OAP cat - how to manage the end of life?

[tinselvestsparklepants]

Our lovely old cat is 20. Her mum died at 17 of kidney failure (well we had her PTS to avoid suffering) so we know the signs of that. OAP cat does not have these. She is still eating and drinking well and manages the stairs. However she has started to poo outside her box (she wees in it though) and she's begun to smell bad. We groom her regularly (she loves it) and she spends most of the day asleep. I'm just wondering - what should we look out for in terms of further decline? When is it best to just let her continue to age or when is it kinder to PTS? She otherwise seems well. She sits on my lap most nights for hours and purrs away. I want to make sure we give her the best end possible but I haven't experienced such extreme old age in cats before. Basically I don't want her to be in pain. Any advice appreciated.

[Gertrudesgarden]

She sounds fine to me. We get the odd "missed tray" accident too here, with our 19 year old boy, and there's no real medical reason. His kidneys aren't functioning perfectly but he doesn't need meds and he's happy, still zoomy, interested in cuddles and socialising with us.

What's smelly with your girl? If it's her breath, I'd take her to the vet. Our girl had something called "reabsorbtion" with her teeth and it's a sign of cancer. She was diagnosed in the August and we were told she'd be gone within a couple of weeks. 6 months later she was still doing fine, but she suddenly deteriorated one evening and we had her PTS the next morning.

What I'm saying is that you will know, without a doubt, when it's time to help her say goodbye. I was frightened that I wouldn't but I did. She told me, very clearly that last evening, that she'd had enough. She'd eaten happily all day, but suddenly at 10pm her mouth was too sore for her to eat. That was it. I was heartbroken (and still am) but she was very clear about how she felt and I did what I was told.

xx

[Jux]

Our eldest is like that. He's an old man, got a bit skinny and bony and ruffled around the edges. He's eating well, drinking well, gets upstairs OK but we've all built little staircases or waystations for things which are a bit higher, like beds, comfy chairs etc.

He's happy enough, very affectionate and purry. Sleeps a lot, but then cats do. I'm dreading the time to come though. He's dd's first cat of her own (the very elderly ones we had before him were old when dd was born), she got him a month after we moved here when she was 6. They've grown up together; he's her Prince, and all her boyfriends have known they come second.

[slipperywhensparticus]

Put a puppy pad in front of the litter box she probably cant bend her back to squat for long and is firing them out instead (disclaimer, I've only had boy cats they hunch to poop and almost sit to pee I'm not sure if that's "the rule"(

[tinselvestsparklepants]

Thank you. That's good to hear. I just haven't been here before and want to make sure we do right by her. Off home now to sit under her on the sofa!

[Toddlerteaplease]

Yes, you will know when it's time. I just looked at my girl and I knew.

[tinselvestsparklepants]

Thanks again all - there was only one response earlier when I first replied but my post didn't send. Yes we have paper down where she poos so that's fine - I was just looking at her yesterday and read about them getting smelly and suddenly worried she might be in pain. Thank you for all the responses, it's helpful.

[funmummy48]

Our cat lived until she was 21 and deteriorated very gradually until one day her back legs have way. She sat down and couldn't get back up. Up until that point, she'd been sleepy and a bit smelly but very happy in herself for quite some time.

[justcly]

My old boy has just turned twenty and I am also dreading that day. At the moment he's fit and healthy so I am just not thinking about it. He sleeps next to me at night even though animals aren't allowed in the bedrooms and if I'm late going up he hopes halfway up the stairs and then turns round and gives me a hard stare, as if to say "Are you coming to bed or not?"

[Want2beme]

When my 20 year old started to get frail, I took him to the vet for an assessment. She told me that it wouldn't be long before he was ready to go, but he wasn't quite ready and that I'd know when he was. I wasn't convinced, but I did. It was very stressful and I was back and forth to the vet with him just checking how he was. It is a difficult time, no doubt about that, but it's what we have to do for them

[sugarplumfairy28]

20 is such an impressive age! Just from experience, try and figure out where the smell is coming from, if its breath maybe a trip to the vets, DHs family cat Salem suffered with bouts of gingivitis and needed antibiotics to clear it up, in the end though a very swift bout led to fluid around his heart and an infection and he had to be pts, something to keep an eye on.

In hindsight with my family cat Mitzi, toileting in abnormal places was the first sign of a much bigger problem, she was 16 and gradually started to look a bit run down, not grooming so much, but was normal in her every day character, she evidently had bowel cancer and had to be pts.

Not to scare monger but keep a close eye on the little things, and if something seems odd check it out, it could be nothing but checking it out could give you peace of mind.