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

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FeebysOwner

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It sounds like Yoshi has learned he can get certain things/attention with making varying noises and is now taking full advantage of it! It also sounds like you can pretty much tell what he is after when he does it. Although Feeby does have a few variations to her 'squawk', such as announcing she is coming into a room or wanting to be fed, there are times they are out of nowhere, and I can't find a specific reason for it. If I knew for sure there was a deliberate intent to them all - and, could figure out the intent - then, I think I would feel much better about her doing it.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Status quo - kind of/sort of?!?! Feeby averaged a tad over 250 calories per day this past week, and today she weighed 16 lbs - again. However, just out of 'let's see if I can give myself grief' curiosity, I weighed myself (without her) 3 different times and came up with 3 different readings - all within 2 oz of each other. Didn't instill much confidence in me regarding that scale. But, I took the middle reading and went with that. I was tempted to go get her again and re-weigh her, but said 'screw it'. :frown: Maybe this is common with digital scales, given I have never owned one before. :dunno:

She is eating less canned food, but stopping by her 'old' feeding station in the kitchen for dry food more often. Still isn't eating any more than 1/8 cup dry in a day's time (although it looks like she is going to beat that amount today). But, I guess all of this is OK if she continues to hover around 250 or so calories a day. I am going to consider this a step closer to her 'old self', since she is in fact getting food on her own from the kitchen.

The crazy squawking is still going on. I've now read dozens of articles about this, and most all point to cognitive issues when a change like this occurs in an older cat. But, with a list of numerous other cognitive issue related behaviors - none of which apply to her - I am going go back to either boredom/attention seeking or that she now just loves to hear herself talk at certain times of the day!! An acquaintance of mine had one of those fake fish aquariums, that she was going to donate because her cat could have cared less about it, and I tested it on Feeby - that would be a big NO GO. So, the search for entertainment solutions continues... In the meantime, I am considering in trying Bach Rescue Remedy drops - not on her, on me!! :eek:
 
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FeebysOwner

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Speaking of, sort of, is she starting to lose her hearing?
I wonder about that, but she can be across the house and hear someone in the kitchen and come running. And, I literally mean someone might simply be opening a cabinet door or the fridge. That is typically when she expects to get some human food. I try to sneak up on her, but most of the time that fails - she hears me. She has even heard me walking barefooted across the faux wood flooring toward her perch room (she can't see me) and has squawked in anticipation of me getting there. So, I dunno. :headscratch:
 
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Other than a few fireworks on New Year's Eve, this neighborhood is relatively quiet. But, I will say that she didn't react as badly to them as normal, so perhaps there is still a hearing issue and I am just not testing her appropriately. What do I have to do, take her to a specialist to have her hearing checked? I guess I can look up on the internet how one goes about checking the hearing of their cat.
 

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This is an interesting article although it doesn't address what to do to test hearing.

I'm still wondering if there's new construction, or an animal-even a new to the neighborhood dog that's whining a lot-maybe before it gets fed, or walked, who knows, that you can't necessarily hear... particularly since you mentioned it's a certain times of day.

Anyway, hopefully the Bach's helps:)
 
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Another week gone by. Feeby is still averaging around 250 calories per day, and still weighs 16.0 lbs as of this morning. Her routine is pretty consistent now - almost never on the coffee table, spends some time on her patio but not as much as she used to, hangs out in the window perch for hours on end, and at night she either sleeps with me or in her bed/box that I made for her a few weeks ago.

She is still driving me crazy with her squawking!! It only happens during the day hours, anywhere from about 11AM to maybe 6PM - usually not any earlier or later and not overnight at all. She only squawks when she 1.) wants to eat, 2-3.) is approaching a room I am in/vice versa, or 4.) randomly while we are both already in the same room together. I have not heard her squawking when she is by herself (if she does it could only be happening when I am outside and can't hear her). She also doesn't squawk at my husband - unless he is about to pick her up, which she isn't very fond of!! When we are in a room together and she squawks, I have not been able to find anything that could be triggering it. I've checked outdoors/indoors/neighbors yards/my yard/vehicles in the area/etc. and as far as I can tell nothing is causing it from an environmental standpoint. I haven't tried any music yet, as I wanted to use this past week to check for possible noises that might be causing it.

I am still thinking it is boredom or attention-seeking. It is typically more of an insistent-type squawk when it has to do with feeding or when she is entering a room I am in. I pet and then feed her when it is a meal time squawk, and I pet her as a greeting when she or I enter a room the other is in. But, I have begun to tell her to stop when it involves the random squawks while we are in the room together. It does quiet her down for a while. I think I probably should just be ignoring her. I feel bad about doing that, but I don't feel any better about telling her to stop.
 

