How long has my old cat got left?

[BlackeyedPetitsPois]

Bless her she has just turned 18 yrs old (I've had her since 10 weeks old!). She is a moggy with quite a bit of Maine Coon in her, and in pretty good nick according to the vet. She's on medication for her arthritis, her weight is good, and doesn't do much anymore, except sleep!

I just wondered if anyone had any experience with geriatric moggies, it breaks my heart to think she'll be gone soon, but how soon?

[hiddenhome]

I have an 18 year old and she just sleeps and potters too. I think they can go on into their 20s if they're in good health. Mine is skinny and has matted fur which gets shaved off every year.

[timtam23]

She sounds in pretty good health. I had 2 cats from kittens, both lived to 18. For the last few years of their lives they slept a lot although in summer they liked to have a potter around outside & lie in the sun. My old boy was blind for the last year of his life but quality of life was still reasonable. I think when they are very frail & fading away there are decisions to be made but if just old & sleepy but still eating, drinking & mostly continent I would say not to worry too much.

[BlackeyedPetitsPois]

Lovely looking cat.

Mine is long haired and ginger too. Trying to upload a pic.....

She had matts too so had to be shaved!

[BlackeyedPetitsPois]

That's what I'm afraid of - decisions when she loses her ability to feed and toilet properly.

[BlackeyedPetitsPois]

Thanks for your replies. I think she is happy enough at the moment, pottering in our sunny garden. There's nothing to threaten her, no other cats enter the garden, so she's pretty much on her own and left to sleep in the sun!

[cozietoesie]

Seniorboy was 20 last Xmas. He's on arthritis meds as well and I think his vision is hardly there but he's still enjoying his life - sleeps, potters and purrs.

I went through a period of buying his food in single boxes but that was some time back. Now I'm just happy to have him around and he's been on borrowed time for so much of his stay with me that now is all good.

[GRW]

My lovely 18 year old tortoiseshell girl is skinny too, and spends most of her time sleeping. We got her from the RSPCA when she was 5, so I'm not sure exactly how old she is. For the past year she has been on medication for an overactive thyroid. My 17 year old DD adores her, and can't imagine life without her.

[timtam23]

My old boy wasn't exactly perfect in his litter tray habits for quite some time before he died (he would wee in it then get out & solemnly poo on the floor) but we didn't mind. What finally overcame him was tongue cancer. Once we knew he wouldn't be able to eat properly we switched into palliative care mode & he had a cossetted last few weeks with us. For a couple of years it was like having very elderly frail relatives living with us, especially after the old boy became blind. Quite stressful at times as I had spells of being very worried about both of them but I think they both had happy old ages with us.

[LaurieFairyCake]

My 18 year old was told he had 15% kidney function left in January. The vet said I'd be back shortly to have him pts.

He's totally fine for the moment.

[BlackeyedPetitsPois]

Aww these old boys and girls sound lovely. Much loved and happy in their final years.

Think I'm going to get a few more years with my girl. One thing she does do well (and loudly) is purr

[MrsSchadenfreude]

My last cat was 22 when she died. We took her to the vet as she was becoming incontinent and we thought was probably senile too. He agreed, but said that her quality of life still seemed good - she was eating, sleeping in the sunny garden and curled up on her favourite chair. He said that we would know when the time had come to let her go. Nearly a year later, she had stopped eating and drinking - pretty much overnight, and just lay on her blanket in the kitchen. We called the vet and he put her to sleep at home, on her blankie, in the kitchen. I stroked her, and she purred, which she hadn't done for months. It was all very peaceful at the end, and she was definitely ready to go.

[MissingKittyCat]

We have an old BoyCat. He's 12 but was a very poorly runt. We saved his little life and he moved outside at my mums for as many years as he could. He loved the wilderness! He has retired to our bungalow, has lived here for four years now. He can't manage stairs, it takes him a lot to jump, he sleeps most of the time and I have to brush him as he can't groom properly.

He's very arthritic and vomits frequently but he loves a nice stroke, has the loudest purr and eats & uses the litter tray. He'll sit out in the sun for a while, eat some grass, and sleep. He tends to scream if he finds himself alone in a dark room, think his vision is letting him down.

