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Cat had stiffening episode and started quickly losing weight
Firstly, I hate to be one to post as soon as they sign up but I hope you'll help. I plan to participate in the forum much more in the future now that I've come across it.
My boyfriend's cat is about 8 years old. In the four years I've known the cat, George, he's been fat and round. One afternoon a few months ago he started following my boyfriend around and meowing, both of which were out of his character. Moments later, I found George in my boyfriend's arms, completely stiff. He stayed this way for a minute or more, losing control of his bowels, before relaxing and then sleeping much more than normal for the next few days. My sister is epileptic and my familiarity with these symptoms in humans led me to believe that that's what had occured. While in researching I've found that feline seizures are rare, I also read that they can be genetic. My boyfriend found George as a kitten crossing the road beside a farm. Maybe his mother was unable to care for him or didn't survive giving birth? I know the runts of the litter are often left to fend for themselves. I'm not really sure what to deduct from all of this though! :)
He started losing weight shortly after but I knew that our other two cats needed to lose weight, too, and assumed that my boyfriend had just started feeding them less after we talked about the problem. George still hung out in the middle of everyone in the kitchen where we hang out a lot. It was around this time that he started to become very vocal which was completely unike him. His meows were very expressive and nothing like I'd ever heard from the other cats.
A couple of weeks ago he started climbing on top of the cabinets and sleeping in bowls up there. He hasn't done this since he was really small, according to my boyfriend. We figured he was losing weight and soon would be doing acrobatics across the curtain rods like he did before he got fat.
Today, when I came home from work he was sitting in the bathroom window where our elderly cat used to hang out before she had to be put to sleep because of organ failure two months ago. He meowed more than ever, literally. I got him one of his favorites, the water from the tuna can with a bit of tuna in it, and he didn't eat much. I took him back into the bathroom, letting him know it was o.k. if he wanted to get back up on the window sill but he chose to sit on top of the toilet licking his front foreleg instead. His tail and hind leg have been doing this sort of twitchy thing when he stretches and I thought he may be having muscle pains from climbing so much recently. I touched his front leg to look at it and he didn't seem to mind but he did another wierd meow. I pet him, asking what was wrong when I literally felt chills go down my shoulders and my hair stood up. I have never, ever had this feeling before and never really knew what people meant when they said it until just then.
What is wrong with him? Am I overreacting? He is skinny, but probably just barely on the skinny side for a normal cat. He hasn't had any more episodes like the one I described. I'm worried that with the death of 2 pets in the last year and his mother's progressing illness that taking the cat to the vet and finding he's really sick may be too much for my boyfriend to deal with right away.
If we feed him more food and his appetite can keep up with it, could the issue wait a couple of weeks for vet attention?
Thanks for for any help.
My boyfriend's cat is about 8 years old. In the four years I've known the cat, George, he's been fat and round. One afternoon a few months ago he started following my boyfriend around and meowing, both of which were out of his character. Moments later, I found George in my boyfriend's arms, completely stiff. He stayed this way for a minute or more, losing control of his bowels, before relaxing and then sleeping much more than normal for the next few days. My sister is epileptic and my familiarity with these symptoms in humans led me to believe that that's what had occured. While in researching I've found that feline seizures are rare, I also read that they can be genetic. My boyfriend found George as a kitten crossing the road beside a farm. Maybe his mother was unable to care for him or didn't survive giving birth? I know the runts of the litter are often left to fend for themselves. I'm not really sure what to deduct from all of this though! :)
He started losing weight shortly after but I knew that our other two cats needed to lose weight, too, and assumed that my boyfriend had just started feeding them less after we talked about the problem. George still hung out in the middle of everyone in the kitchen where we hang out a lot. It was around this time that he started to become very vocal which was completely unike him. His meows were very expressive and nothing like I'd ever heard from the other cats.
A couple of weeks ago he started climbing on top of the cabinets and sleeping in bowls up there. He hasn't done this since he was really small, according to my boyfriend. We figured he was losing weight and soon would be doing acrobatics across the curtain rods like he did before he got fat.
Today, when I came home from work he was sitting in the bathroom window where our elderly cat used to hang out before she had to be put to sleep because of organ failure two months ago. He meowed more than ever, literally. I got him one of his favorites, the water from the tuna can with a bit of tuna in it, and he didn't eat much. I took him back into the bathroom, letting him know it was o.k. if he wanted to get back up on the window sill but he chose to sit on top of the toilet licking his front foreleg instead. His tail and hind leg have been doing this sort of twitchy thing when he stretches and I thought he may be having muscle pains from climbing so much recently. I touched his front leg to look at it and he didn't seem to mind but he did another wierd meow. I pet him, asking what was wrong when I literally felt chills go down my shoulders and my hair stood up. I have never, ever had this feeling before and never really knew what people meant when they said it until just then.
What is wrong with him? Am I overreacting? He is skinny, but probably just barely on the skinny side for a normal cat. He hasn't had any more episodes like the one I described. I'm worried that with the death of 2 pets in the last year and his mother's progressing illness that taking the cat to the vet and finding he's really sick may be too much for my boyfriend to deal with right away.
If we feed him more food and his appetite can keep up with it, could the issue wait a couple of weeks for vet attention?
Thanks for for any help.
Glad to offer my two bits. on the plus side, if we're right, it's easily treatable, and shouldn't cost to much...not that I'm putting a price on a loving pet...but that's always nice! :)
You're very right, Savas. I made an appointment with the vet this morning with those same thoughts in mind. My first priority, really, is to be sure George gets well as soon as possible; I'd feel absolutely horrible if anything happened to him because I decided to wait. I appreciate your quick reply.
It could be a parasitical infection. Some of them affect neurologically, causing seizures and paralysis. But the weight loss and meowing (personality change) makes me think it's this and not just a genetic or head injury related seizure disorder.
You should take him in and get him checked and get treated. There's a few parasites that do some nasty stuff, and if you want to keep him from suffering permanent personality changes (or...I hate to say...death) due to damage caused by the parasite, you should get him checked out quickly.
If it's a parasite, the situation is dire, as it's already affecting higher functioning...so...
You should take him in and get him checked and get treated. There's a few parasites that do some nasty stuff, and if you want to keep him from suffering permanent personality changes (or...I hate to say...death) due to damage caused by the parasite, you should get him checked out quickly.
If it's a parasite, the situation is dire, as it's already affecting higher functioning...so...
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