I'm desperate for ham conversation (with hams, not about hams) so I'd say it was a solitary cry of existential hope, wonder, disillusionment, futility and yet? an all embracing love of the cosmos.....
I have issues ....
Maybe she just liked being petted and figured if she couldn't say it now, she might just not say it. Rusty vocal cords and all that...?
Ham relationships have a distinct aging feature, different than all their phases before that, as many here point out. Still amazing critters...