After I brought Buttons home from the vet yesterday afternoon, he remained lethargic. But after nightfall, he gave every indication that This Is The End. He just… cried. Sat their and wailed softly to himself. And tried to hide. That’s something cats do when they are mortally wounded or ill, they go off by themselves.
I pulled the Marvin-era baby gates out of storage and sequestered Buttons with me into a a single bedroom & bathroom. For several hours his sole interest was in hiding under my bed… someplace he almost never hangs out. If he’s in the bedroom, he’s either *on* the bed, or in the window. I picked him up a few times and put him on the bed; he slowly got down, went under the bed. I went to bed half expecting him to not make the night.
Fortunately, he woke me up this AM by laying down right next to my head and purring *real* loud. His energy and personality are back, at least for the moment. As part of his treatment, he’s not supposed to have any food until tonight, but so far efforts to interest him in food have been fruitless. So something’s still up.
One alternate hypothesis the vet put forward is that he swallowed a string and that it’s messing with his intestines. Not a diagnosis that I hope comes about. Buttons, sadly, is just the kind of idjit who likes to chew on string.