MikeScone
Mike - Camera Corner Mod
I'm becoming quite concerned about Scone. He hasn't been eating enough - he is eating, but not a lot, and irregularly.
Basics: Scone's a mini-rex male, not neutered. He's not young any more - he'll be seven in February - but that's not old, either (about my age in human years, actually). His health has been generally good over the years, with an annual bout of stasis during his peak shed around Labor Day plus or minus a few weeks.
This year I took him in to the Cornell clinic last month and they kept him over night and then brought him back in two weeks later for follow-up bloodwork (his kidney enzymes were borderline the first time, but they thought it might be due to his not drinking). Recapping the results of the clinic visits over the last few weeks, they said his teeth were fine (I specifically asked them to check for spurs, but he's never had tooth problems in the past), there were no abnormalities in his blood work on the recheck, and they didn't find any obstructions or lumps anywhere.
Last night when I came home he'd eaten only a little of his breakfast salad and hardly any pellets. He had eaten some hay, and he is drinking. Oddly, however, he will eat - and seems quite hungry - when I hand feed him, especially parsley and kale. Both last night and this morning he wasn't interested in the food on his plate, but when I offered him a stalk of parsley he ran to get it and nosed at me for more as he finished each stalk. He ate the usual amount of parsley this morning before he was full and hopped away. His poops have been very small and hard - there's not much in his litter box, although he has been leaving small droppings around wherever he was. I can hear gurgling or squeaking noises when he eats or drinks (kind of like the sound a kettle makes just before it whistles).
Just to add interest, he still loves to chew on paper and cardboard. It drives me crazy to watch him ignore good food to hop over to a tip-in card or some shredded junk mail and nibble with great enthusiasm.
His behavior has been "off", too. He hasn't jumped up on my bed for days, and he's started sitting in corners instead of on his chair or the sofa. He's even started sitting in a cardboard box I put out in the living room for him six years ago - in the past, he's just used it as a tunnel or a chew toy, but in the last few days he's started to spend time just sitting in it. Last night he would only sit or lie down against the front door - maybe the cold air leaking under it felt good? I had to carry him into the bedroom, and this morning he wouldn't leave the bedroom. I could entice him with a bit of kale right up to the threshold, and then he ran back under my bed.
He'll come when I call, and put his head down for pets. As long as I pet his head and ears he'll lie still, but if I start to stroke past his shoulders he runs away.
I was wondering about joint pain, maybe, which would explain his relative immobility (although he can still run very fast and hops around the room without obvious signs of pain). Could his sensitivity to being stroked past his shoulders indicate some skin problems? What could hiding in corners and boxes mean? I suppose there could be some changes due to age, but this seems extreme. Any ideas?
I hate to put him through another vet visit so soon, especially as he's eating (if only a little), but I really think we need to get to the bottom of this. If he's not showing any improvement tonight when I get home I'll call Cornell, but I'm looking for suggestions.
Basics: Scone's a mini-rex male, not neutered. He's not young any more - he'll be seven in February - but that's not old, either (about my age in human years, actually). His health has been generally good over the years, with an annual bout of stasis during his peak shed around Labor Day plus or minus a few weeks.
This year I took him in to the Cornell clinic last month and they kept him over night and then brought him back in two weeks later for follow-up bloodwork (his kidney enzymes were borderline the first time, but they thought it might be due to his not drinking). Recapping the results of the clinic visits over the last few weeks, they said his teeth were fine (I specifically asked them to check for spurs, but he's never had tooth problems in the past), there were no abnormalities in his blood work on the recheck, and they didn't find any obstructions or lumps anywhere.
Last night when I came home he'd eaten only a little of his breakfast salad and hardly any pellets. He had eaten some hay, and he is drinking. Oddly, however, he will eat - and seems quite hungry - when I hand feed him, especially parsley and kale. Both last night and this morning he wasn't interested in the food on his plate, but when I offered him a stalk of parsley he ran to get it and nosed at me for more as he finished each stalk. He ate the usual amount of parsley this morning before he was full and hopped away. His poops have been very small and hard - there's not much in his litter box, although he has been leaving small droppings around wherever he was. I can hear gurgling or squeaking noises when he eats or drinks (kind of like the sound a kettle makes just before it whistles).
Just to add interest, he still loves to chew on paper and cardboard. It drives me crazy to watch him ignore good food to hop over to a tip-in card or some shredded junk mail and nibble with great enthusiasm.
His behavior has been "off", too. He hasn't jumped up on my bed for days, and he's started sitting in corners instead of on his chair or the sofa. He's even started sitting in a cardboard box I put out in the living room for him six years ago - in the past, he's just used it as a tunnel or a chew toy, but in the last few days he's started to spend time just sitting in it. Last night he would only sit or lie down against the front door - maybe the cold air leaking under it felt good? I had to carry him into the bedroom, and this morning he wouldn't leave the bedroom. I could entice him with a bit of kale right up to the threshold, and then he ran back under my bed.
He'll come when I call, and put his head down for pets. As long as I pet his head and ears he'll lie still, but if I start to stroke past his shoulders he runs away.
I was wondering about joint pain, maybe, which would explain his relative immobility (although he can still run very fast and hops around the room without obvious signs of pain). Could his sensitivity to being stroked past his shoulders indicate some skin problems? What could hiding in corners and boxes mean? I suppose there could be some changes due to age, but this seems extreme. Any ideas?
I hate to put him through another vet visit so soon, especially as he's eating (if only a little), but I really think we need to get to the bottom of this. If he's not showing any improvement tonight when I get home I'll call Cornell, but I'm looking for suggestions.
ray:
