Elderly cat, is it time to say goodbye....

[MeelooMouloo]

He has reached the grand age of 18, was rescue cat I've had since he was 10mths old from a rescue centre so has done really well.

He has no teeth, his eyes are cloudy, his hearing debatable, he looks like a threadbare rug, he can no longer wash himself, arthritic & poss pussy dementia too. he does eat, ravenously, all the time but no longer maintains any weight. See's the vet regularly for a jab to help thyroid/kidney function but these are no longer helping (used to improve his condition). Vet advised not to bother with them anymore. He has some mats now in his coat despite brushing & spends most of his time sleeping in the garden as he finds the two youngest children too hectic now. Vet has also suggested it may be time to look at his quality of life and make some decisions about his future.

He still purrs if you stroke him but as he's incontinent too he can only stay in the kitchen & back porch when he comes in. As he's still eating and wandering about I'm finding it really hard to be objective about the thought of putting him to sleep. Just keeping hoping he will go in his sleep.

Can anyone offer any advice that will help me decide what is best for him???

one of my cats was like this and we put him down. he's had a good life and will now sleep. i have 2 new kittens now some 8 years later and I'm sure bubbles is my old cat!
not an easy choice

I think if your vet is prompting you, you really need to look at the situation objectively.. They only suggest this when they feel it is time. It does not sound like he has any real quality of life, compared to what he used to do, especially seeing as he is not really part of the household any more. If he were on the settee next to you for strokes etc, it would not be so bad..

I have been where you are now, and it is so hard. But you owe it to him to make that decision in a timely way to reduce suffering. Only you know how much enjoyment from life he is getting at the moment.

I found a pet quality of life assessment here. It might help to objectify your decision. We went through the same thoughts with my old lady, to the point of booking her in for euthanasia then cancelling the appointment as she rallied. In the end she died in her sleep at home, and yes, I was so relieved that we didn't have to make that judgement.

I hope you can come to the right decision for you - whatever you decide to do, I am sure you will have lots of lovely memories from your lovely cat

Sleeping in the garden sounds ok to me for an old man.He doesn't sound so bad that I would consider pts if he was mine,he just sounds old.(I have an elderly dog with bladder issues so am dealing with similar things). I found that quality of life link really helpful marlinspike-showed me that my dog isn't too bad at all,but that he could do with us trying to up his happiness. I would let him have more time sleeping in the sunshine,and fuss and treat him as much as he likes and you can manage.

what helly said

eating purring sleeping in garden = sounds good enough to me

Agree with above, had my lovely old cat pts autumn last year. She had kidney failure & went downhill quite quickly.

I was happy for her to continue as long as eating, able to walk & not in obvious pain.

On her last day she couldn't walk so that decided for me.

Sadly I have had to make the decision to have our old cat pts on the 11th July. He had begun to swell up so took him to the vet who confirmed my worst fears, that his kidneys & liver were no longer working & that the kindest thing I could do was to let him go.

It was the most heartbreaking decision I have had to make.

Thank you for all your replies and personal experiences.

You made the right decision, though it's terribly hard and you're grieving right now, so probably don't really feel that you've done the right thing. Sorry for your loss

Thanks Jux, we have two young cats too who have been bit subdued since he went. They generally just ignored each other on a day to day basis so didn't assumed they wouldn't notice.

Worst was telling DD, she's only 2 and loved the old cat cos he'd sit with her to be stroked. She thinks he's in the sky now & keeps looking up see if she can see him.