Advice for my elderly cat

[TheDinnerWitch]

My cat is very elderly, and though we don't know her exact age we estimate her to be about 20 (we have had her for 13 years, she lived in the cat shelter for 3 years, and she was an adult when the shelter received her and had already had some of her own kittens, so we think she's about 18 - 21 years of age.) So yes, she's lived a good long life :-)

Her problem is that as she has aged her back legs have really got significantly weaker, and this has gotten worse lately, with her being very VERY wobbly when she walks.

Also, in the past WEEK we've had two 'toilet' accidents on the carpet, which we've NEVER had before (she's always gone in one of the two litter trays we have for her, she always has access to them).

One more things is that she's started drinking a LOT more water lately.

Anyway, our cat is really really bad with her nerves. She literally jumps at everything. When we've taken her to the vets in the past she is SO traumatised, so fearful, and I'm worried that because she's so old the trauma could actually give her a heart attack or something :-(

Also, I think that if we do take her, I know what the vet will say, that she is very old, things are only going to get worse, not improve, and that she should probably be put down. :-(

This morning when she was using the litter tray she had another 'incident'. TMI ALERT- when she goes for a poo she puts most of her weight on her back two legs, and today mid-poo she lost strength in them and fell over onto her back, and she was really struggling to get back up :-( She also seems to be walking a bit funny now.

So, do I bite the bullet and take her to the vets, knowing that either it will probably a) give her a heart attack or b) the vet will recommend to put her to sleep.

Or do I hold out a bit longer? She does still enjoy life, she enjoys cuddles, and sleeping in the sun, purrs a lot when I am near her etc. She's not in pain all the time and seems ok in herself in general. I'm so confused :-(

Yes, sorry - the vet is needed, I think, even though it's not pleasant for her.

If she looks to have weaker back legs and is giving up mid-poo, I'd be thinking some arthritis in her lower back/back legs which is to be expected with age. Seniorboy (18 and still going) has that and had started to do the odd poo outside the tray, probably because he found the high poo squat very sore and tiring. His vet, who is very active with older animals, put him on some daily NSAIDs and laxative which seem to have sorted the problem. (NSAIDs can harm kidney function in the longe r term but I decided to give it a try in the interests of letting him have a pain-free/pain-reduced few months and so far he's doing well.)

It's difficult when they get so much older and not all vets are truly thoughtful about age issues. I think that your aim should be to see that whatever you decide, she's finding life enjoyable which means eg not in pain and able to do the things which are important to her - such as using her tray properly. (Cats like to be clean and use their tray.)

I'd vet her. The vet will likely want to do bloods in light of her age and the heavy drinking you mentioned - does she eat wet or dry food by the way? Have you tried putting a rug or coverlet over her travelling cage during the journey to make it feel safer to her ? That often soothes them.