Really worried.....should I not be?

I posted last week that I thought Ashie had URI...but I waited it out and she has stopped the sneezing...she doesn't have the slime on her nose like she did...and I don't hear that crud when she breathes. That is the good news!

The bad news??? I don't know if it is bad or not....I just tend to worry naturally since I love this cat with everything I have!!!

Anyway....she is still spending most of her time upstairs (the redone attic). She has always liked it up there....but she has always spent time downstairs with us (mainly in the evening)....sitting on our laps, etc. Now she comes down to eat and goes back up.

If we go upstairs, she jumps right up and goes to us for pets/pats/loves. She starts purring up a storm and rubs up against us like she always has...roles on her back...and is pretty much the same old affectionate cat.

But she just won't come down like she did. There were times, too, when she would jump on the bed at night with us....and sleep as close as she could to me. She doesn't do that anymore (for the past 4 weeks now, probably).

And I noticed that her back/spine seem REALLY bony. She isn't a thin cat at all (not huge...not thin....but has a 'belly' )....but that spine..you can really feel it..and that scares me. My husband thinks she has lost weight...but I don't notice it. He thinks it is probably because she had the URI and wasn't eating like she was (like people don't when they can't taste, breathe, etc).

So..I don't know what to think. My husband thinks she is staying away because my two year old (almost 3) terrorizes her more than she used to. As soon as Ashie is down, my daughter is right on top of her. But I don't know....she has never stayed away like this before.

If she is the same Ashie when we go up to her, do I need to worry like this?? What about that bony spine?????? Angel (cat that died back in 2002) got that bony spine not too long before she died (but she was obviously thinner, overall). The bad thing is, I don't know how old Ashie is. I adopted her back in 99 from the Humane Society. They estimated her at 6-ish back then, but Roger doesn't think she was that old.

I don't know what to think.....or what to do (aside from taking her to the vet)....so I thought I would come here first. I am going crazy and nearly in tears at the slightest mention of this.

I can't help you diagnose your cat, but you need to be concerned about anything out of the ordinary. After all, Ashie doesn't speak English. She can only tell you her symptoms by her behavior. Please take your sweet baby to the vet ASAP.

If I was being terrorized by a 3 year old I'd be up in the attic 24/7 also :-) You should probably get her to a vet just to be checked out.

Please take her to the vet. A cat that is ill, or God forbid, dying, will often seclude themselves more and more away from human companionship. The bony spine thing does bother me, and it's obvious you're seeing a change in behavior. Don't hesitate to bring her in for a check-up, and to see what you can find out...

I really don't know what to tell you about the boney spine, but the sneezing and so on sounds oh so familiar to me.

We have four cats and two of them have the Feline Herpes Virus.
It starts out with sneezing, then they start to cough...almost like they're trying to get up a hairball, then their nose will start to run, then one of both of their eyes will get red and watery...just like pink eye in a human.
Most of the time they are perfectly fine and have no symptoms, but if they are having a flare up or outbreak that's when the symptoms start.

I don't know if an outbreak or flareup will go away by itself, because when Lizzie had her first outbreak I took her to the Vet and she was put on medication for 10 days...then a couple of years later when Gracie had an outbreak I knew what it was so I got her medication also.

My Vet told me that almost all cats are exposed to the virus when they're kittens and the majority will develop an immunity to it, but some don't...my Gracie and Lizzie never did.
Apparently one of the shots kittens are given is a vaccination against the virus, but since my girls already had it the shot can't and won't get rid of it.
Once they have the virus they have it for life, but can go years or in some case their entire lives without every having an outbreak, but they are always carriers.
Lizzie has had 3 or 4 outbreaks and Gracie has only ever had one.

SO after I wrote that book
I just want to let you know that maybe your cat has the virus and has just never had an outbreak until now.
An outbreak can be brought on by stress, adding a new member to the family...fur or human, the loss of a family member...again fur or human, moving...so really anything that is upsetting to them can cause them to have an outbreak.
You mentioned that your Daughter is now more active and paying more attention to the cat.
That would be enough to cause an outbreak.

I'm by no means an expert and I could be WAY off the mark, but I really think if it were me I'd take the cat to the Vet and ask if it's possible that she has the virus....they may not call it Feline Herpes, they may call it Rhinotracitius...I'm sure that's not spelled right
It's nothing that you or your child or husband can catch and according to my Vet as long as the outbreaks are managed the cat can live a long and normal life.
The virus itself will not kill the cat, but they can develop an underlying infection that can be very dangerous to their health.

Time for a vet check and maybe a lesson for the little one

I would have her checked out ASAP! If her spine is boney, she probably isn't eating enough and could have developed fatty liver. When cats hide, it's for a pretty serious reason. I've had a similar situtation happen with one of my cats in recent times. And if I hadn't taken him in when I did, I would have lost him within a couple days. I think this could potentially be serious. Your cat needs a vet!

I have one cat who gets a "cold" every year in the fall, and it goes away and everything is fine. However, this past year she also lost alot of weight- the boney spine, hip bones and I took her to the vet and she has hyperthyroidism. I took her to the vet this past Friday and she has gained a pound back and her follow up test results are supposed to be in tomorrow . So I too, would recommend a trip to the vet really soon .

I also have another cat who loves us upstairs, loves us upstairs and rarely comes down, but is slowly spending more time downstairs lately- after 6-7 years of this, we were a bit shocked!

We also have a 3 year old, so I can relate. Unfortunately, the only thing I can tell you that has helped with the cat is time out and immediate apologies to the offended animal, and the fact that Meggie likes kids and is queen of the warning bite and pat- Meggie has taught her well . We have also been working on lately, since the cats are finally letting her get near them and touch them and occasionally even come to her room for a bedtime story , that she is to stop petting them while they are still happy, not petting them until they've had enough and leave . Good luck! I hope your kitty is feeling like her normal self soon! .