Weird Behavior

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A back injury can mess you up, you're tense so your stomach doesn't want a lot of food, and that tension can cause you to vomit if you do. Does she still self groom, and if she does, does she pause before grooming her back or side?
 
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FeebysOwner

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Does she still self groom, and if she does, does she pause before grooming her back or side?
She grooms only what is easiest to get to. So, I think her booty and far backend probably hasn't seen a tongue in a long, long time.
 

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If you gently massage down either side of her spine from the base of her skull to the base of her tail with your hand, does she flinch, or do her muscles twitch, or does she get upset?
She always flinches a bit when I do that. Yesterday, she squawked at me. I am being gutless today - I haven't tried it yet. :nervous:

Edited: I just did that - no squawk, no flinch, but her usual automatic need to lick while I am doing it. That's has been going on for years now.

Licking is when your cat (whom you've had a relationship with long-term) is being "polite" because of a twinge of discomfort or pain when they might really feel like nipping you instead. It is not full-on, blaring, extreme pain, but it is discomfort. That's my experience with Milly, that is, regarding her patellas - so it's an anecdotal comment.
:hugs:
 
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FeebysOwner

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Licking is when your cat is being "polite" because of a twinge of discomfort of pain when they might really feel like nipping you instead. It is not full-on blaring, extreme pain, but it is discomfort That's my experience with Milly, that is, regarding her patellas - so it's an anecdotal comment.
Quite possibly, but since she has done this for a long while now, I think she has a very mild form of hyperesthesia (may have said that already) - but, it could be exacerbated by pain and not feeling well to be sure.
 

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Your post #6 says you are now getting nearly daily rains. And you mention it is normal for this time of year. But she is now a year older, and arthritis is a progressive disease.

Just read through this whole thread, I'm inclined to go with the pain / discomfort is causing these issues, 80%. I'd be 100% but that weight loss is stopping me. The gabapentin should help with the arthritis pain.

Sounds like she has a good cat mom who is staying on top of things.
 
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FeebysOwner

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UPDATE: Got to talk to my vet - for quite a while, actually. His recommended approach is to either get another urine sample, or just start the antibiotics and see how that plays out. He said if an infection is truly there (which he thinks it is highly likely) it may have spread to her kidneys - resulting in much different symptoms.

He said that he wants to go down this route first. If for no other reason than to see if it makes her feel/act better before we do anything else. He apparently is not a fan of Gabapentin, or doesn't believe it will do much for her, so he said if it were him he would stop that. He agrees with the idea that Feeby more than likely did not injure herself, knowing how inactive/un-daring that she is to begin with

He also said he wouldn't probably go down an x-ray route to search for cancer - if that turns out to be where we have to go - he would want Feeby to see an oncologist and have an MRI done.

So, that's where we are at. It's all kind of crap shoot - and, he admitted it - when it comes to trying to find a resolution plan, because the primary ingredient is missing: Feeby's ability to tell us what she is feeling.
 

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Just watch her closely. You know her better than anyone else and you can tell when she's not at her best or be able to tell if she eats something with a lot of gusto or just picks at it.
It's cool your vet took that much time to talk with you. He sounds like a good one.
 
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FeebysOwner

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He is good, I do believe! I went to his father before him, also good! The thing that I am stuck on is that at first I felt she was eating to appease me. Now with a couple of pain doses in her, she seems more interested than just appeasing me. But, the vet agreed that only giving the paid med every 12 hours is technically not frequent enough to be that effective. So, ARGH! I am on the fence with this...Always another question...
 

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I wish I had medical knowledge to help but it sounds like you have a wonderful vet. As a human with chronic pain, even a little relief for a short period improves my day. I hope it's the same for Feeby.

Sending healing calming energy to both of you.:grouphug:
 
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ANOTHER UPDATE: Feeby left her 'hiding' spot to use the litter box (not new), and then ventured out onto the patio where I was! She stayed for about 20 minutes and proceeded back to her new hangout location, to eat and drink some.

She hasn't had any Gabapentin since over 24 hours ago (she only had two doses in total), and received her first antibiotic dose last night. So, I can't imagine how either of those have anything to do with her being more active today.

Then, she actually came to see me in the computer room and used her '4-step contraption' to get up to look out her window. She is still there now. She hasn't been up there since Sunday, I think.

So, maybe she did injure herself after all, and is starting to recover - or is this is "a rebound before the next relapse"?? Can't help but be worried about the latter, given the unexplained weight loss...
 
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ANOTHER UPDATE: Feeby left her 'hiding' spot to use the litter box (not new), and then ventured out onto the patio where I was! She stayed for about 20 minutes and proceeded back to her new hangout location, to eat and drink some.

She hasn't had any Gabapentin since over 24 hours ago (she only had two doses in total), and received her first antibiotic dose last night. So, I can't imagine how either of those have anything to do with her being more active today.

Then, she actually came to see me in the computer room and used her '4-step contraption' to get up to look out her window. She is still there now. She hasn't been up there since Sunday, I think.

