Is cat slowing down or other health issues?

[Aikkid]

hi all. i'm looking for insight. this is for the stray/outside cat. he is a cat that started coming around when i moved into this house a couple of years ago. i think he's always been around this house. he is quite old (not sure how old but he def is very old)... i cannot afford to take him to the vet so that's not an option. my role in his life is to keep him as comfy as possible with food shelter etc.. outdoors.

question: suddenly, he's not been wanting to jump and sleep in the high places he used to. he now sits close to the ground and noticed he's even having a hard time getting up quickly. it's like he doesn't have the strength or something. he is eating fine, demeanor is great. bright eyed and rolls and lets me groom him etc.. he seems happy in other words outwardly. i'm wondering if anyone has seen a similar situation. a friend told me about vestibular disease which seemed similar but when i read more, none of the symptoms match except MAYBE that the cat is slow getting up and could be referred to uncoordinated movement i guess but still a stretch i thought.

anyone had a similar experience with their cat or know what this could be. i'm praying it goes away and he's back to normal.

thank you

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. He might be experiencing arthritis. If you can, you might try some arthritic supplements, the most common ones being Cosequin and Dasuquin. Both are sold in capsules with powder inside, which if you feed him any wet food at all, the powder inside could be mixed with that. If not, there are also chews that you might try to feed him as 'treats'. It would take several weeks to see any kind of change if the supplements are helping him any.

He could have also experienced a recent injury, but you can't know that if you can't take him to a vet to be evaluated.

 

[Aikkid]

Hi. He might be experiencing arthritis. If you can, you might try some arthritic supplements, the most common ones being Cosequin and Dasuquin. Both are sold in capsules with powder inside, which if you feed him any wet food at all, the powder inside could be mixed with that. If not, there are also chews that you might try to feed him as 'treats'. It would take several weeks to see any kind of change if the supplements are helping him any.

He could have also experienced a recent injury, but you can't know that if you can't take him to a vet to be evaluated.

thank you so much. i found Dasuquin on amazon on sale. going to give it a shot. i am praying that i will be posting good news next.

 

[Kflowers]

Remember with dasuquin it sometimes takes a week or two of doses before it works. So don't give up. It made the world of difference to our cat.

 

[Aikkid]

Remember with dasuquin it sometimes takes a week or two of doses before it works. So don't give up. It made the world of difference to our cat.

Got it. That's promising. thank you so much.

 

[FeebysOwner]

But don't get discouraged if you don't see obvious results in just a week or two. Hope you do though!!!!

 

[Aikkid]

Hi Everyone. So today the Dasuquin arrived and gave him the first dose. Even before that, he has been just slightly better I think and saw just a slight pep in his step, bless his little heart. I am ecstatic that he is ravenous and eats REALLY well and as I mentioned before, still bright eyed and gives lovely cuddles when i pet him or hold him. So his spirits are good and I'M SOOO happy. When I first realized what was happening, I just felt so heavy and obsessed every minute checking on him and seeing if he was ok. I'm so happy to see him happy. I really hope he gets back to flying in the air like he normally does. He used to literally leap on my Jeep like it was just a step .. he was superman/cat lolol. Sorry I'm blabbering now. Thanks guys for listening and helping me out. So glad to have an avenue like this to get some insight. Appreciate it.

 

[Annieca2016]

My eldest, Snap, was similar. She was eating, drinking, litter box habits all totally fine. She was just having trouble jumping. I brought her to the vet who said it was probably arthritis and prescribed both Dasequin and an anti-inflammatory. The anti-inflammatory helped immediately and we were on that for I think a week. The Dasequin I switched to the treats because my girls won't eat their wet food if anything has been added. Now Snap gets a few Dasequin treats and it keeps her limber and in jumping form as she's getting ready to turn 10. All that to say, been there, done that, have the vet bills to prove it, and Snap is no worse for the wear and still enjoys jumping up to "the place known as up".

 

[Aikkid]

My eldest, Snap, was similar. She was eating, drinking, litter box habits all totally fine. She was just having trouble jumping. I brought her to the vet who said it was probably arthritis and prescribed both Dasequin and an anti-inflammatory. The anti-inflammatory helped immediately and we were on that for I think a week. The Dasequin I switched to the treats because my girls won't eat their wet food if anything has been added. Now Snap gets a few Dasequin treats and it keeps her limber and in jumping form as she's getting ready to turn 10. All that to say, been there, done that, have the vet bills to prove it, and Snap is no worse for the wear and still enjoys jumping up to "the place known as up".

i love it .. i also got him a kidney health liquid drops to be pro active since he is so old. this situation kinda was a wakeup call that i was taking for granted he will be the happy vibrant crazy cat forever. when he couldn't do that .. it was like a kick in the stomach. so sad. so whatever i can to help extend comfort and longevity i will try my hardest.

 

[Aikkid]

Hi All. Quick update. There is a noticeable difference after just these few days on dasuquin. He even leaped on my Jeep. Although the leap wasn't as smooth as normal. Going from barely able to roll over or walks a little and stops to jumping, I HAVE BIG HOPES lol. i'm praying it only gets better. I will come back with another update. Thank you all for the gift of knowledge and this platform.