How Well Do You Know Your Cat?
One of the most important reasons for interacting with your cat regularly and getting to know him well is so you know what is normal for him and when something isn’t right. We learned this quite vividly recently with our indoor/outdoor orange tabby, Bijou. Normally when we come home from the studio we find Bijou lying on the sofa enjoying the warmth. We pet him and he moans with pleasure, stretching out in luxurious ease.
Recently though, he would moan and there was a complaint in it. He would be stretched out, but as if all done-in. He was lethargic, listless. A natural jumper and climber, he couldn’t make the fourteen inch leap from the sofa to the coffee table. Something was wrong. He just wasn’t himself.
Off To the Vet
So we did what you would do. We took him to the vet. She did a blood test. And to bring this tale to a ready end, he had two different tick borne diseases, for which we are now medicating him. The key was ‘he wasn’t himself’, the very words we told the vet. Knowing your cat can be that which saves him and the best way to achieve that is to spend time with him and interact with him. Of course, since you’re reading this you already know all that.
(I’m happy to report that since writing this post Bijou has completely recovered and is once again his lively self.)
Here is a video on how to recognize if your cats need help.