Cat acting weird - sleeping and laying down all the time. Any advice would be great!

[Kat.]

Hi! I'm once again asking for advice about my cat's health.

My 4 year old cat been sleeping/laying down a lot these past couple if days. Usually he's super active, always running around, getting into everything, begging for food, etc. The first sign I noticed was on Friday when he didn't wake me up for food early in the morning. At first I didn't think too much of it because sometimes he had more lazy days but it's not going away and clearly something is wrong. I have a vet appointment tomorrow morning but I wanted to get some tips for what to ask for, or to what I should pay more attention because the vets in my country honestly aren't the best and it's usually super rushed. I've been sent home without answers or proper testing many times in the past, it's very frustrating but this forum has been really helpful (also helps with my anxiety!).

The thing is, nothing else seems wrong. He's eating fine, gets excited about snacks, is not throwing up, his poop looks great. He's been drinking very little water since I switched him to all wet food 1.5 months ago but he's peeing normally and regularly. It's just that he sleeps all the time and isn't interested in his usual activities. He is responsive, like he comes for food; and if I throw a toy he looks at it but doesn't try to chase it or anything. He swallowed a toy at the end of January and had intestinal surgery but it seems like he healed fine, and he is eating and defecating normally so I don't know? I was thinking he might be in pain since he's always laying down or sitting, and doesn't chase any toys, even when he looks kind of interested? He isn't limping and is able to jump but I know cats can hide pain well. When he was walking around the room just now, I noticed him sitting down often but I'm not sure if that's abnormal or if I'm just hyper vigilant now. I just don't know what to look for, or what could be causing this.

Thank you!

 

[stephanietx]

It could be anything, really, so I'm glad you've got an appointment for him tomorrow. When my cats get like this, the usual cause is upper respiratory infection. Sometimes, they have no other symptoms like sneezing, congestion, or anything like that. If you have an ear thermometer, you can try taking his temp in his ear to see if he's running a fever.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It sounds like other than the extra sleeping/lazing around things are pretty much normal. Did he show any lack of interest in playing shortly after the toy/surgery incident? He might actually be a bit leery about toys, perhaps?

I gather he is a sole cat, yes? Cats continue to 'mature' in different ways over time, so maybe this is part of his process, and playing is not as important in this phase of his life. That seems to be more common with single cats.

If he hasn't had a thorough exam and surgical follow up, I would ask the vet to do blood work, urinalysis, and maybe even some abdominal x-rays to ensure everything still looks good. With nothing else seeming to be amiss, you might find that your cat is going through a change to a more adult stage.

 

[Kat.]

Hi. It sounds like other than the extra sleeping/lazing around things are pretty much normal. Did he show any lack of interest in playing shortly after the toy/surgery incident? He might actually be a bit leery about toys, perhaps?

I gather he is a sole cat, yes? Cats continue to 'mature' in different ways over time, so maybe this is part of his process, and playing is not as important in this phase of his life. That seems to be more common with single cats.

If he hasn't had a thorough exam and surgical follow up, I would ask the vet to do blood work, urinalysis, and maybe even some abdominal x-rays to ensure everything still looks good. With nothing else seeming to be amiss, you might find that your cat is going through a change to a more adult stage.

He seemed fine after surgery! He was very very sick by the time surgery happened so it took a while to get better obviously but he was mostly back to normal, maybe a little bit calmer. I took away all his favourite toys because they were on the smaller side so it was hard to engage him in play and he's been a bit bored but he was still active - asking for food, jumping all around, getting into any open bag, etc. Now he literally sleeps all day, and it *seems* like it happened quite quickly.

I do have one other cat, actually! He's a year older and always been very calm and loved just laying around and now these days he's the more active of the two (not because he's moving more, just that the other one is not doing anything at all). I think that's what's alarming me, that their dynamic just suddenly completely switched.

He had an X-Ray after the surgery and everything was fine but nothing else (as I said, we don't have the best veterinary care here). I do hope that he's just maturing as you said! Or that it's nothing serious.

 

[FeebysOwner]

So, in a way, he is 'catching up' to your other cat who is a year older (LOL)! But you might seek out other options for 'entertainment' to see if that helps. It may not even be interactive toys as much as other forms of entertainment to reduce boredom?
Bored Cat? What Cat Owners Need To Know (including 10 Actionable Tips) – TheCatSite Articles
Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know – TheCatSite Articles

Please keep us posted about what happens with the vet visit!

