Cat stopped purring

[tootyfruitypickle]

My cat has always been a massive , dribbly purrer.

I just realised last night that she has stopped purring. I spent half the night stroking her trying to get her to purr, but although she clearly enjoys being stroked - not a sausage.

This has coincided with a few other things:

• Yowling lots at night. Mainly wanting food but sometimes I'll get up and feed her and she'll still yowl 5 mins later. It seems to be ok once I persuade her to bed down with me.
• This is the other thing - no longer settling in with me or with dd. I have to repeatedly go and get her and then she will eventually end up in my bed and she stops yowling.
• Eating a lot - she now has 5 pouches a day - is that a lot? Seems ravenous.

She has a heart condition, and was diagnosed with quite advanced kidney problems last autumn. She ate the diet food for a bit but then just stopped eating, I then gave her sheba and she ate again. What seems to happen with the kidney food is that it constipates her and makes her have a massive stomach ache. I've tried it a few times since and same effect, she'll eat it but it quite clearly makes her tummy hurt and she stops. She won't touch food with the phosphate powder thingy sprinkled over it.

We are away a couple of nights mid week at the mo (split, so she's never alone more than one night). I've noticed she eats and drinks and wees absolutely tons more on this night!

Had a vet check up a couple of weeks ago she thinks she has cataracts and is semi blind so I've started leaving the lights on downstairs for her in case the yowling is due to darkness making it hard to find her way around.

With the purring - is that a sign she's feeling rubbish? That's what Im worried about. Vet did mention another blood test for thyroid but the last test in september didn't show a problem. Also if it involves different food there is little point.

Cat is 18.

Does anyone have any thoughts? She seems happy enough to sit on our laps and be stroked etc. But she does hiss sometimes now, which she never ever used to do - she get under my feet more asking for food so gets hissy if i tread on her (fair enough), sometimes when dd moves her but not so much with me,she still lets me yank her around like a baby. Just seems a bit short tempered in her old age (who isn't).

I would get the thyroid blood test done - just because it was normal 8 months ago, doesn't mean she's not hyperthyroid now. Being very hungry and unsettled, and more vocal, are all symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Treatment usually involves a daily tablet.

I've made an appt for next week. There's no chance I could get a daily tablet in her, but maybe I'd be able to crush it across different pouches of food. It does seem like unsettled behaviour. She spends all night on the stairs, which I think must be as she is used to waiting for us to come home. We only need to be away regularly until the end of the school term (dd is finishing y6 in a different area). I've also just ordered a second feliway plug in for another room she sleeps in a lot.

My cats are hyperthyroid and we syringe them medicine twice a day.

When they told us we would need to do medication I said never and although it was difficult to start with they've got used to it really well and one of them has been on it almost 3 years.

It may not be what's wrong with your cat, but if it is then it's not as bad as expected (apart from the cost)

I've just googled this and the symptoms she has do seem to fit exactly - she's doing MASSIVE wees, constantly and aggressive begging me for food (hence me stepping on her) and being more aggressive generally (the hissing). So will def get a test next week while we're there.

I know there is no chance I can get a pill into her daily. It's just me and dd , I have no-one to help and I've had her 18 years and I just know I cannot treat her with pills! But she is so unbelievably ravenous (she almost inhales her food these days) that I am hoping it can go in her food. I also read on another thread about covering it in marmite - she's particularly aggressive in going after my breakfast if it includes marmite so maybe that will work.... But first things first the diagnosis. Thanks viccat and lilao. Cost is definitely an issue and was the reason I didn't go for the blood test when we were at vets recently, but then again I am not longer buying the expensive kidney food....

I had a hyperthyroid cat, she took her tablet inside a Pill Pocket treat or in a bit of Dairylea type cheese.

I'm very sorry to hear about your cat OP.
At 18 I'd be considering what her future quality of life is likely to be - drugs might extend her life for 6 months or so but if she's going to dislike taking the drugs then I'd question the value. From your post she also has kidney, heart, eating, sight and behavioural issues (yowling) so she may well be suffering.
We had our old boy PTS last year at 20 - I wouldn't have considered any possible medical intervention at the end - He'd had a good life but his time had come.

Yes I think about that a lot, and that was also why I turned down the offer of the blood test as the vet wondered if her kidneys were worse - however there seemed little point if she can't take the medicine. I've only just realised she's stopped purring, as she behaves the same when on our laps etc. The yowling is definitely new (and exhausting) and the begging for food is quite different, she is really desperate . I think it would be worth trying the tablets if she is diagnosed, there seem a lot of different ways to try, with cheese, marmite etc. If it doesn't work , or she is allergic, or this isn't her thyroid, then of course I will think about pts. I think about it a lot, we had this before Christmas when she stopped eating - but then I suddenly thought about trying non kidney diet food and she totally bounced back from complete listlessness within a day or two. So it may be that managed thyroid condition would bring her back round too. I think I'd definitely say that right at the minute she is not a completely happy cat if I'm being honest. But it's definitely worth investigating this condition. Also it is not helping with me being out of the house so much but there are only another couple of months of that and then I will be working from home 4 days a week and never staying away so I also think it's worth seeing if the extra company and attention will help.

I have tablets to my late cat with a pill popper thing. It was really easy. She had 8 tablets a day at one point. However she was an exceptionally docile and not very bright Persian.

New battery needed?

My cat Troy was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at the age of 5. He would stop purring as his lungs filled up with fluid and the purr device couldn't vibrate. He had to have his lungs drained then he would be ok for a few weeks. He was on furosemide which is a tiny tablet.

troysmammy thanks, I think that might be the heart condition she already has, but will check with vet. I've moved the appt to tomorrow now after reading your post!

I once looked after an epileptic cat and had to feed her a tablet every evening. Since the cat hated taking the tablet, her owners told me to grind it in a mortar and then mix it with wet food or some moist treat. It worked very well.