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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Is it just me or are elderly cats really hard work ?

126 replies

peridito · 01/10/2019 09:16

I love my cats very much but I'm worn out !

The food issues ,the numerous litter trays ,the cleaning up after missing the litter trays .

I'm mean aren't I ? Or possibly v v lazy .

OP posts:
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ifonly4 · 01/10/2019 11:36

Yes, they are hard work but well worth it. The last week of my girl's life she couldn't even find her food, so I had to put it under her nose. I wouldn't want her back in that state again, but I'd have done anything for either of them depsite DH moaningHmm

viccat · 01/10/2019 12:02

Yes, mine certainly was - especially the night time meowing which drove me crazy. I miss her lots (she was PTS in March) but there was a small part of me that was hugely relieved as well, even though I feel guilty about that...

But a 15-20 year old cat is basically a 80-90 year old human so it makes sense there are some issues.

igotdemons · 01/10/2019 13:28

Yes, definitely! I love my elderly girl to the moon and back and wouldn’t change her for the world but she wears me out with the constant need for attention! She is hyperthyroid and isn’t treated at the moment as I am in the process of changing Vets (current ones are useless) to get her sorted and she is driving me mad! Constantly wanting to go out and come in again and with the rain we’ve had recently it’s a challenge! 😣

scaryteacher · 01/10/2019 14:03

My two boys are 16, and I wouldn't swap them. Yes, they are picky about food, but chicken and tuna normally goes down well as a treat, and they like to have their spots on the sofa and the bed, but apart from that, they are still great.

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 01/10/2019 14:22

Yes! Litter box accidents most days is all we have, and it's a pain in the face. I plan to be a pain in the face at that age too though Grin

Original poster
peridito · 01/10/2019 15:48

scaryteacher is it catfood chicken and tuna ? IYSWIM.

I wonder if I bought cheapish chicken ( ie nor free range/organic) and cooked and cut it up fine would they eat it ? With the juices from cooking so not so dry ?

And thanks all ,not just me !

OP posts:
Shetlandponyranger · 01/10/2019 16:44

What is the nIghttime time howling about!? My beautiful and cherished girl is coming up 20 and has started howling in the night. I am wondering if she is confused as she comes straight to me when I shout her and settles.
She is still eating very well luckily. Has started flicking the cat litter (we use the wood pellets) about the utility room though which is a little annoying

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 01/10/2019 16:53

A very high proportion of cats of that age would have CDS, or cognitive dysfunction syndrome. It's like dementia in humans. She probably is confused.

Shetlandponyranger · 01/10/2019 17:19

Thank you Utterly, I wondered if it was something like that. She is still very active and happy, the night howling as the only thing that suggests her age.

viccat · 01/10/2019 17:45

The night time howling for my girl was I think a mixture of CDS and also decline in hearing so she didn't actually know just how loud she was.

Fluffycloudland77 · 01/10/2019 19:28

My mum bought a mincer for our old girl, we minced cooked chicken for her & chicken livers.

You can get dishwasher safe ones.

Original poster
peridito · 01/10/2019 21:04

Mmm .Hadn't thought of chicken livers .Thanks .

OP posts:
TrainspottingWelsh · 01/10/2019 21:27

When he first turned up, my old man was aged by different vets as 13 and 15, which now makes him 18/20.

He's always been a bugger for vet bills, he was quite the scrapper and to some extent still is. These days he doesn't go very far so his fighting is limited to intimidating new cats on his territory, which doesn't take the endurance I imagine the fights he had as a young tom would have done. Definitely slowing down as he hasn't needed stitches for a year. Now it's arthritis drugs.

Wet food has to be mixed with kitten biscuits in the exact quantities he's specified. Some days he's too old, arthritic and in his last moments to come to the food, so I spend a lot of time scaling objects no human was designed to and serving him. Only for him to eat and rather nimbly climb down and trot off.

As we originally were just one house out of a few that looked after him as a stray, I was never overly concerned if I didn't see him for a few days or weeks. Certainly not if he didn't come in for the night. Since he moved in ft, I spend lots of time poking around in the pitch black in obscure places if he's 10 minutes past his usual schedule, let alone for bed time.

At least once a week I think he's gone in his sleep, only to be growled at for disturbing him. He's very rewarding though, occasionally if I feed him something extra special I'm allowed to stroke him with only minor looks of disdain before he pointedly moves a few inches sideways to indicate I've had my quota.

Tavannach · 02/10/2019 01:18

Chicken livers are a great idea. Our vet also recommended sardines (or pilchards, same thing) in tomato sauce well-mashed as an occasional meal.

pumkinspicetime · 02/10/2019 01:56

Our older boy covers floor in litter and no longer poos in litter box.
He starts asking for food as soon as he has eaten but can no longer free feed as he eats until he throws up.
But blood works are fine. He is a little stiff but can jump when he wants.
I don't want him to go anywhere.

