Are lethargic cats ill?

Are lethargic cats ill? No, not necessarily. Although lethargy is often a common sign of illness, alone it is far from conclusive.

The key is to be aware of our cats normal movements (including bowel movements!), activity patterns and of course eating habits. When we add lethargy to a change in usual behavior that continues for say 12 hours or so we reach a situation where a visit to the veterinarian could and should, perhaps, be considered.

Typical additional symptoms and signs of illness might be lack of appetite, vomiting, poor breathing, diarrhea and gums looking pale.

Once we have decided things don't feel right we need, I think, to monitor our cat closely and without delay (when we consider it time) to visit the vet.

I've built two pages that might help:

Cat Health Problems lists a pile of potential health problems from the serious diseases to illnesses that we might treat ourselves

Cat Illness Symptoms is the other side of the coin and sets out symptoms of a range of illnesses and points to the possible cause.