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Elderly cat advise please

18 posts & 17 voices | Started 1 year ago by enfht | Latest reply from scraprider

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enfht - Member

My cat is almost 20 years old, he's a fine old fellow, always been a friendly, social cat. Likes nothing more than a good feed, stroke and sleep. Spends most of his time snoozing in his favourite spot. With all senior cats, his kidneys are fried and he's been on pills for quite a while now. He's also now on more pills to lower his blood pressure which had been affecting his sight (did I mention he's deaf and toothless as well). Anyhoo he lives with my parents since I flew the nest over a decade ago. He's quite content, albeit with frequent check-ups at the vets which costs me a fair packet (which I gladly pay)

The problem I have is he now seems to be going senile and has begun pissing on the landing much to my Mum's despair. I know there are many factors that can spook a cat into pissing indoors, but to be honest I think the old chap is just loosing his marbles. My Mum unfortunatley seems to be at the end of her tether now and is dropping big hints that maybe his time has come. I think my parents feel we're keeping him alive well beyond his sell by date. They are not heartless by any means, and are very fond of him, but I guess coming home to a house stinking of cat wee can only happen so many times before you loose patience.

Is there ANYTHING anyone can suggest to coax the little fella into pissing outside?

Posted 1 year ago #
flippinheckler - Member

I think your cat as had his day, same thing happened to our old fella (cat)he also got unsteady on his paws so we decided to have him put to sleep. Unless your going for the record of oldest cat then give Guiness Book of Records a call.

Posted 1 year ago #
PeterPoddy - Member

Inside litter tray? Just a thought

Posted 1 year ago #
wwaswas - Member

I think living with it day in and day out they're in a far better place to know what the right thing to do is?

After 10 years away from home it's only 'your' cat to you I suspect?

Posted 1 year ago #
mintimperial - Member

Get him a litter tray? This has worked on several of our old cats when they started getting lazy about going outside.

He may have arthritis or something similar which makes using a cat flap painful, or if he doesn't have a cat flap he's probably just not able to hold it in like he used to be able to. A tray is preferable to catpiss carpets in my experience - we use the compacted wood litter pellets to avoid stinkyness.

At 20 he is certainly getting on, but if he's not in any pain or anything it seems a shame to kill him just because he can't control his bladder as well as he once could. Try and persuade your mum to give him a litter tray first.

Posted 1 year ago #
chickadee - Member

I have had assorted lovely cats who were all good at peeing outdoors til they got old. With all of them it has basically been the beginning of the end - kidney failure (which preceded liver failure) and mini strokes. Have you spoken to a vet about it? The one exception to this is The Cat Who Will Not Die (17 years old, 3.5 kg, no signs of getting old other than sleeping more)and we think she's going to the loo indoors because she is bloody minded. This is the animal who will go out for a walk in the garden then come back in & do a massive turd. No amount of coaxing/cajoaling/getting cross worked so we ended up putting down a litter tray. Not an ideal situation but it contains the mess at least.

I really hope you can work something out & the moglet is OK

Posted 1 year ago #
schrickvr6 - Member

It doesn't sound too great, obviously could be caused by alot of thing but had a lovely old cat (25+) who started doing this and went a bit senile, went blind in one eye, turned out it was a massive tumour behind his dodgy eye. Actually had is eye removed but he continued to go downhill rapidly. In retrospect we really wish we'd let him go earler and not put him through the trauma. Do what's right for him.

But you could try something like this - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/60-PREMIUM-QUALITY-PUPPY-DOG-HOUSE-TRAINING-WEE-PADS-/230569991873?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&hash=item35af0adec1

Edit: assumed you had a litter tray, but if not get one.

Posted 1 year ago #
Junkyard - Member

you can actually buy cat nappies I only wanted an amusing picture

Posted 1 year ago #
Cougar - Member

Probably not what you want to hear, but my old girl went the same way and ended up being put to sleep. She was 18, and not well. Had her since she was a ball of fluff, broke my heart. But.

It reaches a point where it's selfish not to make the big decision. She was in pain, couldn't get outside properly so was peeing in the house, the only reason I was keeping her alive was for my benefit, which wasn't fair.

Got the vet to come out, and she passed away in my arms in the living room. Can't hope for a better way to go really.

Sorry dude, my condolences; my eyes are sweating a little just typing this.

Posted 1 year ago #
deadlydarcy - Member

Got the vet to come out, and she passed away in my arms in the living room. Can't hope for a better way to go really.