If he was to show any severe deterioration, I'd have a difficult decision to make. Until then, he is pampered. He's a pleasure to care for. I have a lot of respect for tiny little boy.

[thecatneuterer]

I've had two 25 year olds, and quite a few 21, 22 ish. A couple went blind but still seemed to manage fine.

I few years ago one of my tenants wanted cats but, being young and with no solid plans in life, didn't want to commit herself long term. So, through CHAT, she adopted two elderly girl mogs whose owner had just died. They came with all their vet papers. One was 23 and the other 25. They both went on to live happy and healthy, albeit a bit sedentary, lives for another two years each when they both died peacefully.

[fannyfanakapan]

my brother's mog is 25 this year, still going strong, as long as there is a patch of sunlight to lie in and a lap to cuddle up on.

We had our old boy PTS last year, because he was senile - he was a rescue mog and at least 15. He became very anxious, didnt know where he was, wouldnt come downstairs anymore, used the kids floor or bed as a toilet, (despite having a litter tray), would meoww loudly in the middle of the night....when he was having more bad days than good, we knew it was time.

[cozietoesie]

Out of interest, TCN, did that old girl who staggered in to you from the street as a pack of skin and bones last any time at all? (I know it's many months back.)

[Lonecatwithkitten]

The oldest cat I have come across was 30, fully documented with the practice holding castration records from 29.5 years previously.
At the moment the longer cats live the longer they are likely to live, health care for old cats is streets ahead of where was 10 years ago.

[thecatneuterer]

Well remembered cozie. She lasted around ten months. I forget what got her in the end. The usual kidneys I expect. But she was ancient and at least she didn't die starving and cold.

[cozietoesie]

Many moons ago when I was a kid, 8 or 9 would have been regarded as seriously 'getting on' for a cat and now not so. I'm always surprised that pet food manufacturers still have 7+ years as 'Senior' because there are plenty of posters here who would regard 7 years old as barely middle-aged these days.

Have the stages at which physical changes occur in cats/other pets altered with better care - to your knowledge - Lone? (I appreciate that you may not have such information readily to hand of course.)

[cozietoesie]

I'm pleased nonetheless, TCN. 10 months of love and warmth is a lot more than I'd have hoped for her at the time. Well done you.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

There has been a reclassification of cat ages yes.
Juvenile is still under 1 year
Then middle aged
Senior cat is now over 13 years
Geriatric is over 15 years.
We did have a new poster from international cat care today that I haven't had a close look at, but it appeared to have 7 life stages rather than 5.

[cozietoesie]

Thanks for that Lone. Interesting.

ICC still have this as their life stage guidance on the site - might nonetheless be interesting to you, Blackeyed. There's lots of linked guidance on geriatric cats there.

[BlackeyedPetitsPois]

Just checked back in on this thread.

Thanks for the replies everyone and for the link cozie

[Corygal]

This is the most beautiful thread I have ever read. Am red-nosed and brimming-eyed over all the lovely senior kittizens.

Lone - it is brilliant there was a cat of 30. That is what Mr Cory and I are aiming for. He is FIV but to counter that he is spoilt rotten. The vet, who hadn't looked at his notes, thought he 'looked like a young cat'. I burst with pride. Do you think attention and extra special care would prolong a cat's life? I hope so.

Cozie - Seniorboy is a role model to us all. Give him a chin rub from me.

[cozietoesie]

I don't know about attention and extra special care prolonging life but I do know that I started spoiling Seniorboy when he came to me (at 14 ish) on the grounds that he likely wouldn't be around for long so What The Heck. I would hate to have to admit what his diet has occasionally been like in the 6 years since.

He must have genes like a Massey Ferguson apart from anything else.

[IHeartKingThistle]

Ours is 15 but increasingly easily stressed and confused. Happy lying in the sun or by the fire but cries at night when she doesn't know where she is, can't get on beds any more, uses DDs room as a toilet if we're gone too long or if there are noisy or unfamiliar visitors. Cries for food but eats sporadically. Has taken to curling up tightly in the middle of the lawn even when it's cold and blowy.
She's on arthritis meds too but she's stiff and very inactive.

But she will still purr on my lap and beg for chicken and chirp at birds and headbutt the DC affectionately. She was a rescue at 5 months and she's always been difficult. It's so hard to figure out what her quality of life is.