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She is still driving me crazy with her squawking!! It only happens during the day hours, anywhere from about 11AM to maybe 6PM - usually not any earlier or later and not overnight at all. She only squawks when she 1.) wants to eat, 2-3.) is approaching a room I am in/vice versa, or 4.) randomly while we are both already in the same room together. I have not heard her squawking when she is by herself (if she does it could only be happening when I am outside and can't hear her). She also doesn't squawk at my husband - unless he is about to pick her up, which she isn't very fond of!! When we are in a room together and she squawks, I have not been able to find anything that could be triggering it. I've checked outdoors/indoors/neighbors yards/my yard/vehicles in the area/etc. and as far as I can tell nothing is causing it from an environmental standpoint. I haven't tried any music yet, as I wanted to use this past week to check for possible noises that might be causing it.

I am still thinking it is boredom or attention-seeking. It is typically more of an insistent-type squawk when it has to do with feeding or when she is entering a room I am in. I pet and then feed her when it is a meal time squawk, and I pet her as a greeting when she or I enter a room the other is in. But, I have begun to tell her to stop when it involves the random squawks while we are in the room together. It does quiet her down for a while. I think I probably should just be ignoring her. I feel bad about doing that, but I don't feel any better about telling her to stop.
The squawk can only mean one thing then: “Sup?”
 
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Do you reply back when she squawks at you? You know: "Yes, Feeby". "I love you too, Feeby". :hearthrob:
I did for awhile actually!! Until, it started really grating on my nerves, at which point in time I 'squawked' back! Gave up both of those approaches, and now just tell her to 'stop'.

I know... we've been together for long enough and spend so much time with each other, we are like an old couple, in that some times the 'romance' is briefly replaced with bouts of restrained annoyance!! :wink:
 
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Feeby weighed 15.8 lbs today. She has been eating a bit less this past week; averaged 238 calories per day, which is about 20 or so calories less a day than the prior week. So, I guess that might mean I have figured out her 'drawing line' on food intake and weight retention/loss?!?!

She also had her first ever 'eye-booger', so now I will have to keep watch on that as well. Not sure if it has to do with her cleaning/lack of, or if something else (god forbid) is brewing. She does clean herself, but at times it looks pretty 'weak' in terms of results!

No change in the squawk factor - still daily and without any definitive cause(s).

Two noted changes in her behavior. 1.) She will eat a bit of her meal and then move away, so I follow her and set the dish back down where ever she goes, and then she will eat some more. I am hoping this is not going to become a new norm for her. :cringe: 2.) She is licking herself when being petted on the back-end a bit more frantically than usual. So, we checked her for fleas twice this past week and found a couple each time (adult and alive). Guess they are coming from outside and with this past week being her 4th week since her last Advantage II treatment, its effectiveness apparently is beginning to wane close to end of each monthly application. We'll see if some if the 'over-licking' settles down after applying Adv II yesterday - assuming it is the result of flea bites.
 

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She also had her first ever 'eye-booger', so now I will have to keep watch on that as well. Not sure if it has to do with her cleaning/lack of, or if something else (god forbid) is brewing. She does clean herself, but at times it looks pretty 'weak' in terms of results!
Lily had that going on last summer, lots of boogers and drippiness out of no where. There is some boric acid eye wash that you buy from Petco, it was a life saver. I wiped her eye with it twice a day for a few days, and it cleared it up. Saved it from becoming an eye infection and having to go to vet.
 
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Hi! Another week in the life of Feeby!
  • No more eye boogers, and watering of eyes has disappeared too. Another one of Feeby's recent 'flukes', I guess. :dunno:
  • Still licking her back end when being petted, but a little less frantic. Gave her the monthly Adv II flea treatment a week ago, so I am guessing that helped diminish the fleas that were biting her. I think I am going to start treating her every 3 1/2 weeks apart, instead of 4 weeks. If it isn't as effective by the end of 3 weeks, I can't see the harm in moving the treatments closer together. Asked Bayer about this and they didn't bother to respond... :frustrated:
  • The bed/box has pretty much been abandoned, but she is coming to bed at night now. There have actually been a couple of times that she has gone to bed before me – this is a new one!
  • Tried a few more experimental toys (home made) - result: :sleep2:
  • She averaged about 240 calories per day this past week, but today her weight was down 2 more ounces to 15.6. Guessing it might just be a typical weight fluctuation.
  • I once again had to follow her around the house with her food dish to get her to eat each of her daily meals. :hmmm: She’ll eat some then move away. Once I re-scoop it into a pile (which has always been a requirement of hers to continue eating), I then place the dish in front of where ever she is and she continues to eat – until it needs re-scooped again. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
So, I am back to adding some baby food meats to her food to see if that will help her be more interested in eating and maybe encourage her to stay in one place to eat instead of wandering around - and it does seem like it might be helping a bit. There have actually been a couple of times since adding the baby food that she has come into kitchen (where her feeding station used to be) when I am preparing her food!​
 
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