So, Skye turned 15 a few weeks ago, and she was out walking fences, climbing trees and checking out the roof. Eating, drinking, playing, being a very active senior cat-- blood work on April 4 of this year was completely unremarkable, UA was good, thyroid panel with Free T4 was all fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Advantage for fleas on time a week ago... all the monthly things are good.
She does have arthritis which flares up and makes her stiff, but she gets Cosequin for that, and the stiffness is mostly when she gets up, easing off as she moves around. She had been enjoying her usual routine-- until Sunday, when we realized she wasn't drinking as she normally does. She has basically stopped drinking, though she will still eat wet food pretty well. She's acting "spooky" about everything. She's lost weight, though last imaging was fine other than arthritis. She goes to quiet places, but not deep hiding. But then, suddenly, she will brighten up and sit on the windowsill like everyone else (cat-friendly, wide and low with a great view), look around, track a bug on the screen and act like she's going to engage. Then she goes quiet again, slinking off to the quiet-but-not-hidey place and becoming rather disinterested. Box use is normal, there's no vomiting or diarrhea, no respiratory signs... nothing, other than her annual round of mosquito allergies, and she's being treated with hydrocortisone cream and antihistamines-- Depo-Medrol isn't so kind to her for some reason, so we try to avoid it because of the side effects it gives her. She is on Onsior and Cosequin for her joints, so we would have to 'wash out' the Onsior if we were to put her on pred for the allergy flare-up. But she's doing so well on the Onsior that we hate to interrupt it and have her OA flare up again, which also makes her mopey... but in a different way.
She flips from pacing and restless, to 'chill and relaxed', to quiet and withdrawn and back at random. We took her in to her vet yesterday to check this out, and nothing jumped out at us. Blood work and other labs were all stable and unremarkable. She had even gained a much-needed half a pound. She's moving freely, not hunched or limping and she can jump and sit and groom just fine. But she won't eat with much enthusiasm, and she won't drink. She will eat some of her wet food and a good bit of baby food so I can at least make sure she gets enough calories and some species-appropriate nutrition between the two. We did some SQ fluids and brought a set home with us just to be on the safe side, so we can at least keep her well hydrated if she won't drink on her own. She's also very withdrawn today, spending most of her time in the bottom hut of the cat tree. Yet it isn't like her usual "hiding", like she does when it storms or if she is frankly sick-- then, she goes under the sofa or deep into the closet or behind the bed. This seems more like 'retreating' rather than outright hiding. She wanted to go for her morning walk and we took her out with supervision. She made her rounds with us in tow, she marked her territory with face rubs. She left her scratches on the corner of the fence as she's done for years (you can clearly see her 'signature' indelibly etched in the wood!). She went up and down the stairs with no problem at all, no stiffness or limping whatsoever. She even ran a short distance in the grass. She seemed quite happy for a bit-- then she turned withdrawn again and wanted to come back inside. She went straight for the hut and she's been there ever since, about 3.5 hours, and isn't interested in much of anything. This is how she's been for several days.
We have no idea what to make of this. On the one hand, everything "tests" just fine. On the other hand, this retreating/withdrawing and nervous behavior, and the not drinking or eating well is a clear indication that something is definitely wrong. And, it's quite different from her usual 'cat privacy' behavior in some way.
At 15, could she be preparing to pass away? If she is... everything looks good clinically so I would take comfort in knowing that "it is just her time to walk to a new hunting ground" and that we gave her a good healthy life. I just want to see if others think that her time with us might be almost over, and she might be getting ready to say goodbye?
She does have arthritis which flares up and makes her stiff, but she gets Cosequin for that, and the stiffness is mostly when she gets up, easing off as she moves around. She had been enjoying her usual routine-- until Sunday, when we realized she wasn't drinking as she normally does. She has basically stopped drinking, though she will still eat wet food pretty well. She's acting "spooky" about everything. She's lost weight, though last imaging was fine other than arthritis. She goes to quiet places, but not deep hiding. But then, suddenly, she will brighten up and sit on the windowsill like everyone else (cat-friendly, wide and low with a great view), look around, track a bug on the screen and act like she's going to engage. Then she goes quiet again, slinking off to the quiet-but-not-hidey place and becoming rather disinterested. Box use is normal, there's no vomiting or diarrhea, no respiratory signs... nothing, other than her annual round of mosquito allergies, and she's being treated with hydrocortisone cream and antihistamines-- Depo-Medrol isn't so kind to her for some reason, so we try to avoid it because of the side effects it gives her. She is on Onsior and Cosequin for her joints, so we would have to 'wash out' the Onsior if we were to put her on pred for the allergy flare-up. But she's doing so well on the Onsior that we hate to interrupt it and have her OA flare up again, which also makes her mopey... but in a different way.
She flips from pacing and restless, to 'chill and relaxed', to quiet and withdrawn and back at random. We took her in to her vet yesterday to check this out, and nothing jumped out at us. Blood work and other labs were all stable and unremarkable. She had even gained a much-needed half a pound. She's moving freely, not hunched or limping and she can jump and sit and groom just fine. But she won't eat with much enthusiasm, and she won't drink. She will eat some of her wet food and a good bit of baby food so I can at least make sure she gets enough calories and some species-appropriate nutrition between the two. We did some SQ fluids and brought a set home with us just to be on the safe side, so we can at least keep her well hydrated if she won't drink on her own. She's also very withdrawn today, spending most of her time in the bottom hut of the cat tree. Yet it isn't like her usual "hiding", like she does when it storms or if she is frankly sick-- then, she goes under the sofa or deep into the closet or behind the bed. This seems more like 'retreating' rather than outright hiding. She wanted to go for her morning walk and we took her out with supervision. She made her rounds with us in tow, she marked her territory with face rubs. She left her scratches on the corner of the fence as she's done for years (you can clearly see her 'signature' indelibly etched in the wood!). She went up and down the stairs with no problem at all, no stiffness or limping whatsoever. She even ran a short distance in the grass. She seemed quite happy for a bit-- then she turned withdrawn again and wanted to come back inside. She went straight for the hut and she's been there ever since, about 3.5 hours, and isn't interested in much of anything. This is how she's been for several days.
We have no idea what to make of this. On the one hand, everything "tests" just fine. On the other hand, this retreating/withdrawing and nervous behavior, and the not drinking or eating well is a clear indication that something is definitely wrong. And, it's quite different from her usual 'cat privacy' behavior in some way.
At 15, could she be preparing to pass away? If she is... everything looks good clinically so I would take comfort in knowing that "it is just her time to walk to a new hunting ground" and that we gave her a good healthy life. I just want to see if others think that her time with us might be almost over, and she might be getting ready to say goodbye?
