Moby is Sick

Comet, from Heatherdale Trailer park, and Moby.

Yesterday my own cat, Moby, became lethargic. Later in the evening, he began leaking diarrhea, wherever he would sleep. And yet, if he attempts to go to the bathroom, he seems unable to. He has also vomited. His temperature is slightly below normal.

This is consistent with a hairball issue. Moby has had these issues repeatedly, especially this time of year. I trimmed off most of his long hair, attempting to keep this less of a problem for him, once shedding season hit. I don't know that this is his problem, but it seems likely.

He has never had the issue of leaking diarrhea, however, while he sleeps, with a hairball issue. He has had bouts of extreme lethargy, failure to eat or drink and low body temp associated with hairballs and then, a couple days on metacopamine does the trick.

So, if you give a cat with diarrhea caused by hairballs something to dry up the diarrhea, one can make a cat worse, if it is indeed caused by hairballs. I gave him fluids an hour ago, 120 cc. He did not absorb them quickly, which was disturbing. Instead they actually sunk, from the bubble of fluids under the skin under his shoulder, where I gave them, to down near his left armpit. So I am about to take him to the vet.

Moby is an old cat, rather ancient in fact. He is my ghandi cat. Most of his teeth were pulled in a dental a bit over a year ago. He showed up in late 1999, as a stray, who would perch despondantly on the fence of the duplex where I lived near Fred Meyer in Corvallis. My own cat, Hopi, the only other cat I had at that time, would go outside and they would interact.

I trapped him in January of 2000 and took him to a Portland FCCO clinic, where it was determined he was already neutered. But, they accidentally mistook him for a girl, and opened him up to discover he was a neutered male.

Anyhow, he was very badly matted, so badly matted his chin hair was matted to his chest hair. he couldn't raise his head.

I shaved much of the mats away. For a time, I fed him outside, but it got very very cold that winter. I then had added Electra and Bangor to my cat horde. I didn't want more. I had placed Found Ads, which went unanswered, then Home Wanted ads, which also went unanswered. I could not leave him outside in the frigid weather, however, and so Hopi, Electra, Bangor and myself invited him in. He never left. He was older already. And that was seven years ago. He is probably close to 15. Maybe older than that. The only health issues Moby has had, were the matting problem, the bad teeth issue, which I took care of promptly, and hairball issues. He's never been really sick before, outside of the hairballs.

I love Moby very much. He's just a wondrous cat, shining with love and goodwill towards all.

I am fortunate in that a Portland couple sent a donation. And, my vet's office told me, a woman who reads my blog donated $50 at the vet clinic, for care of cats. So I have the money to help Moby. And we're leaving for the vet right now.