Is it reasonable to put a cat down for this reason?

[Willow79]

Hi, my cat is 16 years old and I love her to bits. I've had her since I was an early teenager and therefore she lives with my parents still (I moved around a lot and lived abroad). She lives with me for stretches of time then returns home.

Anyway about 4 years ago she developed a skin problem. Constant scratching which resulted in a bloody face and eye, a bald head etc. She would get steroid shots which seemed to help.

But recent steroid shots havent worked. She is right back to scratching and she looks scabby again. She needed a neck thing and became deeply depressed in March time though she come through it with TLC when she lived with me. My mum has hinted twice recently that she doesnt know what to do because the cat seems miserable. Another line of treatment was suggested but we were told it may well lead to kidney failure. We tried hypoallergenic food and she refused to eat it. Anti histamines in food last a few hours.

I feel upset because I think my mum is hinting we may need to put her down. She hasnt said it yet, but I think that is what she is getting at. Is this a reasonable reason to consider putting a cat down?

I have been in this situation (putting a cat to sleep, not the specifics of what's happening to your cat) several times and I am always guided by my vet. I trust him to know that I will do anything I can to fix problems in my cats and I trust him to tell me when it's time to stop. If you don't have such a relationship with your current vet then I would suggest asking locally (local FB page/group maybe?) for recommendations because you really need someone qualified who you can trust in your corner right now.

Has the cat actually been seen by a specialist and had skin samples taken?

My cat had awful skin, she had small patches of bald, thick, flaky skin, it looked like small patches of mange. It turned out to be a fungal infection (not ringworm), it has reoccurred three times, so now she has a four weekly bath in an anti-fungal treatment. I also trim her claws very short so if she has an itchy patch she can’t cause trauma to her skin.

She also had a flea allergy, so I use a spot on and I use indorex alongside daily piriton.

So our cat had this condition. It definitely isn't flea-related - that is the first thing the vet checks. We had £1000s of tests done as he was young when it started. It can be caused by a seasonal allergy or just stress. They start over grooming and start up a vicious cycle.

We were close to calling it a day as the steroid shots (we had to have them for years) were becoming less effective but we just about kept a lid on things by going religiously once a month and the cat was very happy so we kept going.

One thing that worked was we often had an antibiotic shot with the steroids as often there was a low level infection.

There is a new medication for this which was only licensed for dogs when we were treating our cat but may be available now.

Also you can give prednisolone tablets more often instead of the shots if that works for your cat.

She saw the vet today. Got 2 injections, 1 steroid and 1 antibiotic. She is brighter looking already.

We were also given a different type of food and told to be strict with the diet. They suggested she may be lactose intolerant as well

That's lovely to hear, hope she continues to improve.

Willow79 My cat had the same problem and was miserable. She wouldn’t come indoors because when she got. Hot she itched more. She had sores and her fur fell out. She kept scratching all the time .loads of tests found nothing. The vet put her on Atopica for cats and also half a steroid tablet every couple of days. It worked. She stayed on the medication for a few years and lived to be 18. Go back to your vet and ask for it

@Willow79

She saw the vet today. Got 2 injections, 1 steroid and 1 antibiotic. She is brighter looking already.

We were also given a different type of food and told to be strict with the diet. They suggested she may be lactose intolerant as well

Glad to hear! We did antibiotic + steroid 2 or 3 goes in a row I think and then went back to just steroid.

Looking after an old cat and making sure they are happy and healthy is very hard work. My cat is 19 and has survived several serious illnesses in her life with expert vet care and full time love from me. She now has kidney disease and I think she might have a year left if that. But the quality of life she has is great.
I do go to work but the house is set up to suit her and she is on a special diet for her condition.
She loves to go out and the garden is also set up for her needs.
If you can't keep your cat comfortable or keep her with you all the time perhaps she should be PTS. She is obviously not happy with your parents.

Honestly you either need to look after your own cat yourself, it lives with you and you deal with the care, pay for the treatment, do the daily brushing etc, or you leave it with your mum, and accept that she makes the decisions on care and treatment, and given what you've said, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to decide to euthanize rather than continue ineffective treatment if the cat is unhappy.

It's kinder to euthanize a pet that is suffering a few months too early than it is to leave it a few days too late.

She is your mum's cat now as she looks after her. She should decide.

How is she now OP? I hope she's improving. Could she maybe be depressed and missing you? You say you are her "person" so it could be that she kind of gives up a bit when you aren't around...especially since your mum seems not to be that bothered by her 5not trying to be horrible I understand she has other things to worry about so I understand) also could your mum actually be hinting for you to take her again) you've had her befor as you said she improved dramatically while with you..so maybe your mum is not hoping to get approval for having her pts but actually wants you to take her but doesn't want to come right out and say it? The cat went back to her in great health and (I think partly your mum didn't continue the higher level of care that you had been giving her) I think the cat likely missed you and her happier time with you along with the extra care you gave her so declined again. If you take over her care and take her on yourself (permanently-she can't go back she needs to be where she's happiest) I think you could have some more happy times with her. I recommend putting her on a better quality food also..something with a much higher meat content than 4% (like whisk as and most grocery store brands) there are plenty of types of you just do a google search for high meat food for cats and you can purchase online which is easier than having to go get it anyway and often works out pretty well cost wise because it's much higher quality you end up feeding less and the cat is much healthier and happier from it!...win:win!! I also second the flea allergy as one of mine has FAD and even if one flea gets on her and bites her whole skin can react and become inflamed...so you don't have to find lots of fleas on her for her to have fleas and a reaction. I use Advantage and I buy that online too which is cheaper also and it's always worked well on my dogs and cats and rabbit! Anyway I hope all turns out good and I hope I've helped in some small way...good luck 😍