How worried should I be about DCat seeming off colour

[BoxofSnails]

I have a 9 year old lively house cat who has seemed not right the last few days - off her food (normally miaows for food from hours before mealtimes), very sneezy, possibly more sleepy than usual but still chatty enough and cuddly, she is eating and drinking and the other end is working fine.

Should I just see how she gets on or is this worth a vet visit?? There are some much more experienced cat owners than me here and I hate that she can't tell me what the matter is!!

One of my cats gets affected by pollen and dust. I got some soothing eye drops for her which helped her settle.

She also started getting sore joints at around this age so has cushions on the kitchen floor to lounge on.

Is she up to date on flea treatments?

She got fleas from the cattery back in June. We have only recently managed to rid the house and the feline of them. But we are still vacuuming more than we would otherwise so it would seem odd to start now with a flea or allergy issue. Worth bearing in mind - and thank you for getting me to feel that I would not be crazy to take her to the vets if it continues.
She still jumps around like a kitten - can scale a whole door or the fridge from the floor - really not the behaviour of an aging lady!!

My younger cat developed her flea allergy when she was about 5. Just came out of nowhere and it was really grim till a vet got on top of it.

If you still feel there may be something wrong i'd say get the vet to check your cat out, and maybe get some Advocate to keep her clear of the dratted fleas.

Allergies can, I'm afraid, come at any time of life, and if she had some residual cat flu, it might manifest again as her immune system started to become less effective with age. (She's not an old cat but neither is she a spring chicken, I fear.)

How is she doing?

She seemed more herself yesterday - though I didn't see so much of her. Much more chatty etc but still off her food. Going to see over the weekend. Thank you both for your thoughts - if she's still sneezy I will definitely get her to the vets.

My own lad started to experience some residual flu symptoms when his immune system became a little chancier. (At about 17 in his case.) It's a bit of a PITA for him but eminently manageable - if it is that.

Good luck to her and let us know how she gets on.