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Loss of self-confidence in an older cat

post #1 of 4
5/2/10 at 10:32am
Thread Starter 
Hi

My wife and I foster special needs cats from our local no-kill, cage free cat shelter. We have a question about one who is in our care. His name is William, about 14 years old and had to have his teeth removed a month ago due to gum problems. He is slowly healing and starting to eat better but he seems to have lost all his self-confidence. When he was at the shelter, before the surgery, he was the number 1 cat. All the other cats respected him and rarely gave him a hard time. Since the surgery, at our house, he has become reclusive, buries his head in the arm of the couch, and generally seems very down.

One unusual thing did happen, about 3 months ago we did blood work on him and everything was pretty normal. At the hospital, they repeated the blood work and his glucose was around 520. They gave him a half dosage of insulin and his number went down to 30. No one is saying what happened but we’ve been monitoring him and he’s staying right around 60. Low, but at least consistent.

What I’m looking for is any suggestions as to the self-confidence problem and hopefully get him cheered up again.

Thanks

Dave
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post #2 of 4
5/2/10 at 11:03am
I wonder if everything together, plus the recent surgery, could have affected his eye sight or even hearing. That would be a big change and would affect a cat's behavior quite a bit.

Your best bet is just to get him back in to the vet and talk to them at length. Make sure nothing more serious is going on - especially with his blood sugar. If fluctuating too much it could make him act depressed/despondent.

At home you could get some feliway diffusers to help in case he's a bit stressed out with how much stuff has been happening over the last few months. It's possible, if nothing health wise is found, that he's just upset from all of this.

Otherwise, lots of love, treats, quiet hiding places that he can always go to if needed, and just a lot of understanding can help support him through this.
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post #3 of 4
5/3/10 at 9:54pm
If you've ever had teeth pulled, you'd know that the pain can persist for days after the surgery. He may be in pain. Even if there were no complications from the surgery itself. If there's any kind of infection that set in he'd probably be in more discomfort.

That's my guess.
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post #4 of 4
5/5/10 at 3:27am
It it's his eye sight that could be something that's really affecting him. Burying his head says he might be sensitive to the light.

I know my Old English sheepdog became very down(not to mention confused with what was happening) when she went blind at age 5.

She however adjusted to it and was fine with it when she crossed the bridge at 11 1/2. Abby was very sensitive to light when she started losing her sight(she had retinal degeneration, most likely genetic in origin.) Might he have cataracts, I know they can make them sensitive to light(Abby was starting get cataracts before she crossed the bridge but since she was already blind it didn't matter.) My aunt's dog went blind due to them and she was sensitive to light when she started losing her sight. I know blood sugar issues can cause blindness, just like it can in humans.

He also might simply be experiencing pain due to the surgery. If you have ever had a tooth pulled you know how it can hurt, imagine having them all pulled. I know after having my 2 wisdom teeth pulled at separate times both times it hurt.

I'd contact the vet and get him in.

Taryn
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