My cat is 13 years old. This past summer, we brought a new cat into the house. SInce then, my old kitty has started losing hair, losing weight (although I am not sure if she just looks skinnier because she is losing hair), grooming excessively, and recently, I noticed small black spots on her pink tongue ( she is an all black cat). She has always been a urinator, meaning when she gets fussy about the litter box, she pees elsewhere. But I feel as though she is having other problems. I must admit, I fear taking her to the vet because I have 2 other cats and I am afraid of a diagnosis that would effect my other babies. I have also avoided the vet because my old kitty's personality has not changed a bit. She is still very active and extremely affectionate. She avoids the newest member of our household, the kitten, but she does not seem sick. Additionally, a good friend of mine in Houston takes her cats to a homeopathic vet who claims that indoor cats can contract illnesses from the vaccinations required by most vets. My cats never venture outdoors, not by choice, but because I don't let them. I worry that giving them the shots required for cats will make them sick for no reason. Please help me; my granny cat has stood by my side for 13 years and has been a blessing through it all. I worry that she is sick but she seems fine, mentally speaking, and I am a bit in denial about feline illnesses. Thank you, Erin
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my poor kitty
- Thread starter erinanne
- Start Date
Hi Erin,
Any time you have a cat that displays behaviors out of the ordinary, it is time (like it or not, I'm afraid) to check with the vet. And for a geriatric cat, this is all the more important to catch those "geezer" problems before they create a bigger issue that may be more difficult to treat.
The symptoms you mention in your post, excessive grooming, weight loss and those freaky black spots are all indicators of a problem. My suggestion is to get to the vet and request complete labs, including both blood and urine, as well as a mouth exam to rule out stomatitis or other dental disease.
Hope this helps, and please - keep me posted, won't you?
Gaye
Any time you have a cat that displays behaviors out of the ordinary, it is time (like it or not, I'm afraid) to check with the vet. And for a geriatric cat, this is all the more important to catch those "geezer" problems before they create a bigger issue that may be more difficult to treat.
The symptoms you mention in your post, excessive grooming, weight loss and those freaky black spots are all indicators of a problem. My suggestion is to get to the vet and request complete labs, including both blood and urine, as well as a mouth exam to rule out stomatitis or other dental disease.
Hope this helps, and please - keep me posted, won't you?
Gaye
Yes, she may be feeling under the weather, or just upset by the new additions. Cats get very stressed and tend to over groom and such. It is always a good idea to have a vet check medical problems first. As for the vaccines, yes some will give a cat a cold. Rabies is required by law and is a killed vaccine, so there is no worries there. If they are indoor only they do not need the leukemia or the FIP which is the one known to make them sick. As for the distemper, I have learned my lesson the hard way. Kittens are usually the carriers of the "kitty colds". Which is what the distemper takes care of. I had the same feeling on vaccines until I brought 2 kittens home and they gave my 3 older cats a very bad cold. They almost didnt make it just because I didnt want to vaccinate. You may want to consider vaccinating the 2 young ones for feline distemper.
