How Do You Tell If A Low Speeded Cat Feels Badly?

[taraconnor777]

OK MY CAT BELLA IS

ABOUT 11;

he sometimes scratches but she sleeps a lot.Shes eating and drinking water,she even likes going out in the backyard a little.(she's a lovely Burmese.)I notice she is just sleeping a lot ,and not very playful as when I got her at 3 yrs old.--She never was "trained" to handle playing much,as she lived first 3 yrs. with a lady who had to give her up(too old)and I got her..She's so ladylike,she has always been pretty healthy just slower.I would have given her a companion,she's too egotistocal to have other cats!SHE HOGS EVERYONE'S ATTENTION!!VERY VAIN!!

BUT IF SHE'S OLD,i CAN'T TELL IF SHE EVER FEELS BAD,SHE EATS, DRINKS,EAts treats!!HOW DOYOU TELL IF A LOW SPEEDED CAT FEELS BADLY?mY FRIEND COMES OVER,AND SHE LOVES HER!!"PET ME PET ME!! (SHE PETS HER BETTER THAN I DO,ITS TRUE.)YEAH, JUST CAUSE A PET IS SLOW,SHE EATS AND DRINKS OK. how do you tell IF SHE'S SICK?--FROM JUST BEING OLDER AND SLOWER?tHANKS!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I have an older cat (17+ yo) who never was much of a play-baby either - her whole life. She also sleeps a lot, but I don't consider that to be an issue with whether or not she feels well. Not eating or eating a lot less, hiding (different from just sleeping), drinking more or less, not peeing or having hard or loose stools. are the kinds of things you look for to see if she might not be feeling well.

At your cat's age, annual - maybe even semi-annual - exams with a vet are also crucial, including blood work and a urinalysis - these things help you to stay on top of anything that might be brewing in terms of her health. The faster you find out about a potential issue the quicker you and your vet can address it. I started semi-annual vet checkups with Feeby when she was just a little younger than Bella.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Basically acting different than normal. I also have a cat as you describe Bella. And another who is the exact opposite. (Both are 13 years old) But when either is not feeling well I can tell because they just act "different". Mainly stop eating, or their fur might look rough, or one time one started drinking excessively and turned out he had a UTI.

One key to look for though, I would say, aside from acting different, is the way they are positioned. If they are lying with all four feet and tail tucked tight under them and their head up (we often refer to that as a meatloaf position), we often associate that as them being in pain.