Zane

[Elkhound]

I just took Zane to the vet; he's been going on these yowling jags, sometimes 15-20 minutes long, but I can't find anything wrong with him.  He's still eating and using his litter box.  Today he went through a very loud one and then tried to hide in the back of the closet.  THis made me think it was serious, so I took him to the vet, who couldn't find anything wrong but is keeping him for some tests.

[Evie]

Poor kitteh!  Yeah, it sounds like something is going on with him.  I hope you find out what it is.

[derynifanatic64]

I'll keep Zane in my prayers too!!

[Elkhound]

I just got him back.  The vet said that there were some small anomalies in his bloodwork, but nothing to indicate anything serious, especially in the light of his continued appetite and litterbox use.  She didn't see anything on the X-rays, but is sending them to a radiologist for a second opinion.

[Jerusha]

Hope it's nothing serious and Zane is well soon.

[Elkhound]

Thanks.  He was one grumpy kitty as I took him home, but as soon as we got in I gave him some leftover turkey from yesterday, and he slept most of the afternoon.  He spent some time on my lap after dinner; I'm not sure where he is just now.

[Elkhound]

Zane was very affectionate last night and this morning.  I'm supposed to hear back from the Vet today.

ETA:
He has a little arthritis in his hips, and both his heart and liver are a little enlarged.

The vet says that to find out more, he'd have to be ultrasounded, which would involve general anesthesia, which has its own risks on an older cat.

Zane doesn't seem to be in constant pain--perhaps intermittent, which would explain the yowlings--and the anomalies in the blood work were not severe, I'm inclined to adopt a 'watching brief'--to not do anything until/unless he gets worse.

I don't know how old Zane is, exactly.  He was a full-grown cat when my late Father got him; he could be as young as 11 or as old as 14, so quality vs. quantity of life is an issue.  Putting him under anesthesia has its own dangers, and if they do find something wrong with either his heart or liver, aggressive and invasive procedures (e.g. surgery) might prolong his life, but at what cost?

[AnnieUK]

Yowling can be a sign of kidney disease. I know one of my girls got very vocal in the latter stages of her life and the vet said that was common.  She ate well and used her litter tray well right to the end.  But kidney disease is so common in kittehs that I'm sure that was one of the first things they checked for and would have come up in his bloods for sure.

[Alkari]

Sorry to hear Zane hasn't been too well, and hope he improves.   Agree that a watching brief is the way to go at present, though if his lungs are OK, an anaesthetic probably wouldn't be too risky if you eventually decide on an ultrasound, as he'd only be under a very short time for the scan.   

Meanwhile, I'm sure he appreciates the turkey dinners!

[Elkhound]

I am going to do everything I can to let him know that he is loved for however much or little time he has left.

[derynifanatic64]

Cats are very exquisite creatures.  My dad would like to have one in our home, but I am incredibly allergic to cats--which is no fun.

[DesertRose]

Glad to hear that Zane seems to be doing a bit better.  It's not fun when pets get older; they can't tell you what's wrong if something does start to go wrong.

Here's hoping that Zane is yowling for something relatively harmless.  Can you give him something for arthritis pain and see if that stops the yowling?

I know medicating a cat is not fun, but some cats learn to tolerate it fairly well.  My parents' late cat, Catarina (who passed two years ago at the age of 20 from what was probably a stroke), learned to tolerate her heart medication; we all (my family and I) swear that she could tell the medication helped.  Either that, or she realized that we were all much larger than she was, and she was GOING to get the medication, like it or not, so she might as well get it over with. 

*pets* and a treat for Zane.  I just went and looked at his picture again.  He really is a lovely cat.

[Elkhound]

I don't think that the arthritis hurts much; he certainly doesn't seem to have any trouble getting around--he still jumps up onto furniture, etc.

I'm just going to take it day by day and week by week.

ETA: I've been off work the last couple of weeks, so have been able to observe him more closely than usual.  He's slowed down a great deal.  He's sleeping more, doesn't seem to want to play as much.  But he doesn't seem to be in constant pain, and is both eating and drinking and is using his box.

[DesertRose]

The slowing down might just be aging, as much as that is unfun to see.

How's Zane doing now?

[Elkhound]

He's asleep right now.  He seems to be back to his old self, pretty much.