My cat Bear is about 81/2 years old; she’s unbelievably
sweet. She is very thin, but she’s always been a svelte cat. On
Friday, her behavior was different: she was much more sedate than
usual. So we kept an eye on her over the weekend. She was
lethargic; instead of constantly being around us and often in our
laps, she wasn’t around. Typically she stands by the bathroom door,
looks at me, meows then turns towards the bathroom, looks over her
shoulder to make sure I’m following her, leading me to the basin,
because she wants me to turn on the faucet: she likes to drink the
dripping cold water, and repeats this frequently. But she only made
1 feeble attempt on Saturday. She wasn’t eating and by Sunday, if
we saw her, she was wandering listlessly, as if not knowing where
to go. Her fur had a slightly tuffed appearance along the ridge of
her back, plus her usually beautiful shiny black fur was a little
dull. Bear is somtimes talkative, but she didn’t say a word all
weekend. Noticing these symptoms sounds obvious, but it was because
I interviewed Dr. Turetsky, for the video Kitty Care, a chapter of
Love Your Cat, that I learned what to look for in my own cats.
First thing Monday morning we made an appointment with Dr.
Turetsky, of The Veterinary Clinic of East Hampton. Turns out she
was dehydrated and a urine sample revealed an infection, so she’s
on antibiotics. I won’t know about her blood work until tomorrow.
But she already looks better and as soon as we got home, she
ate!