For the last few days, Werner's been sullen, lethargic, withdrawn, and incredibly short-tempered with Fiona, screaming at her whenever she was licking him as if she was attacking him or something. I thought maybe he was getting frustrated with boredom but he didn't want to play and didn't even care for catnip or go apeshit for wet food like he normally does. Wednesday night was also rough because he kept on screaming throughout the night, and I got really worried. (Of course my anxiety disorder is made way worse by being woken up at 5 AM by having Werner scream across the bed at Fiona who wasn't even touching him.)
So first thing yesterday I took him to the vet.
Turns out cats can get slipped discs too.
Anyway, now he's all strung out on morphine (both a delay-release injection and a twice-daily opiate in pill form) and taking prednisone for the inflammation, and hopefully in a few days he'll be back to his affectionate, cuddly self.
Being on painkillers means he's actually not hiding in closets or under couches all the time, too, so I can see that when he walks he has a very waddly limp going on in his hind legs, consistent with severe back pain.
It's a little alarming that Werner treats Fiona like a scapegoat for everything, but Fiona's taking it in stride and still being ultra-nice to him. Hopefully he'll let her clean him because he's been unable to and his fur's getting kind of matted. Maybe I'll give him a bath (after a pain pill has kicked in, of course).
