Elderly cat decision, advice please

18 or 19 year old cat and she’s wasting away before our eyes. Very thin compared to her younger chunky physique, drinking lots of water, trouble getting on the couch but can make it (fell off once as far as we are aware) purrs away when stroked, which we find encouraging, but not eating a lot.

Clearly being 18 or 19 there isn’t going to be long left for her and we’re not going to start the vet poking around to “cure” her but being realistic, when do you know the time is right…..

When she is suffering.

That exact thing happened to our cat a couple of weeks ago and he died. Get him to the vet, probably kidney failure.

IMO if she’s happy, her time hasn’t come yet.

Treat it well but let nature take its course.

Yep keep a close eye. Our 21 year old was on the same boat Christmas before last. I remember going downstairs in the middle of the night after hearing a noise and he was all over the place and obviously in pain. Took him to an emergency vets as dawn broke. Me and the vet were in bits. : (

earlier rather than later is no doubt best, but how the hell you know at the time is beyond me, when it has to be done though it will be clear.

drinks loads of water as kidneys are failing….cat’s high protein diet stuffs ’em up. Kidney’s alone won’t cause any discomfort though I think, so if the cat is happy carry on for now, but be prepared for that vet trip.

If she’s not suffering then don’t. I’ve had 3 put down for various reasons all purred till the end. Sad days, once the quality of life is too compromised it’s time.

You’ll know when mate. You dont need anyone to tell you.

Lost our cat this week exact same symptons,not been eating well,however when she lost control of back legs that signalled the end,it was very swift,didn,t want to end it too early however she was ready to go, sad day,had her 18 yrs.

Very thin compared to her younger chunky physique…

Although I would expect some cats to get thin with age, as humans often do, it could be the sign of an over-active thyroid gland, which is very common in elderly cats. One of my cats who is probably not much younger that yours (I don’t like to work out his age !) had a seriously enlarged thyroid gland about 6 months ago, it was removed and he’s as fit as a fiddle now.

It can be difficult to decide when the time is right to put an animal to sleep. As the owner you will know better than anyone else your cat and how close to normal she seems. As a rough guide, any animal that is eating well and moving without apparent pain probably doesn’t have to be put to sleep what ever the rest of their condition might be. You say your cat is off it food and loosing weight. That’s not normal but if it is her kidneys – and it might well be – if it were her thyroid she’d likely be eating a lot – if it is her kidneys then she may well be in no pain.
From what you’ve said I think it’s inevitable that’s she’s not going to get better. Unfortunately many cats with kidney failure struggle on for many months before dying. Therefore its often not if but when you have to put her to sleep. In these circumstances, I think its better done sooner than later.
If you don’t want any veterinary treatment, then, when the time comes, make sure you ask for the animal to be euthanased or put to sleep when you make the appointment. From a vets point of view it can be difficult to judge what an owner wants if it isn’t made explicit and going through the options can make a difficult situation only more so.
Its never easy, but its often a last act of kindness, and the right thing to do.

Colin
(vet – old and old school)

I did wonder about this when my cat turned 18, but when the day came I knew it as did my family.

sudden weight loss could be a thyroid problem.

ps……..

thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt cats were worshipped as gods, they have never forgotten this 🙂

Just lost my last cat a few weeks back, 18 years old, kidneys failing, lost weight and spent most of the day asleep. Took him to the vet and they found a lump on his liver(cancer) and that was that.

The vet was absolutely brilliant saying we had brought him in at the right time as she had seen other cats whose owners had left it too long. Very quick at putting him down and very professional. Even got a sympathy card through the post the next day.

On the plus side, the wildlife has returned to the garden.

If he craps in my vegetable patch again, could be sooner than he thinks……

If he craps in my vegetable patch again, could be sooner than he thinks……

That really isnt funny and just shows you up as being a bit socially inept, did you struggle to make frinds at school?

We’ve had ours 14 years and the vet said he was 3 or 4 when we got him so 18 ish ??

Anyway, we took him to the vets about a year ago because he was puking a bit, drinking a lot of water and losing weight [he was a fat cat]
Vet said he had kidney problems and needed medication, we asked if he was in pain and were told not, so we decided to just let nature take it’s course.
Just had him back for a check up and blood tests and his kidneys are apparently back to some sort of working order, the vet said she’d never seen that before so I’m a bit dubious of either the first test or the last one.
Even though he only has one of his big teeth left, he’s still a menace to the local mouse population and – unfortunately – has a love of baby birds 🙁
He eats enough to to satisfy a large dog and still pukes a bit but he seems chipper enough

Anyway, like the OP, ours is a lot thinner now and eating and drinking lots but I think he’s still got a good quality of life, he goes out 5 or 6 times a day and still stays out all night sometimes [bit like the kids]

well mine is 20 or so,drinks a soup sized bowl of water a day and because of this taken to vet,urine,blood tests etc came back as ok

weighs 3.6kg,down from 6.5kg in his prime he was a 10kg fatcat when he arrived and you can tell its all muscle that has gone.
Re: the loss of appetite,have you tried to change his food? Merlin will eat most of usual catfood then wander off but if you then offered him fish,chicken,cheese,meat would eat it.just imagine eating the same thing day after day you’d get bored too

