Thank you for both of your informative replies. I will have to soon get Gizmo to a vet for a check-up. I wished I could take him more often but I'm on extremely limited funds and have almost a panicky feeling when it comes to vets from past catastrophic bills. But being the age my cat is right now, it could be something serious. I wish there was a vet in the family!
The experiences I have had with my other cats have been very exasperating as it seems they feel sort of disconnected and I almost feel like I'm in some kind of nightmare where nothing ever gets resolved. Those types of dreams where you go round in circles you know?