Sorry dude, my condolences; my eyes are sweating a little just typing this.

Can't say anymore than that really. I suspect it might be time for the old fella. And if you and your folks care, then get the vet to come and do it at home. Have slightly sweaty eyes myself thinking about going to the vet to collect Java when he passed away

Posted 1 year ago #
McHamish - Member

Our cat lived to 23...towards the end she slept most of the time and was pretty much blind and deaf.

The vet said she wasn't in any pain but eventually lost her mobility and we had her put down.

When she was became less mobile we got a litter tray and she used that...sometimes if it was warm she'd go outside, but you can't expect an old cat to go outside all the time.

She was a tough cat in her prime and used to rule her territory...then she got old and retired to a basket under the radiator.

Posted 1 year ago #
carlosg - Member

Been in the same situation as yourself/parents , once senility starts to set in I'm afraid it's time to visit the vet.

We got our first cat from a rescue aged about 3 and she was a gem , it broke our hearts when it got to the point where she didn't recognize her litter tray/food or even us. As with your cat she was going to the toilet in random places but would climb in the litter tray and just stand there for an hour without doing anything.

PLEASE don't let your cat get the same for his sake!

Posted 1 year ago #
stanfree - Member

Ive got the same problem my cat who Is just short of 18 has been pissing indoors for the last 6 months . We have resorted to getting two litter trays in case she is either upstairs or downstairs and cant make It in time.
On Xmas eve she went rapidly downhill and pissed , was sick then had a wee fit , we prepared the kids for the worst but when we woke up on Xmas day she was almost back to normal . She is having trouble getting around as her back legs are not the most mobile and oftens falls of things.
I know the day is coming fast that we will have to take her to the vets but during the evening she will come through and cuddle into either the wife or I .

What to do . ?

Posted 1 year ago #
ouchthathurts - Member

If you feel comfortable that it's the cat's time, or you feel the quality of life is beginning to slip then go to the vet, talk to them and ask their opinion on it.

From everything I've seen, heard, been taught, and everyone I've spoken to (i'm studying to be a vet at the moment) then they won't agree to it unless they think it's the right action to be taken. It's the worst aspect of the job, remember one of the days I was shadowing a vet there were 3 euthanasias in the same day (4 over the week), after each one she'd talk to the owner and try to comfort them, then at the end of the consult leave the room and break down. By the end of she was in a right state, really isn't a decision a vet will take lightly and not something they'll do if they don't think its the right thing to do.

Posted 1 year ago #
hels - Member

We had a cat when I was growing up who lived to a ripe old age. She wouldn't go outside any more as she got older as it wasn't safe, and other cats were getting at her. Or so the vet said when we took her in with an abcess caused by a bite on her leg. Def try the litter tray.

Posted 1 year ago #
enfht - Member

Thanks for the replies. Have already spoken at length with the vet and they would basically agree with whatever we felt was best for the cat. Totally agree it's about quality of life not length, which to be honest is ironic here because the pissing on the carpet isn't actually affecting the cat at all

His pills are sustaining him quite comfortably for the moment so will try persuading my parents to try the wood litter, but the Cat may just start dumping in the litter tray which wouldn't exactly help matters

Thanks

Posted 1 year ago #
ernie_lynch - Member

He's quite content

If that's the case, then I can't see why you shouldn't still make the effort if you want to. As far as the peeing problem is concerned, then the only thing I can suggest apart from an easily accessible tray, is that you give Feliway a go. Feliway will only help if the peeing is stress related, and that is very possible even if it has never been a problem before. Maybe going deaf has made him feel a tad insecure, or spending more time indoors has given him the urge to mark 'his territory'.

Of course senility is a very likely cause, but Feliway is well worth trying. It's not cheap, but in my experience it is extremely effective in de-stressing cats. It is sometimes impossible to know that a cat is stressed other than perhaps scratching or peeing behaviour.

http://www.feliway.com/gb

Good luck.

Posted 1 year ago #
scraprider - Member

very hard thing to do , our cat was just over 18 years , grown up with the kids , moved house with us, all the family probs , he was there , i came home from work and wife said he wasnt well , so i went in and seen him, now i said he had a strock , if thats possible for a cat to do so. i made my mind up to take him to the vet the next day, i didnt know what to expect so before i went to bed i said goodbye, im glad i did he died during the nite,maybe , if hes in no pain give him a month or so, get him a litter tray,make him happy you know see how he goes, good luck.

Posted 1 year ago #