I wanted to share an update on Loki‘s condition.  After finding out last week how sick he’d become in the last month, and identifying the two possible causes as heart disease or asthma, he’s been taking inhaled steroids since then to address the asthma possibility while simultaneously identifying precisely which ailment he has.  Given the enlarged heart and inflamed bronchioles in his lungs, the diagnosis could go either way.

Loki always has been a very active cat.  He’s energetic, acrobatic, and normally awake much more often than the rest of the cats.  All of that has changed in the last two weeks.  He has become lethargic to a great degree.  His powernaps have been replaced by deep sleep sessions that fill most of the day and night.  When he plays, he plays with less energy and enthusiasm than normal.

Add to all of that the coughing fits.  In the month prior to his exam, he began coughing several times per day.  In the week leading up to his trip to the vet, they become far more numerous — often occurring six or more times per day.  His mood also worsened in that time.

He’s now been on the inhaler since last Wednesday after his annual exam.  As of today, the coughing fits seem to have stabilized to half-a-dozen per day and appear to be lessening both in number and severity.  It is far too early to make assumptions based on that.  While I’d like to declare he has asthma and the treatment is working, I believe he needs more time on the inhaler to verify that.  If the coughing fits drop off dramatically over the next week, we can be confident in that diagnosis.  If they do not, the inhaler may have addressed the increased strain on his lungs while not solving the underlying cause.  Only time will tell.

It has been more than a little difficult to watch my personal Satan lose his power over the natural and supernatural worlds as he falls victim to illness.  His brutality has been greatly tempered; he no longer plays with the same intensity and violence which has been the earmark of his amusement for more than nine years.  It may seem an odd thing to say, but I miss the scratches and bites and bleeding.  I miss having his front paws wrapped around my arm while he kicks me with his hind legs and bites me.  I miss the insane flying through the house as he torments everyone with his soul-stealing antics.  I miss the unnatural way he could scale the cat castle in two leaps and could descend head-first at top speed without any danger whatsoever.

The new normal for him is to sleep.  A lot.  It is to play in a subdued manner that is so unlike him as to be alien in nature.  It is to be a more passive feline who cowers in response to sudden movements and to other cats walking by him.  It is to be shaken awake or paralyzed in the middle of movement by strained coughing.  It is to want nothing more than to curl up on my lap and to drift off to a faraway land for as long as possible.

Only time will tell what the future has in store for him.  I am saddened to see that such a powerful predator has been subjugated by his body’s own weakness.  Hell, he doesn’t even levitate or pass through solid matter anymore…