Sake

My cats are aging. Sake will be 10 this year, and Haiku is 9.  That is not old for cats, but it is middle aged, I think.

I have noticed a difference in Sake. She is more hesitant when she jumps, and sometimes, does not do the seriously high or difficult jumps, after she thinks about them.  This breaks my heart. But, so far, she does not seem to have injured herself by an ill-fated jump attempt.

The other thing that is happening, is that she is not as able to keep herself free of mats. She has always had trouble with her britches, and right now, they are really matted. I spend a very few minutes every day trying to work on those mats, but she is not very tolerant, and I understand that it is painful to have the fur pulled while I am trying to just cut out the mats.

Most recently, she has had severe mats under her chin that she does not seem to be able to tend to. I have worked on them regularly. She does not like that, but after the work is done, she seems to acquiesce that something needed to be done, anyway. I hate to hurt her, and try to be gentle, but know that mats are tough.  I cut when I can.  I comb softly when I can. I hope for the best.  

Interestlngly, when I show her the fur, she seems to realize where it came from and she does seem to feel better when she does not have serious mats...