Kitty update

So the vet thinks it's arthritis at this point, even though she's young, or that she played hard with our other cat. So he gave her "joint juice" and said it would take 10 days to kick in. Sunday she looked like she was doing better and even jumped on her own up to the couch to cuddle with the husband.

But last night we came home and she was really stiff. When I would pet her on her head, she would silently meow (open her mouth but no sound would come out - but she can meow.) She usually does a "trick" of sitting up on her hind legs to get her treat, but she couldn't do that. I could tell she was in pain. When I was petting her, any time I would pet near her belly, she would roll over immediately to have me scratch her stomach. But when I picked her up and held her hind legs, she would meow and this morning she actually hissed at me when I was holding her like that, which is SO unusual for her and I know it means she is in pain. So basically I think the pain is not in her belly at all but only in her back legs/lower back.

We have a heating pad and have been using that the past two nights with her (having her lie on it) and she loves that cause she loves the warmth. But she's just moving so slowly and stiffly. She's normally up and bugging us in the morning for her daily wet food...and she isn't doing that. This morning when I got up, she actually stayed in her basket in the livingroom until I came over to her and told her it was time for food - normally she beats me to the bowl!

However, she's not walking funny. She's not favoring one leg over the other, and she is walking around. She's just slow and lethargic. If it's possible, I think she's sleeping more than normal. I'm happy I'll be home for most of tomorrow to spend time with her. If she's not better after this weekend though, I'm going to bring her back to the vet, since it'll be past the 10 days in which he said it would take for her to feel the effects of the meds. But her personality is still the same (last night when I was adjusting the heating pad for her and getting her to lie down she only wanted to play with and "chase" my hand that was underneath the blanket). She also "plays" with her scratching pad (it's one of those round ones with a ball in it that she can chase around. She'll chase that and then lie sideways next to it and kick the round part with her hind legs...which is supposedly what is hurting her.)

I'm a little worried leaving her if she's not better when we're in Cabo, but I think it's just an injury from over playing with my other cat...hopefully I'm right. She just seems too young for arthritis. And the vet didn't think it was anything else (like cancer or tissue damage around the spine, etc. which he mentioned but said it wasn't presenting that way.)

So that's her update. She's not any better, but she's still "herself"...just on meds now. :)