Old Cat Behavior Change And Some Symptoms But Blood Test Great

[Yanaka]

Hey, all!

I'm at my mom's for the holidays and posting because we're worried about our older cat. She is 17 and a half, usually fed dry but has been eating wet lately. Everything is amazing on the blood test.

My mom brought her in for something she had and I don't remember what but she had antibiotics. Since she had diarrhea they gave her something for stomach discomfort. A few weeks later and she still appears to have bad stools so she goes back and the vet does a blood test. The only worrisome symptom apart from the digestive discomfort is that she lost a full kg over the course of the year (= a little over 2 pounds), but everything else is fantastic. He gives us corticosteroids for inflammation in case she has one in her digestive tract and another pill for stomach discomfort. She takes them well, gobbles up her food and I feed her as often as she wants.

The cat still has some stool issues (I cleaned quite a bit of mushy poop off her butt this morning), but it's hard to monitor because she's been staying outside a lot. She drinks a lot, has a very good appetite. Isn't it weird that she drinks so much (despite the wet food we've been giving her) in spite of her tests being so good?

The other thing is that her behavior has changed a lot. Her meows are different (squeaky), she looks a lot more her age now (weird eyes, awkward standing), she will not let us comb her anymore (she's long haired unfortunately) and, more importantly, she doesn't want to stay inside anymore. She wants to be outside, even if the other day she was curled up in a grumpy half-ball on the wet dirt. Today she made an effort and went on the couch outside but usually she stays half-lying on a cold surface.

Tonight we're trying to keep her inside, but she's a little erratic. She relaxed now after I stayed with her a little bit, but my mom keeps telling me that before all of this she'd stay on my mom's bed.

Have you noticed this kind of behavior in your senior cats, too? She's always been a little wilder than the others, but she was being sweet and comfy with my mom until a month ago or so. She doesn't seem to be in pain, she just looks... weird. Any thoughts?

 

[ArtNJ]

EDIT: Having re-reviewed your post and done some digging, this sounds like hyperthyroidism. My original post follows, but I think you can skip it at this point and proceed to my next post which has links on hyperthyroidism and my logic.

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I'm not a vet and don't fancy myself an armchair expert, but I think it is likely that your cat has a health issue of some sort. Your just describing too much in the way of changes for it to be aging alone. I mean, I can't know for sure, but I do know that a standard senior blood panel does not, of course, test for everything. And cats don't normally lose 2 pounds over a year without a health problem. That is automatically a serious concern until a vet dxs a cause.

What do you mean by weird eyes? That sounds like a clue.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. She is 17+ yo - if she hasn't had one, she needs a FULL senior check up - that includes a full blood panel screening for a senior cat. There are SO many things that can go wrong at this age. Your talk of antibiotics and steroids, without knowing why is confusing as far as anyone on this site being able to understand what she is being/has been treated for.

When you say she is now eating wet, but was on dry before - how quickly was the transition from dry to wet - if too quickly that can cause diarrhea.

All of the other stuff you describe (resistance to hair combing, wanting to be outside more, weird eyes, awkward standing, etc.), says she is sick. You are in a cold area - for her to want to lay outside in cold mud is not a sign of a healthy cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

I agree as well, this is quite a few things that seem to me to indicate health issues. Can you speak with a different vet?

Also try and cut that fur or have your vet use trimmers, she's going to get bad mats if she's lying on wet dirt.

Try these recipes for extra nutrition;
Kitten-Rescue.com

 

[ArtNJ]

FeebysOwner - totally agree, but don't forget the over two pound weight loss in a year despite apparently normal eating. I think that is the clearest sign there is an undiagnosed issue of some sort. I believe this is normally a marker for hyperthyroidism, right? Drinking a lot and diarrhea are apparently also normal.
Cat Hyperthyroidism (Overactive Thyroid) Symptoms and Treatments. I also found a link explaining that hyperthyroidism can elevate blood pressure, leading to blood vessels in the eyes to burst, which might explain the "odd eyes" you have noticed.
Hyperthyroidism In Your Cat - Its Cause And Its Treatment

I'm not sure if hyperthyroidism is part of a standard senior blood test. Its possible your vet did not run one.

 

[Yanaka]

I’ll call today to get another appointment and ask another blood test (without saying I was on the internet haha). She was seen by two different vets already (insert eye roll)... It’s kind of a rural area here, they are not keen on looking for “big” diagnoses right away which has always pissed me off. Thank you for understanding the fact that nothing here is normal, I was beginning to think it was just age since nobody professional seems to worry. She’s been in such good shape so far despite the age.

