope it doesn't get me into any trouble.?



http://i.imgur.com/R9hROTD.jpg



http://i.imgur.com/rAeHZ3D.jpg

Edit: It's also only swollen on the right side (looking from behind him)

SUX2BU :

I just have one question. Does you cats go outside? They might get into fights with other cats or get into fights with each other. If your cat did get into a fight, then the bulge might be an abscess. You can look it up if you need to know more, because it's a bit..gross. But basically it's a ..thing that's filled with liquid. It doesn't really go away unless it bursts on it's own. which is also gross. x-x I think this link will explain it better. http://www.askavetquestion.com/answer_np.php?id=1008-swollen-neck-on-cat

I'm not really sure why your cat isn't eating though, I would guess it's because it's in pain, because abscess hurt. the only thing I can reccomend is going to a vet, but seeing as you can't do that.. x-x I think your cat will be fine as long as you watch it and make sure it eats some.

Gingercream1 : That does help a bit. I do know what an abscess is (I've been researching my cat's symptoms for a few hours now), but I'm not sure that's it. He's been sick for about a week now, but his neck wasn't swollen until today. I'm afraid if I tried to force him to eat, he may choke. Of course, as I said, he hasn't been having trouble breathing... so he may be able to swallow. I could give it a try. Maybe with some pate made for kittens. 

In the link you just posted, the description of the cat's problem did sound an awful lot like my cat's problem. The answer said that it may be caused by an infection. Maybe my cat does have an infection, and that's why he stopped eating? But I don't see why it would've taken this long for his lymph nodes to swell like that. I guess there's the possibility that they may have begun to swell a few days ago and I didn't notice. 

But that does help a lot, thanks Gingy! Oh, and, my bad, to answer your question, yes, my cats are indoor/outdoor cats. They come and go as they please as long as I'm there to let them in and out. But Neko (my sick cat) hasn't been outside for three or four days now.

To any mods who read this, could you leave this open a bit longer? I still wouldn't mind some more suggestions.

Since your kitty goes outdoors, have you had him vaccinated against cat flu? The virus behind the symptoms affects the respiratory tract and I suppose your cat could've gotten it somewhere from outside, probably from another cat who's infected. I haven't personally seen what an infected cat looks like, but I suppose a swollen throat could be one of the symptoms.

Animal hospitals should be open 24/7. If it looks really bad mad the cat is having problems, go to one of those.

Barathemos : I wish the animal hospitals in this area saw it that way. But thanks.

sillysoul : You may have had something there, but it doesn't matter anymore.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

Local Moderators : This thread isn't needed anymore. Please close it?