Bloated Belly

I have a male cat who’s about 3 years old. Idk if this is even a problem— But his belly feels hard. Not rock hard or anything, just kinda bloated like he has to poop. It’s not very prominent and you wouldn’t be able to tell unless you had touched his belly before. It’s been like that for 2 weeks. He poops daily, sometimes twice daily. His poops look normal. (Based on my googling of cat poop). He did run away not too long ago, but I believe his belly was already like this before that happened. He doesn’t seem to be acting weird. The only thing about him that’s changed is that started licking people, which he didn’t do before, but he does it rarely. Am I overreacting for worrying about this??

Hello!   I think that a change in belly hardness may be a genuine cause for concern.  For example, such changes may occur in cancers, in changes of liver size, in worm infestations, or in the event of extra fluid or blood building up in the abdomen.  It can happen in pregnancy too of course - I'm not sure on the age or history of your cat, but if there's any doubt as to his sex it's worth considering.  Particularly if today is worse than yesterday or two days ago, it's worth your while contacting your emergency vet for triage (where they take a quick history, perhaps over the phone, and let you know how soon you need to be seen).

My apologies - you did let me know his age and of course, three years old is possible for a first litter but only if there's been a mistake about the cats' gender.  Best of luck and please do let us know how you get on from here!