 

[Kat.]

Took him to the vet this morning. He had a fever, and blood test shows low white blood cell count - vet said it's some kind of virus. Vet said it's doesn't *look* like FIP because there's no fluid and he doesn't have anemia but they also can't completely rule it out. That's been my biggest nightmare ever since he was misdiagnosed with FIP almost 3 years ago. So I really really hope it's not that. They got his fever down, gave a munch of meds and fluids, and we're back home now, have another appointment tomorrow.

 

[Kat.]

Update:

He was doing much better yesterday - he was basically back to his old self. And this morning woke me up for food!

Than took him to the vet, his temperature was better (39.3C today, 40C yesterday) but than while at the vet it rose to 39.7C so they gave him meds for that. He was super stressed though, it took forever for IV fluids to finish (I was at the vet for almost 4 hours), and the poor guy was shaking a ton and peed himself at one point. This is very stressful for him, I wish I could just treat him at home but they said I should come back tomorrow. I mean I understand that it's necessary, I just feel so bad for him, he's been through so much these past couple of months.

I hope his temperature stays down this time. They also said that with cats positive for coronavirus, you should limit stress as much as possible to avoid FIP and now I'm worried all this stress is going to affect him. Ahh, I'm an anxious mess. But he seems to be doing better!

 

[FeebysOwner]

They also said that with cats positive for coronavirus, you should limit stress as much as possible to avoid FIP and now I'm worried all this stress is going to affect him. Ahh, I'm an anxious mess. But he seems to be doing better!

Stress can affect all cats - healthy and ill - but, I truly doubt that singling out stress as the biggest factor for the virus to mutate to FIP is all that accurate. The big thing you can do is try your hardest to reduce his stress - which most often is successful if you reduce your own. Cats pick up on their owners' stress level very easily.

it took forever for IV fluids to finish (I was at the vet for almost 4 hours), and the poor guy was shaking a ton and peed himself at one point. This is very stressful for him, I wish I could just treat him at home but they said I should come back tomorrow.

Are the IV fluids to help lower his temp, or something else? You could ask about giving sub-Q fluids from home and see if that would be viable.

Glad that he seems to be doing better!

 

[Kat.]

Thank you so much for your advice! It's really helpful to hear a voice of reason when you start to spiral into anxiety, haha.

I actually didn't even think about sub-Q fluids, that would be a great option - I'll ask tomorrow. They leave the catheter (? English is not my first language so not sure about the right terms!) in his hand and he really hates it so it would be great to get rid of it.

I wish I knew how to check his temperature myself - maybe tomorrow I'll ask for them to teach me. He looks better but a bit weird - I'm constantly trying to guess what his condition is, and have no way to check, it's annoying.

Thanks again for your comments!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I wish I knew how to check his temperature myself - maybe tomorrow I'll ask for them to teach me. He looks better but a bit weird - I'm constantly trying to guess what his condition is, and have no way to check, it's annoying.

Well, you probably know the 'ugh' way - baby rectal thermometer...and, yes, they can show you. But you could consider looking into those ear thermometers - especially if that is what your vet uses. Not saying one you would buy would be as reliable as theirs (due to cost differences), but certainly it would let you see spikes and reductions.

 

[Kat.]

Well, you probably know the 'ugh' way - baby rectal thermometer...and, yes, they can show you. But you could consider looking into those ear thermometers - especially if that is what your vet uses. Not saying one you would buy would be as reliable as theirs (due to cost differences), but certainly it would let you see spikes and reductions.

My vet uses rectal thermometers! I didn't even know ear ones were a thing before someone commented here. I'm going to see in I can get one in my country, that would be so much easier (and less stress for everyone involved).

 

[Kat.]

Update:

Yesterday he seemed pretty good but was sleeping down in unusual places (not hiding though), and didn't have the best appetite in the evening and this morning.

Took him to the vet just now, his temperature was totally normal!! Very glad but that also makes me wonder why he was acting off. They let him go after about an hour of fluids, took out the catheter, I'm going to inject his antibiotics tomorrow, and then back on Friday to repeat bloodwork. He threw up while at the vet but the vet wasn't too concerned because it was a ton of hair and yesterday he was grooming all day after peeing himself.

We're home now, he ate a little bit and is sleeping. Tbh looks a bit worse than the last two days after the vet visits when he was active and eating more but maybe he's just tired from everything. They put something on this ear to stimulate appetite but so far he doesn't look hungry.