So, maybe she did injure herself after all, and is starting to recover - or is this is "a rebound before the next relapse"?? Can't help but be worried about the latter, given the unexplained weight loss...
:cloud9::yess:
When Baby Girl was hurt, she lay around and wouldn't move, wouldn't eat or drink and the litter box things was a challenge. After a few days, and a few massages, she was back to zipping through the house like a loose electron and hanging out on the curtain rods.
I truly hope she continues to improve :wave3:
 
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FeebysOwner

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7/13/2019 12PM UPDATE (long post and more information):

Feeby stayed/slept in her new 'hangout' spot all evening/night. She came out this morning to use the litter box and then hang around close to the patio (but not on the patio, as was usual). Typically, she gets a human treat on Saturdays/Sundays when my husband is off work and makes breakfast. So, the food drive is obviously still there! She is eating her own food and drinking water pretty normally, as well. She is now back on her window perch via her 4-step contraption that leads to it - rather than 'hiding' in the bedroom.

More observations as I try to recall other changes in her behavior (not just since last weekend, but over the past year or so).
  • She is still being vocal at times for unknown reasons - no one has to be near her and she will just squawk out of the blue. This has been going on since sometime last weekend, as far as we know.
  • She is really making the fur fly when she is scratching herself - however, this is event started a while before all of the weird behavior began this past week. Scratching does not appear to be any more than normal, however. Just an increase in the amount of hair being loosened by the scratching. She is not balding anywhere from it, nor does she have irritated spots, and hair does not come out in chunks.
  • She has difficulty lowering to a sitting position from standing, her butt is always in the air as she tries to find a comfortable way to sit down. This is also not a new event, has been going on for over a year, as best I can remember.
  • As of yesterday, she seems to be experiencing pain or aggravation when being petted around her right hip joint area - she actually squawked at me. The reaction is not as bad on the left, but there is some annoyance there as well.
I don't know if this issue is -
  1. due to her aggravating this 'suspected' injury she might have gotten sometime in the past week, because she is moving a bit more now, or
  2. an escalation in whatever condition has existed for at least couple of years, which has caused her to lick herself incessantly when I pet her back area (I thought this was a form of mild hyperesthesia), or
  3. her arthritis has spread from beyond her upper spine and front leg area into her lower spine/hips. X-rays from 9/2018 showed no arthritis in this area.

Any ideas? None of this does anything to address her weight loss, I realize.
 

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maybe since she's squawking and moving away when touched you aren't brushing her as much. That might explain the 'fur flying' when she scratches, just what would be her normal shedding.
 
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I wish it were that. The squawking just started this past week, but the fur flying isn't as new.

She was being brushed a couple of times a week at least, but probably not since Wednesday (her vet visit), and certainly not now with the back area aggravation. I will try it later, but do not think it will go over well at all.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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Edited: I just did that - no squawk, no flinch, but her usual automatic need to lick while I am doing it. That's has been going on for years now.
Licking is when your cat (whom you've had a relationship with long-term) is being "polite" because of a twinge of discomfort or pain when they might really feel like nipping you instead. It is not full-on, blaring, extreme pain, but it is discomfort. That's my experience with Milly, that is, regarding her patellas - so it's an anecdotal comment.
:hugs:
...
  • an escalation in whatever condition has existed for at least couple of years, which has caused her to lick herself incessantly when I pet her back area (I thought this was a form of mild hyperesthesia), ...
Hi FeebysOwner! I just wanted to clarify something after seeing your latest post this morning!

I thought you had meant that she was licking you when you would pet her or try to feel her back, spine or legs. But now I see that you are saying that she licks herself after you touch her? My bad -- as I was thinking you were describing the former idea, in that previous post. (Milly has licked my fingers or hand after times when I used to give her "feelie once-overs" or even any gentle physio-therapy attempts -- her licks were warnings that, if I do not remove my hand & pronto, I will get chomped on. That's what I was trying to convey, but maybe that is not what you are experiencing then, with Feeby.)
:hugs:
 

Kflowers

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You're probably right. when my dog who tolerated almost everything, got hurt came in bleeding didn't mention it, sort of tolerating, hips got really bad even with medicine that was the end of brushing. At
one time she'd enjoyed brushing.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Hi FeebysOwner! I just wanted to clarify something after seeing your latest post this morning!
She has done both - lick me and lick herself. But, mostly she licks herself when I pet her. The licking me is when she is on my lap, and her licking herself kind of extends beyond herself to licking me. I really have never seen them as one in the same - agree?
 

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She is now back on her window perch via her 4-step contraption that leads to it - rather than 'hiding' in the bedroom.
her arthritis has spread from beyond her upper spine and front leg area into her lower spine/hips. X-rays from 9/2018 showed no arthritis in this area.
She probably uses mostly her back legs to climb/jump and the front for balance. That could make the back start to hurt more at her age even if arthritis hasn't begun. Will she let you put her in the window or up on furniture? Yoshi prefers to climb out of my arms at counter/bed rather than placing him there. We have ways for him to get up more easily but he has learned to call for help when he can't or just doesn't want to do it himself.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Will she let you put her in the window or up on furniture? Yoshi prefers to climb out of my arms at counter/bed rather than placing him there.
Feeby has always been a "just let me do it myself' kind of gal. So, I have been working around that with the additional steps so she can do just that. She isn't active that much, so for what little she is, I consider that to her benefit - for at least some muscular/skeletal exercise.

I have helped her a few times, but that is some sort of 'agreement' between us - like she didn't really ask for help and I just happened along to help!! That is where we leave it!!
 
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