Hey everyone...my male kitty Harley (roughly 8 or 9yo, neutered) has recently had an abrupt change in his voice. This all started a week ago, while out in our backyard with my hubby he encountered another neighborhood cat that must have been sitting in one of our shrubs. According to my hubby, our cat let out "the most blood-curdling screech" that he has ever heard as a result of this encounter. My kitty has met this other cat before, but he obviously does not like it (we think it's a male). The next day following this incident, my Harley could no longer "meow" like he used to. Let me add that he is normally a VERY vocal kitty...he "talks" a lot! So to have him go from a clear-sounding "meow, meow, meow"...to a very hoarse, raspy-sounding "errrgh" is sort of heartbreaking. I miss his constant meows...it is what defined him. We brought him to the vet that we had been taking him to, and they really sort of dismissed it. The doctor did a quick exam (felt him all over, checked his heartbeat, temp, ears, etc) and asked US what we wanted to do! I was kind of taken aback by that. She recommended starting him on a low dose of prednisolone oral suspension for several days to see if that would improve things. I wasn't really on board with that idea, but honestly, we didn't know what else to do at that point...so reluctantly we agreed to it. We managed to give him 3 doses, before he made it so difficult to administer...that we just gave up. He seemed to improve for a few days, but this morning he was clearly not himself again (very quiet, moping around, not his normal "active" self). We have an appointment with a different vet (2nd opinion) tomorrow morning at 9am. I'm a little worried that it might be something more serious. Has anyone else encountered a larengytis-type of issue with their cat?

Linda