wrote in message
ups.com...
Our 11 year old cat who is usually pretty spry just lies around
everyday and doesn't eat as much and is losing weight. She has
increased thirst too. All of this sounds like diabetes, but she has
also lost her voice. She doesn't purr anymore and when she does meow
(which isn't very often anymore), she sounds really hoarse and it
usually either sounds like a little squeak or kind of a hiss. She
doesn't seem to have any pain anywhere in her body. We've got her an
appointment with the vet, but we tried to put it off for a while
hoping it was just a cold or something, because it's so traumatic for
her to go to the vet, and we hate putting her through that. Does
anyone have any idea what might be wrong with her? I'd just like to
hear some guesses before her appointment tommorow. Thanks!
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Just wanted to comment about the lost voice. When my cat Molly was still
alive, she completely lost her voice at one point. The vet said it could be
a tumor but it could also be benign growth on her vocal cords. At any rate,
the vet treated it empirically with an injection of corticosteroids saying
that if that if her voice didn't return in a few days, I should bring Molly
back, and they would look down her throat (under anesthesia). The
corticosteroid injection worked, and Molly got her voice back partially. She
had a hoarse voice for the remainder of her life. She lived approximately
one more year until she succumbed to chronic renal failure at the age of 17
(we had her euthanized), but this was not related to the voice problem as
far as I know. She stopped purring several weeks before she died/we had her
euthanized. It does take energy for cats to purr, so when a cat stops
purring, it could be because the cat is weak/lacks the energy.

After you see your vet, please post again, and tell us what he/she said.
Purrs to you and your kitty.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.