cat not washing himself

[wayne0214]

The other day a friend of mine was relating how her male cat quit washing himself last summer. She said that he looked ragged and dirty. Her indoor/outdoor, tuxedo-colored pet, is about 7 years old, and up to that time, had been caring for himself in the usual cat-manner. She also related how she gave him a bath or at least tried to, inorder to clean him up. Her question is, what would make a cat to not wash himself any longer?

[sasvermont]

Wayne,

This too happened to one of my cats, years ago. It took me months to realize it was happening...he slowed down, fur got nasty looking and he got thin... It turned out that he was ill with diabetes and he ended up being put down a couple weeks after being diagnosed because he was 18 years old and not a good candidate for treatment, according to the Vet. He was quite uncomfortable and it seemed humane to me. Anyway, my guess is that the cat you mentioned is not feeling well - maybe something not related to diabetes, but I would say a trip to the Vet would be appropriate, for sure. Good luck. P. S. I also once had a cat that had a bad back and wasn't able to move her neck around to the point where she could get much of her lower self..... Hope this helps. SAS

[ December 15, 2001: Message edited by: SasVermont ]

[4 feline house]

Since he is still fairly young, my first guess too would be illness. He needs to go to the vet. If he were old it might be just his age, but even then a vet visit would be warranted to rule out illness. Cats are naturally fastidious, so when they aren't it means something is wrong.

Realize, too, that in nature an ill animal is a doomed animal, so cats also naturally hide that they aren't feeling well. So this kitty's parents might assume nothing is wrong since he's not acting sick. It may be that he is acting well and his dingy coat is giving him away.

[ December 15, 2001: Message edited by: Leah S ]

[wayne0214]

Thanks for the replies, I will certainly tell her what you said soon.

..............wayne