Lame and bloated cat

Hello vets I'm wondering if you can help I had a message from my neighbour that my cat didn't seem himself he is 11 years young. When I picked him up he was quite weak and limping on his back leg. He often does this in the cold weather due to being knocked over in his younger years.he had pale gums and was very thirsty. After a bit of rest he is no longer limping and eating and drinking as normal. Now my issue is before qe went to bed he passed this stool. Could someone help. Like I say he seems back to normal now but the stool concerned me. Any ideas what could be wrong? His tummy also appears sore on his right hand side 

Hello - You mentioned pale gums.  How are they now?  That in itself is a red flag for me and would merit rapid triage.  However, it's worth me mentioning that cat gums are paler than human gums normally, so is difficult to assess out of context. Regarding the pale stool, this may imply a lack of bilirubin.  Bilirubin is a breakdown product of old red blood cells (the liver breaks the red blood cells down into bilirubin, which is browny yellow, and passes out into the intestines / poo via the bile duct).   If for the some reason the liver isn't breaking down ample red-blood cells, a pale stool can result.    Pancreatic problems, hypercalcaemia, a blocked bile duct, certain bacterial and liver problems may fall under this umbrella. Both pale gums and a pale stool can be signs of severe disease.  It may be worth your on-call emergency vet triaging this case for you now.  

Pale stools associated with the malabsorption of fat is a clinical symptom, and the word for it is 'steatorrheoea.'  One cause of both steatorrhoea and cranial abdominal pain is pancreatitis.  Others may include pancreatic cancer, exocrine pancreatic insufficience (EPI). Giardia (often seen with weight-loss and vomiting) and Cryptosporidium. The latter two are zoonotic - they could be passed on to humans - therefore it is important to be especially careful with regard to hygience and to contact your vet for triage and further advice.

Your vet will inspect the faeces, examine your cat, consider a list of differentials (possibilities) for steattorhea or diarrhoea and the other signs as they think is  appropriate, and come up with a differentials list.  They should then be able to give you appropriate advice for your cat.  Wishing you both all the best