Clingy cat

[saffron]

sorry she wont be able to hear through that ear but if you wont take her to the vet maybe you could phone him & speak to him about your concern's 

[JackSpratt]

Desley, usually I would completely agree. But she is SO much more unsure of herself since the op and it's awful seeing her so upset. If I feel there's no improvement in a week, I'll take her in again.

There's no chance of her being able to hear through that ear again,sadly.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I can understand your reluctance to take her as it upsets her, but I think if the vets think she should be seen again, it would be wise to follow their advice, esp as it is her ears - there could still be a slight issue, and leaving it could make the issue worse. They should also have a record of her weight from the op, and can see just how much/little she has lost, and whether it is anything to be concerned about.

[JackSpratt]

Yep, it's been advised I take her in again. But to be honest, I'm loathe to as it seems to upset her so much. I might give her another week and see what happens.

[Desley (booktigger)]

HAve you spoken to the vet yet?

[saffron]

So sorry your little old girl is not well but just give her lots of cuddles & love, as Desley has said please avoid giving her kitten food but as your cats love dry food give Royal Canin a ring on 01935 600800. I have always found them very helpful  regards cat welfare rather than some companies who are only interested in making money.
Is she deaf in that ear or is it still a question the vets are waiting to see if she becomes deaf?

[JackSpratt]

Thanks, Desley. Although, their main diet is dry food, so it's confusing that she isn't putting it straight back on. When she stayed over at the vets, they tried to give her meat and she turned her nose up at it!

[Desley (booktigger)]

Course you can have a chat with her!! I wouldn't use kitten food on a 15 yo though, I normally use cat milk with cats that need building up (as long as they can tolerate it), and dry food can help them gain weight.

[JackSpratt]

Right, I'll give them a quick call tomorrow. That was kind of the plan, just wanted general concencus(sp), I think!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Yes its sad cats cant talk to us so we can understand, they often try so hard but we dont get the message.

I would still have a word with the vet as to why she is not acting normally.

That ear sounded very very bad , poor thing.

[JackSpratt]

She still appears to be eating and drinking OK. I might try give her kitten food, though. Yes, they did mention that there might be a little more involved than polyp removal due to pressure being put on the ear canal. TBH, her going in for the op seemed the lesser of two evils at the time.(She was regularly scratching her ear so viciously it made her cry out and we often had to clean up blood spray off walls due to broken blood vessels.)

She hasn't been to a vets particularly regularly, and I think the amount of time she's been with me,my partner and our other cats is the longest she's been with the same "family." So I think maybe she's got nervous about being moved on again.  It's sad I can't just have a chat with her and let her know I like her too much to send her away!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Did they tell you that she would be deaf after the op ..........sorry just interested cos I have a neary deaf cat here and the vet said when he went in for other treatment they would look further down the ear canal.

I agree with Desley and think that you should have a word with the vets. Were blood tests done before the op? If not that maybe the next stage.

I think she is probably shaking head cos that side feels strange and also she cant hear so will feel very strange.

If she was eating and drinking OK before then something must be up, she maybe in terrible pain in that ear and I would definately get her back to the vets.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I would be tempted to have a chat with the vet again first, just to be on the safe side.

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Ahhhh poor Parsley is she still feeling a bit under the weather!  Do you think she might be shaking her head because she is now deaf on that side and is trying to "clear her ear"?

With regards to the weight loss have your tried her on kitten food for a while ... this is always good for helping skinny cats put on weight.

[JackSpratt]

She had a polyp. (I wasn't told about the polyp when I took her in June, I was told it was ear mites.) Unfortunately, matter had built up inside her ear canal to a large degree, so they had to cut that away to get to the polyp and kind of re-route the ear canal. She's now deaf in that ear.

I've been told by the person who found her when she was five weeks old(in a carrier bag, poor thing) that she's fifteen years old now. I've had her living wih me for around seven. She is an utter star and it makes me sad to see her so listless compared to her usual self, which is basically acting like a mischevious kitten!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

What was wrong with her ear? Is she eating and drinking normally and how old is she?

[JackSpratt]

Just to clarify, I don't have a problem with clingy cats in general! Basically, one of my old girls went for an operation which turned out to be more serious than expected. She had to stay at the vets overnight and then go back for a check up and removal of stitches. Since then, she has got very clingy and has lost a little weight. Could this be due to stress?(The weight loss, not the clingness. I'm assuming that's due to thinking we're going to leave her at a vets again!)

Also, the operation was because of her problem with her ear. She kept shaking her head an awful lot, which brought the problem to our attention in the first place. But even after the op, she's still shaking her head, although it is less often. Can cats develop psychosomatic reactions?