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Why is my 14-year-old cat lethargic and hiding after eating sardines?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Siberian | Male | 14 years and 5 months old | 14 lbs

Hi I'm an emergency room nurse and my cat has been listless lethargic under the bed for about a day and a half after eating a can of sardines he's 14 year old Siberian very friendly very outgoing still very very upbeat and active for his age I have just bolest him 20 cc's of normal saline I would like to know how much more he needs to be bolest he's about 6.4 kg

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Joy Fuhrman, DVM, MBA, CPA

Veterinarian

Published on June 15th, 2017

Listlessness and lethargy in an older cat could be due to acute renal failure, metabolic disease, pancreatitis (possibly secondary to the sardines) or even neoplasia. Since this is an acute event, it is important to get The Fruits checked out by a veterinarian since blood work abnormalities can come on very suddenly. Please do not give your cat sodium chloride fluid since this could impact the kidneys, especially when there is a possibility of acute kidney disease. Your veterinarian will be able to advise you whether or not fluid administration is appropriate depending on the underlying disease process and if so, what fluid and in what amounts would be suitable.

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    Answered By Jeffrey Milner

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Sorry to hear that your kitty is not feeling so well. Due to regulations, we aren't really able to give you specific information about dosing without having a valid client-patient-vet relationship. I can tell you that if you 14 year old kitty is showing those symptoms, it may not be related to the sardines at all. I would try and get him seen by a vet some time tomorrow during normal business hours and possibly have some blood work drawn. If you would like to discuss his case in some more detail where I would be able to provide you with some more in depth information, you can choose to obtain a consultation with myself or one of the other experts.

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