I Don't Know What To Do - 15+yo Cat

FetchingCat

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If she has fleas, she almost certainly has worms. Worms can cause loose stool.
We fixed our fleas by using a Seresto collar for the cat who wears collars and Revolution for our nudist kitty.

The blood/discharge is very concerning, however. Maybe it came from having too much loose stool? I hope kitty will be ok! I hear pumpkin helps with digestive issues. Whole Hearted from Petco has a flaked chicken and pumpkin food.
 
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FeebysOwner

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If she has fleas, she almost certainly has worms. Worms can cause loose stool.
We fixed our fleas by using a Seresto collar for the cat who wears collars and Revolution for our nudist kitty.

The blood/discharge is very concerning, however. Maybe it came from having too much loose stool? I hope kitty will be ok! I hear pumpkin helps with digestive issues. Whole Hearted from Petco has a flaked chicken and pumpkin food.
Hi. The blood discharge/loose stool was quite awhile back, and has been resolved. It looks to have been a food issue - once a food adjustment was made, her stools went back to normal. Surprisingly enough, she did not get worms with the fleas.

However, we think we are now experiencing a small (I hope) re-emergence of fleas, so I will be checking her stool again for sure!
 
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FeebysOwner

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Feeby, thankfully, seems to still be in rebound mode! :clap2: Another flea combing resulted in finding a few more fleas, but again dead or dying. I sprayed the h--- out of that den couch, so maybe that was the culprit? She is rarely on the coffee table, but still goes there at least once during the evening hours - if she isn't on my lap. She still won't hang out on the recliner foot like she used to though. :dunno: She spends most of her days in the window perch, but I guess that's OK. She doesn't spend a lot of time on her patio, but despite the fact she came from OH (albeit, a long time ago), she is not impressed with our cooler temps lately - which would still find most snow birds traipsing about in their shorts/flip flops, and enjoying the beaches. :coldcat:

She is eating better, and even though I track her food intake/calories, I think I have let her gain weight. Today, she weighed 16.1 pounds on her scale here at home. She weighed 15.6 at the vet's on 10/22. However, still not sure whether I can trust this scale as I swear last week she weighed 15.1 - that, or I can't trust my eyes... :dizzy: Will use this scale a few more times and see what happens before I toss it in the garbage!!
 
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FeebysOwner

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She sounds as if she is holding her own and lets face it, cats do what they want to do much to our frustration. Home scales are not the best for weighing cats so I wouldnt worry what they show, trust the vets.
I guess it just took Feeby to get to her geriatric years to start being more unpredictable. Before this year, I could have almost written a diary about her daily routines/habits - in advance - and been close to 95% accurate!! She even used to use the litterbox like 'clockwork' at the same time(s) of day - really!!

I actually bought a pet scale, which claims to only have a .02 lb variance. I can't imagine that her eating a couple of hours before and not having used the litterbox could have caused her to weigh that much more than last week?!?! Will try to replicate the scenario when I weigh her again.
 

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We have a bathroom scale, but I have to have my husband around to use it - I can't see past Feeby when holding her in my arms while I am on the scale to read it!!!
Try standing sideways on the scale, then you just look down over your shoulder at the readout.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Ae you using the same surface for the scales, that can make a difference.
Same place each time - on her window perch. I get it out of the closet, turn it on, make sure it registers "0" and then set her on it, weigh her, let her move off of it, and then put it away.
Try standing sideways on the scale, then you just look down over your shoulder at the readout.
Not using bathroom scale any longer, as it is not sensitive enough to denote ounces.
 
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FeebysOwner

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And, another day in the life of Feeby. This afternoon she peed over the top of the litterbox - seems to be her telltale sign of a UTI. OK, so off to the vet's tomorrow to pick up Orbax - again (last UTI - e coli related - was August). I have been waiting to see if all is copacetic with her (eating, etc.) before administering the D-mannose. Guess I waited too long. :confused2:

Within the hour before she peed outside the litterbox, I had applied her monthly dose of Adv II. Got to believe that was a coincidence - no previous issues with giving it to her. But, then, about 1/2 hour after the pee incident she threw up! Her last meal was about 2 1/2 hours before all of this. However, she is now pretty sensitive to having 'irregularities' and I am hoping that she was upset about peeing over the edge of the litterbox. :crossfingers:

Of course, this is a 'holiday week' and I am sure my vet (the owner of the practice) is out - and, even if he wasn't he is not typically any longer available for a short notice visit. Besides, what would they test her for other than a UTI any way? So, antibiotics to start with, wait to make sure there are no more barfing incidents, and then administer D-mannose too. OMG. :frustrated:
 
