Cat stress response vs illness after owner travel
- Signalment: Cat, 15mo, neutered male, 15#
- Short Hx: anxiety w shelter and given gabapentin during stay, shy temperament, but improvement post adoption. No other known hx and no current rx. indoors only.
- Clinical S/Sx: one episode of non-bloody and non-bilious emesis, decreased energy, quiet meow/growl vocalizations with interaction with myself or bonded brother
- Length of time: hours/uncertain
- Objective data: none
- General location: USA
Just going to mention upfront that I suspect my being a physician who works with many complex and critically ill humans is probably making me more paranoid than I should be, but I'm honestly worried about one of my two cats. I have two 15 month old bonded litter mates. The one I'm worried about is very shy but sweet orange cat and his brother is a very bold/brash black cat.
I just got home from a 12-day trip, I've never been away from home for longer than 2 days since adopting them several months ago. Though they're used to my odd schedule. When I got home Hades (black cat) was immediately vocal and cuddly, as I'd expect , and Apollo (orange cat) was hiding under the bed which is also something I would expect.
I also noticed cat vomit in the bathroom all over my bath mat, looking like wet undigested cat kibble without blood or bile (which I've never had an issue with vomit up until now). There was some left over kibble in the bowl of the automatic feeder that Hades ended up eating. When Apollo emerged from under the bed he has much lower energy than I would expect. He slowly crawled into my lap very briefly but then has been slowly walking around the apartment to different spots to rest. He seems less comfortable to me, he also seems slightly shaky but nothing obvious and no seizure-like activity (and nothing as described in the FAQS). When I or his brother are near him too long or in his way he growls and moves away.
I have a camera I used while I was traveling and he was eating, drinking, going to the litter box (which is a litter robot without change in use pattern or diarrhea in waste drawer), moving around the apartment including jumping. The cat sitter didn't notice anything off though he only came out for a few pets with bribes of treats from the sitter. No tachypnea, open mouth breathing, or signs of respiratory distress... The more I type this the more it feels like I'm being overbearing.
He's obviously off, but I'm not sure when to say it's just a stress response vs him being ill. His vet office gave me a list of red flags for when to take him in urgently as well as recommended places, and would see him tomorrow if I'm still worried.
Does this sound like a stress response from my traveling and return home? What should trigger me to change my hospital schedule to take him to the vet tomorrow? If it is just stress is there anything other than giving him space that I can do? Apologies if this truly is just the ramblings of an overly worried pet owner.
EDIT: A few hours after posting he started frequently using the litter box as well and scant urine outside the box. Rushed to the Emergency vet where we first thought he'd be able to go home but ultimately after workup had some azotemic and obstruction so is being admitted for further care. I'm quite worried but also glad he's getting care, I've been so worried about him being unsafe or in pain at home while I was working in the hospital.