I was worried last night. I spent some time stroking this poor lethargic cat last night before I went to bed, and she was…purring. This is not a normal response for a Myers cat. She’s usually more of a snarler, although she will purr for Mary. For a moment I thought this was grounds for declaring an emergency and rushing her to the vet, but then I realized that in the mundane world having a cat that purrs is not usually considered a medical crisis.
I got up around 3am and checked on her (No! I’m not worried! My sleep cycle is just chaotic right now) and she was sleeping peacefully in the same spot, so I didn’t disturb her.
When I got up for real this morning at 5:30, she didn’t get up to ogle me as I used the bathroom, again out of character. She was still on that chair. So I brought out the heavy guns: cat treats. Shrimp, crab, and tuna flavored cat treats. She perked right up at that, and ate several out of my hand. Then she hopped up and followed me out to the kitchen, where I put out fresh wet food and dry food, and filled up her water bowl.
She did not eat her regular cat food. She sniffed at it, but didn’t seem enthused. I might end up taking her to the vet today anyway, but at least she’s showing signs of improvement.
Encouraging, good news, but take her to the vet.
IIRC from my cat not eating, it gets medically serious after 48 hours of not eating. With my cat the vet found nothing obvious and figured it was a toothache, she was 13 at the time. So I was told to feed her tuna with lots of juice and watered down cat food for another day before she started eating again. She went on to live to 20 years old.
Maybe she’s pining for the fjords. Or just for Mary.
Your cat may be evil, but she is beautiful. That she ate the cat treats is a good sign. Is she drinking water and using her litter box? Things to look for are urinary blockage (although more common and worse in male cats) and constipation. I once spent a great deal of money to find out a cat was constipated, after fearing the worst, she was ok and lived for many years after that event. Hope kitty is ok.
We’re having similar issues with our elderly male cat, Sammy. He’s lethargic and not eating his wet food. This in itself might indicate a serious medical condition, but of more immediate concern that’s how we get his Prozac into him. If he’s off his meds very bad things can happen. I’m beginning to wonder if he has Kitty Covid. Anything is possible in these crazy times. We’re thinking about taking him to the vet. But that requires that we slip him a sedative . . . into his wet food. Catch-22.
NB! Cats may be purring even when they are sick, or even dying.
Cat is at the vet now.
I gave the vet lots of warnings. I hope he has a chain mail suit.
You probably know this already, but cats (like humans) like variety in their food. My cats get bored with the same food every day, so I have to vary what I feed them. They tend to prefer the really expensive gourmet cat foods, like the Fancy Feast that comes in the small pastel colored cans.
I’m glad your cat is doing better!
Not this cat. She is very finicky — only seafood, and only one brand. We’ve tried others, it’s a total waste of money.
True what birgerjohansson noted @6. Years ago, I had to bring one of my sweet kitties to the vet to be euthanized—he had esophageal cancer :( The vet told me that is worst part of his profession, euthanizing pets. What makes it really hard for him is that cats often purr when they are in that situation. He said my kitty purred during that sad occasion.
Too sad to comment on this subject .
I truly hope that your cat will be okay. We had our 17 year old little tortoiseshell Padme euthanized last week, and we are still devastated. She had had kidney issues for the past year or so, but we hoped and assumed we still had a few more months or maybe another year with her. Last week the vet found that she had developed a very large mass (probably lymphoma) in her small intestine over the past few months, so it was time to let her go. Though we have two other cats and two whippets, the house is much, much too quiet without our tiny tortie.
I grew up with pets but never owned one as an adult, which probably deprived my kids.
On the other hand, this discussion leaves me very relieved. I’m still going to say I like plants better. I have a potted thyme plant that I grew from seed nearly 20 years ago and came close to killing through neglect a couple of times… but I’ve gotten better and it’s thriving now. That’s quite enough responsibility and heartbreak for me. (Kids are a different matter and hopefully they’ll outlive me.)
Glad kitteh is better. Our cats went through phases like this, but were back in fine form within days most of the time.
Started keeping cats in 2016 ,always loved them ,but we had one when I was a kid and it died ,and i was heart broken .
In 2018 one was run down by some speeding bastard driver .
Then just over a year ago ,had to have two put down within a week or so ,one had been poisoned ,and the other one
had some thing wrong with his kidneys .Ashamed to say i didn’t want to be there while the vet did it .
I feel so guilty about it .
So of the four cats i got during 2016 ,only one was left ,he seemed lost by himself ,he kept meowing .
So I got another cat ,between them they are wiping out the critters in my part of Shropshire .
Bastard ,paint in the arse things that they are ,but if i had a million pounds ,i would get a million cats .
PS ,well not as many as that ,maybe a couple of hundred .