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Old October 3rd, 2014, 01:08 PM
Floppy Dog Floppy Dog is offline
Floppy Dog
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Squamish, BC
Posts: 194
Unhappy Behaviour Change in 13-15 year old cat

Hi everyone,

Looking for some insight into some odd behaviour changes in my senior cat, Crush.

First, background: Crush is 13-15 year old neutered male. Don't know his exact age because we adopted from humane society about 10 years ago. He was a fully gown adult cat at time of adoption, could have been any age from 2 on. He was a stray and we think separated from mom too early in life because he still kneeds and his teath are TINY for his size. We feed him Wellness Core grain free kibble, about 1/2 cup every 36 hours or so. We add 1 tsp flax seed oil to control hair balls (he's a LONG hair!) and 18 Feline Greenies for his teeth. We also have a 7 year old American Cocker Spaniel dog. We live in an apartment on the 2nd floor, so Crush can't get outside, although we have a cat door in the balcony slider so he can get out onto the balcony and survey his domain any time he wants and use his litter box. We have lived in the apartment for 20 months. The only change in that time is that I had to give him Seargent's Flea Drops (the 3 month kind) about 10 weeks ago.

Second, changes: Over the past 6 months, Crush has started peeing and pooing on the living room couch and sometimes the bathroom tub. At first it was occasional, so we atributed it to not having a clean enough litter box. We'd clean out the litter box and clean the couch (or tub) and that would solve the problem for 6-8 weeks. Now, he seems to be using the couch INSTEAD of his litter box. He also used to ask the dog (her name is Lady) to play by throwing himself on his back at her feet. He hasn't done that for about 4-6 months now and doesn't enjoy the play sessions that Lady initiates. He can't seem to get away from her fast enough. He has also started panting, for lack of a better word. Usually, it's hard to tell if he's breathing at all since he's so furry it's hard to see his chest rise and fall. We can certainly see it rise an fall when he pants. It's hard to tell if he is more lathargic than ususal, he's such a lazy cat!

Third, constants: He still is interested in his food and tells us when he's out. He can jump up to get to his food, eg. floor to chest freezer top, to filing cabinet top, no problem. Chest freezer is about 2-1/2' tall, about counter height. He has no problem jumping onto his cat post, about 3' high or my bed, about 4' high. He still loves cuddles and will plop himself down on any available lap. Can't tell if he's drinking more water because he and Lady share the same water bowl; Crushe's choice, he refused to drink from his own water fountain after we got Lady and insisted on drinking from her water bowl.

Any insights or suggestions you could give me would be appreciated. My daughter is quite worried about her "little old man" and so am I.

Floppy Dog
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Old October 3rd, 2014, 01:29 PM
sugarcatmom's Avatar
sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 5,357
Best place to start would be a vet visit with complete senior blood panel, urinalysis, and blood pressure check. The panting might also warrant an EKG or cardiac ultrasound.
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