u/HoneyApple79

Hi everyone! I posted a couple days ago about my 16-year-old cat, Meredith, having nausea issues, and I just wanted to thank everyone so much for the support and advice. It really means a lot hearing from other senior cat owners. Having an older kitty can be complicated and stressful sometimes.
I’m happy to say she’s doing SO much better! The vet recommended Purina Pro Sensitive Skin & Stomach food, and she’s been way more interested in eating, especially the poultry flavors. She’s obsessed with the duck one. She even woke me up at 4am for breakfast this morning, which honestly made me so happy lol.
Her energy is improving too! She’s been playing with her favorite string toy again, using the stairs on her own, grooming regularly, and following me from room to room like my little shadow. Her bathroom habits are normal too.
We’ll still be monitoring her closely and going back for follow-up bloodwork on June 11th, but her progress has been slow and steady in the best way. I honestly can’t imagine what could’ve happened if I ignored my gut and didn’t take her to the vet. To anyone with senior cats: trust yourself. You know when something feels off.
And again, thank you all so much for the kindness and encouragement. I’ve dealt with a lot of anxiety around loved ones’ health after losing both my brother and dad unexpectedly over the past few years, so I definitely get extra worried, and Meredith is one of the most important beings in my life.

Some photos for cat tax ❤️
I’ll try to keep this brief. I do have an anxiety disorder, so I may be overthinking this.
On Saturday night, my cat escaped and spent about 2 hours outside. She’s strictly indoors except for occasional supervised harness walks.
She seemed normal until Sunday afternoon, when her appetite and energy dropped. I planned to monitor her and schedule a vet visit, but on Monday she started gagging and seemed to have trouble swallowing, which scared me enough to take her to the emergency vet.
They examined her and ran bloodwork, but everything looked normal except for mild dehydration. She got fluids and Cerenia for nausea, then was sent home with instructions to follow up with her regular vet.
Tuesday and Wednesday she was still low-energy, drinking normally, eating less, and occasionally gagging when trying to eat. At her follow-up on Thursday, the vet reviewed the ER bloodwork and examined her again. They scheduled another follow-up for June 11th to recheck bloodwork because her electrolytes were slightly off, though they thought dehydration could explain that. She was sent home with Cerenia pills and a recommendation to switch temporarily to Purina Pro sensitive stomach food.
My question is: can cats genuinely just get a stomach bug or mild illness without there being a more serious underlying cause? I’ve never personally seen a cat have stomach issues for several days without something bigger going on, and I can’t stop worrying that I’m missing something. She means the world to me, so I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can for her.