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Feeby ate fine the rest of the day, and this morning. And, she used her litterbox without any issues sometime early this AM. I am going to hold off dragging her to the vet, as well as wait a day or so to see if anything else happens. Short of a urinalysis/urine culture, I honestly don't know what they would propose to look for if I did take her in. She has had full scale bloodwork twice already this year and her semi-annual geriatric exam just last month. Thursday is the only day I won't have access to the vet's office, so as of this moment I don't feel too uncomfortable about giving her the next couple of days to see if yesterday might have just been an all-around fluke. She has never had a reaction to the flea treatment, either physically or mentally, but maybe something about being treated this time set her off. From all appearances she seems just fine - it's just so unsettling given her tough year - and her age - not to freak out when something 'out of the ordinary' happens.
 

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Glad she seems back to normal, any variation and panic kicks in. I dragged Pickle to the vets a few months ago because I found her in the garden, she refused food and when I picked her up she was completely limp. Full exam and found nothing wrong. I think she was just hot (it was a very hot day) and couldnt be bothered. Cost me £32 to find out that. Take it day by day and if your gut tells you a vets visit is needed, go with it.
 

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it's just so unsettling given her tough year - and her age - not to freak out when something 'out of the ordinary' happens.
I don't think it matters how old they are, it's hard not to freak when they don't eat, or act different than usual. Sending vibes though that everything stays back to "normal" with Feeby. :vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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Ever since Feeby threw up 11/24 her eating has been down a bit. She also threw up again Saturday (11/30). I have no real idea why, but will continue to watch to see if it starts happening more often - she is just not one who has ever thrown up much in her life. Drinking and litter box usage are normal (no more peeing/pooping issues).

This past week she averaged about 250 calories per day, a little lower than her 'normal'. I chart her food intake, but calculating calories for bites of human food is challenging, so I may be under-estimating her daily calorie count. The preceding 3 weeks she averaged about 300 calories per day - a definite difference even if my calculations are a bit off. She weighed 15.8 lbs. this AM; so, despite a couple of oddball readings during the past month, this weigh-in is in the ballpark of her 10/22 weight at the vets (15.6). We will see if that changes much next weigh-in, especially if she has another lower calorie week like the last one.

I don't know whether or not to be worried about the decrease in daily calories if her weight stays relatively stable, or even drops just a tad. Maybe 20 calories per pound of weight is too high of an estimation for her - is that possible?? :headscratch: She is very sedentary after all.

I have been mixing either baby food meat or FF pates with her urinary care food. I think she is nearly 'over' the baby food meat at this point - a lot less interested in eating when it is added to her food and might help to explain the intake decrease. The 'little devil' even sniffs her food to see what has been added before she will eat :doh2: ! As much as I didn't want to add FF on a daily basis, I may just do that to see if that will get her over this little bump in the road.
 
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Feeby is doing relatively well. Her coffee table hang-out days are pretty much gone - although she still uses it to cross from one side of the room to the other (:headshake:). I think this is a new bad habit that isn't likely to go away! She sleeps with me every night now, and spends a bit more time on her patio, but still not as much as she used to. She has been re-introduced (accidentally) to one of her favorite things (pre-flea/illness days) - laying on top of packing/tissue paper from delivery/gift boxes - for hours on end. :rolleyes2: Not the boxes, just the paper!!

Regarding her eating/weight. She takes less time to eat each meal - but really doesn't eat any more in total - by adding more FF and reducing her urinary care food. So, she is still only averaging around 250 calories per day. But, the scale weigh-in this AM reflects the same weight as a week ago - 15.8. How she manages to hang on to her weight with that number of calories is puzzling to me. Technically, that would mean she can sustain her weight on a 16 calorie per pound basis!?!? Anyone heard of that with other cats?
 
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FeebysOwner

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She already eats 4 meals a day - and it still takes at least 1/2 hour to get her to eat just a little over 2 oz each time. She is ready to quit eating after that, so I would have to try to squeeze in a 5th meal!! OMG! Not sure if that is possible!?!?

I think I am going to try to ensure she keeps getting at least 250 calories a day, and continue to weigh her at least once/week for a few more weeks just to see if there is any weight loss at all. It isn't like she couldn't stand to lose some weight, so all is not lost if she wants to stay around 250 calories/day I guess - I just don't her to lose too much at once. But, apparently, that doesn't seem to be an issue at the rate we are going!!
 
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