Weird Behavior

FeebysOwner

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History: Feeby, 14+ yo, overweight, some arthritis, two nearly fused vertebrae in her upper spine (currently on Glyco Flex for both), and long ago resolved bladder stones (on urinary foods for the past 9 years).

Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally. Just had a geriatric check up, including full geratric blood panel on April 28th. All good.

Issue: In the last two days, she has been much more vocal throughout mid-day and early evening. She has sat numerous times today at our door to the garage - nothing out there and no smells of a cat/other animal having been in there.

After having gotten a typical human snack from our dinner, she went behind the living room couch next to the drapes from the window and is now sleeping there. She never goes there.

Cat dementia in play? She is telling us something. If I don't know, I guess you won't either.
 

susanm9006

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The sleeping behind the sofa is concerning since it seems more like a not feeling well behavior. The other possibility is that there was a animal by the garage and she can smell it even if you can. That might unnerve her bit but I don’t know that it would cause her to hide. I would watch her closely to see if the hiding behavior continues and have a vet check if she does.
 

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History: Feeby, 14+ yo, overweight, some arthritis, two nearly fused vertebrae in her upper spine (currently on Glyco Flex for both), and long ago resolved bladder stones (on urinary foods for the past 9 years).

Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally. Just had a geriatric check up, including full geratric blood panel on April 28th. All good.

Issue: In the last two days, she has been much more vocal throughout mid-day and early evening. She has sat numerous times today at our door to the garage - nothing out there and no smells of a cat/other animal having been in there.

After having gotten a typical human snack from our dinner, she went behind the living room couch next to the drapes from the window and is now sleeping there. She never goes there.

Cat dementia in play? She is telling us something. If I don't know, I guess you won't either.
A few times in the past, Queen Bee (now 11, then probably 7 or 8) would sit by the door to where I was working and scream her head off and many times I'd check to see if she was OK.
When they checked her over in April, what else did they do besides blood work? Is it possible she's losing her hearing or anything like that? Sun-Downer's maybe?
I know cats and dogs and animals in general adjust to losing sight/hearing better than we do but I think when the process is happening they get a bit more confused and wonder why the world isn't "as they left it".
I'd watch her close and if this continues, call the vet up and maybe bring her back for a re check if you can.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Thanks! Good things to consider! The rest of her check up amounted to checking ears, eyes, mouth, listening to her heart, palpating her abdomen, checking her booty, and probably more I've forgotten.

Sun Downer's is typically at night, yes? So, that part hasn't occurred - yet.

I checked on her while she was behind the sofa and asked her what she was doing. She did her typical 'squawk', got up, followed me to my recliner and crawled on to the bottom shelf of the end table, and promptly went back to sleep.:dunno::rolleyes3:
 

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Thanks! Good things to consider! The rest of her check up amounted to checking ears, eyes, mouth, listening to her heart, palpating her abdomen, checking her booty, and probably more I've forgotten.

Sun Downer's is typically at night, yes? So, that part hasn't occurred - yet.

I checked on her while she was behind the sofa and asked her what she was doing. She did her typical 'squawk', got up, followed me to my recliner and crawled on to the bottom shelf of the end table, and promptly went back to sleep.:dunno::rolleyes3:

Has the weather been warmer where you're at lately?
 
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FeebysOwner

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Weather has been pretty hot for a while, and now we're getting nearly daily rains. Same as all previous years. We're in central FL... why?
 

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Weather has been pretty hot for a while, and now we're getting nearly daily rains. Same as all previous years. We're in central FL... why?
Just wondering if behind the couch is cooler. Some of ours like to do that kind of thing if it's really hot out.
If there's a chance she has an ear infection, that maybe (probably not, but might) explain her vocalizations and hiding during the raining season because ear infections make a lot of pressure in the ear canal during those times (barometric pressure, etc.)
 
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FeebysOwner

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Carpeted behind couch - she has all kinds of hard wood flooring to lay on where it would be much cooler.

Don't know where she would have gotten an ear infection from - never has had one before. And, she is not bothering with her ears at all.

We'll see how today pans out. So far, she's pretty much followed her usual routine. I guess as long as she is doing all the 'stuff she is supposed to do', I'll have to write it off to "hey, I am old and I can act any way I want to'.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Feeby slept behind the couch last night again, only after getting a bite of my salmon. She stayed there, despite me talking to her a couple times, until my husband got up this AM. She ate a bit, drank from her water dish on the patio, and when he left for work, she came to the bedroom but slept/hung out on the floor near the bed. I got up, she ate a bit more, drank from her patio water dish, hung out with me on the patio for a bit before heading inside to use her litterbox.

Other than the couch thing, this is pretty typical behavior.

Once she left the litterbox, she just sat on the floor a few feet from it - and the next time I checked on her she was up on her perch looking out the window. She will probably be on this same perch, mostly sleeping, until her dinner time (6PM). This was not her routine until a couple of weeks ago - as far as spending so many hours in one place.

She wasn't quite as abnormally vocal as she was this past weekend, and I don't think she sat by the door to the garage today at all.

This will be her 3rd or 4th 'tweak' in her routine in the past year or so - after having held pretty steady with the same routine for longer than I can remember!!

I guess until I can ascertain other signs of a real health issue, I feel like I must consider this to be another new routine she has chosen for now? Just is so strange after all these years to 'change things up', but suppose it might be age related somehow.
 
