Old puss, looking his age. Tips for keeping him well please

[BoysBoysBoysAndMe]

Probably an odd discussion.

Our puss is 11. He's long haired and the most docile, cuddly, friendly cat ever- and our 5 year old ds dotes on him.

Anyway, noticed that said puss is starting to look his age. Bit thinner, hair thinner, sleeping on odd places, hobbling sometimes.

He's fit and well. No injuries, fleas or worms etc

Just wondering if there's any food you could recommend to keep him in tip top shape and maybe see if he can put a little weight back on? Anything especially for old cats?

Don't know if such a thing exists.

He currently has two pouches of meat with biscuits and extra biscuits if he wants some. Also any left over meat!

When he's been poorly in the past the vet recommended rice ad chicken, which he loves. But bit sure if it's any good for him every day?

would be fine as a supplement to his normal diet but still give him proper cat food as it contains taurine which cats cant live without, oily fish if hes limping may be a touch of arthritis setting in and the oil will help his joints and his coat aswell

at arthritis. Never thought of that.

Will pick up some oily fish today. If I give him some each day it should help things quite quickly I assume?

Worried at the mo as he stayed out last night and hasn't come in for breakfast yet. He does stay out occasionally but is normally back in for 7 ish. Hope he's just sheltering from the rain.

Hope he has come back by now Boys

By the way I always adopt older cats, 10 years old minimum. My last cat, RIP, was at least 22 years old when he left us and the current nightmares are 16 & 15, I really don't think of them as old yet.

So in my book 11 years old is 'middle aged' but I love how you are considering how to help him in his later years, he'd better be bloody back by now!

Aww thanks maybe

He is back now thanks. Wondered in at eleven. Ate his food and slunk off to ds1's pillow for his peace and quiet and a sleep.

What do you feed your cats then? 22 is a fab age!

I think although I know at some point there's a chance he will just wonder off to die, our 5 year old son completely adores Rocky and I'd hate anything to happen to him while ds is so young. He'd be heartbroken. And I hate the thought of never knowing what happened to him if he does wonder off. Which is what happened to another cat of ours.

Rockys an amazing cat. One of a kind. Had lots of cats but he's by far the best we've had. Just want him to enjoy the rest of his life and be comfortable iyswim.

Phew, naughty monkey!

I just feed my cats pouches and dry biscuits but I have to constantly change the brand and flavours as did you know after a week this food turns into poison? Yes, despite happily wolfing daintily eating it gladly, seven days later they couldn't possible eat any more of this muck! So we constantly switch. Grrrr.......

Try not to worry too much about Rocky, 11 isn't too old, he's got years left yet, especially as he is so loved

11 - he is in his prime!

Ask your vet for info about arthritis. There was something in the paper at the weekend about people not bothering to treat cats for arthritis when it could be easily helped.

My cat is 17, with arthritis. The vet has just recommended a small tin of tuna in sunflower oil twice a week, with the oil drained off, to help condition his coat. He's also on Metacam for his arthritis, it makes a huge difference - if I run out, he visibly stiffens up over a couple of days.

My cats are nearly 15, and I've been feeding them on Iams senior for quite a while (they have it on top of a bit of tinned food) They certainly don't seem any older than they used to, except one is now very docile, letting the DC drag him around, where as c couple of years ago he would have been off like a shot.

This morning they had tuna in sunflower oil because I'd run out of tinned food- glad to hear it's good for them!

our older cat has a senior cat food, also he has Enisyl, which is a feline lysine supplement, helps keep infections and gingivitis at bay. Also he has a daily liquid glucosamine supplement which helps joints and arthritis.

Oh, yes, my really old boy used to have Metacam daily as well as he had a twisted pelvis. It also made a great difference, thank Goodness.

I'm going to try the sunflower oil tuna thing, they get it in springwater as a treat, so this should do them some good, thank you.

No real tips, but our boy is 5, so interested to read others responses. But 11 is middle aged! :)

Neighbour cat who seems to live on our doorstep is 17, and another neighbours black cat is 19! And he talks at you. can be quite unnerving when you hear him when your getting out your car at 11pm!

Thanks everyone. I bought some mackerel and portioned it out and froze it. Going to give him some each day. But will also give him tuna in s oil. Might alternate them.

Next time we're at the vets I'll ask about the things you suggested.

A few weeks ago rocky brought home a dead baby mouse ds1 looked at the mouse, thanked rocky for such a beautiful mouse-it's a lovely present (apparently) then ds went off to the fridge to give rocky some ham as a thank you

They have a lovely bond. Just want it to stay that way for as long as possible. Thanks again

took my 13 year old boy to the vet last weekend; he had also been losing weight - turns out he had some bad teeth which needed to come out and was constipated. Hoping that fixing these things, which were not obvious, will give him a new lease of life. Anyway going to have him checked a bit more regularly now. Good luck.

Ah poor puss desert.

I'm going to take him to the vets for a check up as he's been hobbling for a couple of days, and I'll ask her to check teeth too-that's a good idea.

It's sad seeing them get old

Mine is officially 22 this year but we adopted him in middle-age so I think he maybe lying. However to the advice: old cats don't like a change of routine, it can put them off their food all together. Plus I think it is 'cruel' to avoid any food treats (fish, chicken, whatever they like) altogether as some vets may advise. I recommend special food for seniors and particularly food low in phosphates (think diabetic diet or easy to digest food for sickness for the human equivalent diet). Obviously a quick vet check-up too. Good luck.