For her fur: what if we trim her but she keeps going outside? Isn’t that a bigger discomfort or risk than leaving the mats for now? She’s been sneezing some already

 

[Yanaka]

Here she is! Pelote, which means ball (of yarn) in French. She was just enjoying scratches. She went out again at 6 am but came back in this time and stayed in the warmth.

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, I actually don't hate that about rural vets. Vets where I live, maybe they are nice and they care, but they are also part of a corporate culture and are too quick to suggest every test and every expense and would *never* tell you look, we'll do what you want, but maybe this doesn't make sense here. If it is hyperthyroidism, you'll benefit from an honest conversation with a vet not looking to milk every dollar out of you since your cat is still enjoying a good quality of life, and there are issues with the treatments. There are medications, but there are issues with them, and surgery and radiation for a cat this old -- well, I don't know, but an honest conversation with a rural vet not interested in bilking you is likely going to be helpful to you in decision making. I mean, don't get me wrong, my understanding is that, hyperthyroidism, if that is what it is, is far from the worst diagnosis, just saying that a vet you can trust would be very helpful.

 

[Yanaka]

Well you’re right but I felt that they all under diagnosed our cats and we could have prevented certain things sometimes. Pelote has an appointment on the 2nd. Hopefully he agrees to get other blood tests done.

We had another cat a few years back who popped up at my mom’s house and had hyperthyroidism. I don’t think we did radiations and stuff, she only had meds. She was a hot mess

 

[ArtNJ]

Yeah, we hear about problems with vets quite a bit. The other day, we had a post re: a cat had significant weight loss and the vet dx'd seasonal affective disorder, which is not even proven to exist in cats.

Still, it wouldn't totally surprise me if I'm wrong and your vet tested for and ruled out hyperthyroidism. Its actually pretty common in senior cats and could well have been part of the blood panel.

Presumably, at the very least, the blood panel ruled out kidney disease, which is awesome news.

 

[Yanaka]

I read on one of the websites you attached that since the cat drinks and urinates so much, it masks a kidney issue because it’s healthy with hyperthyroidism. But as soon as you manage that, kidney issues pop up. Apparently she had some issues and they changed the kibble and now the tests turned out great but we’ll see. I’m upset she feeds dry (expensive dry no less, with corn still) but with so many strays that hang out I understand that it’s easier. Although again it’s not the subject haha.

Are you saying he could have tested that but ruled out hyperthyroidism? We looked at the results together and he didn’t mention anything.

 

[ArtNJ]

Yeah the test looks at the level of "T4" -- so if you saw the paperwork or recall, then you would know whether it was tested for. Apparently, sometimes hyperthyroidism can be there and the levels might not be that high yet, but mostly they are elevated if the disease is there.

And ugh on the possibility of masking kidney disease...didn't know that one.

 

[Yanaka]

She’s back at it...

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
If you didn't already, be sure and mention the sneezing to the vet.

If it were me, I'd get those mats off as soon as possible - they continue to "grow" and eventually start pulling on the skin and become painful as well as really challenging to remove.

I don't know, …can you obtain a pet bed for her for outside? I think you referred to a couch but she's not that interested in it or doesn't like jumping up on to it?...

 

[Hellenww]

To relieve her nasal congestion you could take her in the closed bathroom when you shower. The steam will help. Eye drops that contain only saline are safe for cats and will help clear congestion.

 

[Kflowers]

Remember when she cries to go out she can't protect herself the way she once could. She's not as fast and maybe losing her vision and hearing for what's sneaking up on her. It's best to keep her close and, if she goes out, go with her.

She's beautiful for any age, but especially for her age.

Totally agree with Furballsmom about the mats. I've cut some that were the size of your forefinger. Once free they released enough skin to cover the palm of your hand. I think this can effect not just the cat's ability to move easily and to run, but her circulation.

 

[Yanaka]

Her mats are really big but the vet hasn’t said anything. I’ll make sure that my mom will ask about that too on her appointment. I already told her that I think the vet should trim her if he thinks it’s okay. He just did her butt because she gets dirty there.

She has other options on the ground that aren’t dirt and she uses them too, but she kind of moves from one spot to the other throughout the day. Tonight she was on the couch again so my mom carried her back in, and she’s been calm so far! My mom wants to see if she can reset her habits to coming back inside at night like she used to.

We might have mentioned the sneezing but he didn’t say anything about that either. Right now he was focusing on an inflammation in the digestive tract, which I told was ironic. Don’t vets hear themselves when they prescribe foods and then say that the animals develop allergies to them? lol.

 

[Furballsmom]