Re: the puking,merlin used to a lot so tried differant types/brands of food till found one that he didn’t throw up

I think if you can handle him and the vet can examine him you should carry on though must be said Merlin under vets advice doesnt have innoculations anymore as doesn’t interract with other cats any more but makes up for the ££ saved with steroid/antibiotic/vit,mineral ones

Best to just keep her as comfortable as you can and let her go quietly. A trip to the vets would possibly stress her more than is necessary. In my experience ( a cat breeder for 25 years) this is the way most will go at that age. Its perfectly normal. Just keep her warm and well loved.

Wow, so many old kitties.

I was in a similar situation a few years ago. Had her since a ball of fluff, she was 18, and until reading this thread I thought that was unusual. Usual story, arthritic, starting to be incontinent, drinking a lot. Hardest decision I’d ever had to make and it broke my heart, but it was the right thing to do. Had the vet do a house call, and she passed away in my arms on the rug in front of the fire. There comes a point where it’s cruel not to.

A trip to the vets would possibly stress her more than is necessary.

There’s a lot of truth in that…….I’m still haunted years later by the stress it caused one of my cats when I took her to the vet’s to be put down – she had stopped eating and just wanted to sleep all the time. The vet reckoned that sometimes they know when their time is up and they just give up, I guess that can be true of humans too. What’s best for the cat depends on the circumstances, although on balance I think in that particular case the right decision was taken – but only just.

We had a very sweet ‘kitty’ of abt 20 who held on for a long time, sometimes seeming better, sometimes worse. Dad kept putting it off and putting it off, in the end she was found curled up in her favorite spot having died in her sleep. She was not distressed in any way before that (that we could tell), just the same as others have described, not eating much, drinking loads, sleeping for ages and ages even for a cat… I think the last week or so she stopped cleaning herself quite as much and the day or so before I remember she had ‘weepy’ eyes.
I agree as others have said, if there seems to be no distress and there’s not a lot of incontinence then let it go for a bit, see what happens. (I think there is something rather soothing? to the soul to think they pass quietly and in a favorite place, or in familiar surroundings)

That really isnt funny and just shows you up as being a bit socially inept, did you struggle to make frinds at school?

Sorry if I caused offence trying to lighten things a bit, commenting on my 17yo cat’s recent adoption of my freshly dug vegetable garden as his private bathroom, but the insult’s a bit much ta.

Merak – You’ll know when mate. You dont need anyone to tell you.

+1

Think of the cat, not you.

If you’re considering euthanasing the cat, it’s worth asking your vet if they’ll do a home visit to carry out the act. Many of them do that now. It can be a lot less stressful for everybody involved if it’s done this way. I hope the cat’s ok anyway.

Keeping carpet sharks this unfortunate event comes round too often, personally having coming home to a distressed animal I feel it’s better for them too go a week to early than a day to late.

Hard to judge but if the animal is old and had a good run is it worth giving them another month or two with medication when thay are possibly/probably in pain and not enjoying life.

Gina (the cat)was taken to the vets yesterday afternoon. she hadn’t hardly moved in 24 hours since she went upstairs and hadn’t ate for about 3 or 4 days and gave up drinking water 2 days ago. She was very thin (used to be chunky)

She was quiet and restful looking on the way there and seemed to be enjoying the sun on her face.
She looked cozy

The vet did a splendid job with no fuss, drama or anything that would disturb the cat or me.

Very quick. I shed a few tears of course and the vet left em with her for a bit which was thoughtful.

He confirmed kidney failure.

We’re sad she’s gone but happy she only suffered enough for us to realise the best plan of action.

She was a good cat, if somewhat annoying at times. She’d never been ill, never got lost, never came home with any injuries that would concern you, very clean. We got here from the Cats Protection league when she was 2 or 3, they didn’t know exactly how old. She had a good life with us at least and the sales of cheap chicken legs from Asda will fall severely now she’s gone.

Sorry to hear about Gina, but you’ve done the right thing.

Been there with Toby the westie. 🙁 said we’d never have another dog, 5 months later we got Archie the westie 😀

B

sounds like you knew exactly when the time was right. Well done for giving a cat a very happy life, and then for helping her out when she needed it most.

Sorry that you had to go through that and make the decision, but it was the best you could do. A above you did the right thing.

We got here from the Cats Protection league when she was 2 or 3

Sounds like she had cracking owners for the next 16 years then. Sorry to hear about it. You did the best thing for her. 🙁

Sorry to hear that, but sounds like she landed on her feet when you gave her a home.

reckon you did the right thing at the right time.

sounds like she had good, long life which is all any of us can ask for.