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FeebysOwner

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UPDATE: Well, I guess I have enough evidence to say something is clearly wrong.

Feeby didn't sleep behind the couch last night, and even came up on my lap in the recliner for a while. Then, she proceeded to go out on the patio for some water, and came back in to lay near where she was behind the couch, but in plain view. That was somewhere around 12:30 AM.

She stayed in that same place until just moments ago, so over 12 hours. I offered her water and her dry food - a BIG NO. So, I fed her some canned food with water added. I put a litter box a few feet away and put in some of the crystals used for collecting urine. She did use it, but refused to poop in it, so she ran back to her usual litter box to finish her business. Then, she moved a few feet away and within minutes she threw up. Surprisingly, she then moved to her 'as of late' favorite perch in the window.

So, I have collected urine, poop, and vomit for the vet's office. I have her scheduled for about an hour from now at the vet's. I was hoping to spare her the carrier/trip to the vet, but after throwing up (which she never does), I don't think I have a choice. She is not happy about being touched too much, so this will NOT be an enjoyable trip to the vet.
 

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A few times in the past, Queen Bee (now 11, then probably 7 or 8) would sit by the door to where I was working and scream her head off and many times I'd check to see if she was OK.
When they checked her over in April, what else did they do besides blood work? Is it possible she's losing her hearing or anything like that? Sun-Downer's maybe?
I know cats and dogs and animals in general adjust to losing sight/hearing better than we do but I think when the process is happening they get a bit more confused and wonder why the world isn't "as they left it".
I'd watch her close and if this continues, call the vet up and maybe bring her back for a re check if you can.
I was going to suggest checking her hearing as well. When our Jake started going deaf, he became much more vocal.

ETA: Oh, no, I just saw your update. Good luck at the vet's--I hope it's nothing serious.
 

GLBpetres38

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History: Feeby, 14+ yo, overweight, some arthritis, two nearly fused vertebrae in her upper spine (currently on Glyco Flex for both), and long ago resolved bladder stones (on urinary foods for the past 9 years).

Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally. Just had a geriatric check up, including full geratric blood panel on April 28th. All good.

Issue: In the last two days, she has been much more vocal throughout mid-day and early evening. She has sat numerous times today at our door to the garage - nothing out there and no smells of a cat/other animal having been in there.

After having gotten a typical human snack from our dinner, she went behind the living room couch next to the drapes from the window and is now sleeping there. She never goes there.

Cat dementia in play? She is telling us something. If I don't know, I guess you won't either.
History: Feeby, 14+ yo, overweight, some arthritis, two nearly fused vertebrae in her upper spine (currently on Glyco Flex for both), and long ago resolved bladder stones (on urinary foods for the past 9 years).

Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping normally. Just had a geriatric check up, including full geratric blood panel on April 28th. All good.

Issue: In the last two days, she has been much more vocal throughout mid-day and early evening. She has sat numerous times today at our door to the garage - nothing out there and no smells of a cat/other animal having been in there.

After having gotten a typical human snack from our dinner, she went behind the living room couch next to the drapes from the window and is now sleeping there. She never goes there.

Cat dementia in play? She is telling us something. If I don't know, I guess you won't either.
Hello as an experienced medical person for people and animals and the owner of a Homeless/handicapped pet rescue in TN let me share my thoughts on this :)
she may have smelled an animal that passed your garage or gained access for a bit of time especially skunks and mice. Cats go nuts over the these. mice would not scare her but a skunks smell even a tad of a smell would. skunks
smell can travel as far as a half mile or more and cat/dog noses are very sensitive.
If she was ill she would hide continuously in a closet, under a chair or behind the sofa. I think her response was a flight one to safecty and when you came
to check on her she remembered
"Oh that's right Mom is here to protect me". This is not the behavior of illness or senility , rather of something that temporarily distressed her :)
 
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FeebysOwner

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I was going to suggest checking her hearing as well. When our Jake started going deaf, he became much more vocal.
Thanks. She hears the tiniest of noises. When she is sleeping, she can hear someone pass through the room, even if they don't say anything. That is bare-footed on carpeting. Not a sure fire test, I know...

:vibes::vibes::vibes:it's just something minor and easily cleared up.
Thanks. I hope so.

This is not the behavior of illness or senility , rather of something that temporarily distressed her
Thanks. But, you might see it differently after my posts from earlier today.
 
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rubysmama

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Just came across this post now. Sending vibes that the vet can figure out what's wrong, and that it's easily treatable. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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FeebysOwner

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As you might expect - not much in terms of resolution.

She has lost 1.5 pounds in less than 3 months (from 17.5 to 16.0).

Urinalysis shows only contamination (probably from my technique in trying to capture it), but nothing to indicate a UTI. It also showed a high glucose level - but, supposedly in the levels expected as the result of a vet visit. And yes, she was NOT happy.

Another go at the diabetes, as well as thyroid, aspect in the new blood work done today, which results will be available tomorrow.

So, big answer is pain meds (Gabapentin) just to see if it brings her any relief. The damned assumption now is that she 'hurt' herself somehow and irritated her arthritic issues. I don't think so.

You know what is next - checking for cancer... I can't repeat the words here that I have said to myself since I left the vet office.
 

susanm9006

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You brought the urine sample from home, but it had glucose in it? Or they got a sample at the vet? Usually there is no glucose in urine but if the body has high glucose levels as a diabetics may, some of it will be excreted out through the kidneys.
 
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