Mummaofmytribe · 02/10/2019 02:18

My old girl has gone deaf and is soooo vocal. Day and night. Loudest miaowing I've ever heard. It's like she's yelling at everyone. And so grumpy!
She's also taken to lashing out with her claws at anyone who walks past her unexpectedly which can be funHmm
She's still incredibly attached to me and I can't sit /lie down anywhere without her finding me and spending up to 45 minutes kneading me and then falling asleep.
She follows me like my dogs when not asleep.
I'm gonna be lost when she goes. Even though she's a PITA

Original poster
peridito · 02/10/2019 10:02

This is all v helpful and reassuring that I'm not alone in the conflicted emotions of "oh no ,how could you pee on my new rug /I love you lots and lots "

Can we can carry on sharing tips ?

Especially how you all cope with the floor as litter tray scenario. We are in an upper flat in an old house and mainly have carpet . I'm half considering cutting down our living room carpet into a rug so that I can have vinyl around the much peed on edges ,

I buy a lot of puppy training mats from Pound Shops .

OP posts:
Original poster
peridito · 02/10/2019 10:06

And what is the advice on fishy cat food ? My cats much prefer the fish flavoured/content wet food .But my lovely vet has said too much is not a good thing .

And anyone in SE London who would like wet food for kidney problem cats ? I've some success with the biscuits but no chance with the tins .

OP posts:
Shetlandponyranger · 02/10/2019 11:17

My girl can’t have much dry food as she throws it up, so has the pouches and manages them well with a little dry food at the side.
She got fleas for the first time ever in the spring, took me a while to get rid of them. She now wears a flea collar and it seems to help.
Yes to the puppy training mats! I use a fair few under her littler tray and they seem to help but we are putting off getting a new kitchen floor.

Fluffycloudland77 · 02/10/2019 17:03

If they won’t eat something or their going off their food sprinkle dried catnip on it.

HuggedTheRedwoods · 02/10/2019 18:42

I dont know about fishy cat food but my old boy would eat tuna in a bit of sunflower oil variety. I was worried about salt content with his aging kidneys but vet was ok with it and the bit of oil provided extra calories for him plus helped with furballs.

Another suggestion is consider baking fish. My little cat is extremely fussy but will eat baked fish - just the regular whitefish you find in supermarket freezers. I usually buy the 3 packs for £10 from Iceland and it doesnt work out much more expensive than cat food (and probably cheaper than some varieties).

@TrainspottingWelsh - your boy sounds fab, give him a quick head ruffle from me!

TipseyTorvey · 02/10/2019 20:05

Goodness this thread is well timed for me. My old lady (21), is driving me bonkers. Yowls all night despite us trying everything to reassure her. We've had to lock her in the utility room now with food, bed and litter tray because she was howling all over the house and waking us and the kids constantly. She Yowls all day if she thinks she alone because she can't hear that we're in the room with her.

DH and I work from home 3 out of 5 week days so she rarely is but it gets tricky on conference calls! She constantly wails for food whilst she runs underfoot when her bowl is full of fresh food and she snaps and swipes the DC to the point they never go near her.

I'm fond of her but goodness she's hard work and gives very little back at this point.

Shetlandponyranger · 02/10/2019 20:15

I’ve just found a little lump under my girl’s chin. It is dark grey, the same colour as her fur there. She hates the vet, gets very very upset about going so not sure what to do. Gutted.

Span1elsRock · 02/10/2019 20:24

We think our boy is around 15/16 but he's survived two very bad car accidents which has seemed to age him a bit prematurely. He's walking skin and bone but had over £450 of tests at the vets recently that all declared him to be normal Hmm. He still manages to fight too, last month it was a fecking squirrel he caught that bit him on the leg badly so we had another massive vet bill as he had to be operated on and needed antibiotics.

He yowls constantly for food - he has dried food out constantly but likes sachets. You give him one, 30 seconds later he's yowling again. He covers the entire house in cat litter, pisses in corners, loves sleeping on clean laundry. I accidentally smashed a glass the other night as I got so stressed with him yowling in the kitchen behind me when I was trying to cook Sad

I adore him, he's been part of our family for 10+ years but it's not easy at times no matter how much I love him.

TrainspottingWelsh · 02/10/2019 20:24

hugged thank you. I would love to but he doesn't do head ruffles, you're only allowed to stroke between his ears and shoulder blades and rub behind his half ear with your thumb.

They all sound lovely, if demanding, in their old age.

Mine is still pretty spot on with his litter tray. But as his litter tray is a trough style plant pot filled with soil in the back porch, as it's always been, I'm not sure it's worth boasting about!