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

[peridito]

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 .

@Shetlandponyranger

You’ve got to go though, if that’s something that can spread it will cause pain eventually.

Our beasties are 15 this year, one is a bit arthritic and allergic to all sorts - its cost us a bomb in vets bills and vet cat food over the years but she's a cuddly wee poppet who I love to bits.

Her brother gets constipated.... cue more specialist cat food, entertainment (not) trying to stuff lactulose into him but he's a big, big love bucket.

I don't want to even think about the future - 15 years is a long time when you've had them since 12 weeks old.

Cat nip on food ! I shall be trying that .Thank you Fluffy.And thank you Hugged ,I'll give baked fish a go .

Span and Tipsey oh that does sound hard ,you both are saints .

I do find the pissing in corners difficult,Span is it on carpet ?How do you sort it ?

Shetland sorry to hear about lump .

Perdito ours was weeing everywhere but I took advice from our lovely cat sitter. Apparently if they've weed somewhere and then it smells like their wee they see that as the toilet so you have to vigorously clean that area but NOT with bleach as that smell similar to urine for them so clean soap and vinegar, then create a safe space for them to wee in. We got a massive litter tray with a lid so now (fingers crossed) 99% of the time that's where she goes. Not always right inside but at least it's always in then utility room now on the lino floor. We had a good 6 months of crap and wee in bedrooms and the front door mat so this is way better.

Ours was going on the basement carpet, we professionally cleaned carpet and blocked it off with baby gate. We moved litter tray to downstairs toilet on tiles. This has addressed issue for now.

We have a 17.5 girl who has been on thyroid tablets for just over 2 years.

We have 2 puppy pads down near the front door as she's taken to peeing there and poos next to the litter tray. We've tried moving the tray but she just doesn't like it anymore.

She has radio 4 on and a dripping tap as she's obsessed with it and she's constantly thirsty.

I've got cat wipes for her now as she can't clean herself well so smells of pee and constantly having to brush her matted fur.

Can't remember last time we slept whole night through, the loud howling wakes us up all the time.

Any advice greatly appreciated!!

I use Bold liquid detergent to clean the carpet, dry it thoroughly then sprinkle with Neutradol carpet powder. It's been 2 bedrooms this week, under the beds.....

And I forgot the knotted fur........ awful. I've bought a knot splitting blade recently with coat conditioner spray. But he hates it, and he looks like he's got terrible dandruff. He used to be so clean, bless him.

Luckily mine loves a comb unless it's a tough knot and yes she has bad dandruff as well, like a snow globe some nights!

Ah yes the matted fur. Ours won't allow the comb either so I try to remove huge clumps by stealth when she comes for a rare cuddle. She looks dreadfully neglected but there's very little we can do. Tempted to have her knocked out so I can really good brush and wash her and have her wake up all silly again but I doubt the vet would agree to it :)

Glad I found this! I posted some months back for food advice. Millicat is 18 and completely deaf, so alternates from silent mewing to full on yowling. Sometimes he yowls right over his food or water bowls.

Tuna in spring water was his staple for a while but he doesn’t like it now. We had some success after the last thread with sardines and mackerel tins, but he won’t eat them now.

He occasionally surprises us and eats a load of anything (gourmet tins at the moment) but he goes mad for those stick treats so we put those in things, and he does eat chopped up wafer thin ham slices, so yesterday just had that and cheese and polished it off.

We are lucky in that he refuses to use a litter tray, always has, and can still get out the flap- just doesn’t go far and no real burying any more! However he is skin and bone, almost uncomfortable to stroke, so we let him eat anything he will now.

peridito Human grade chicken (preferably warm from the oven) and tuna that I eat, obviously!!

They are about to be very discombobulated, as we are moving back to Cornwall from just outside Brussels, so they are already twitchy with the boxes. Some furniture goes today that they like, so that won't be popular either. Cattery the end of next week for a week, then they are being driven to to the Eurotunnel (a couple of hours), then down to hampshire for a night in a cattery there. The next day, it's a mere 3.5 hours (depending on the A303) to Cornwall and a new cattery in the village for a week. I will be going up to see them every day to let them know I am still about. Once the kitchen is straight, they'll be home.

Oh gosh ,so many lovely ppl out there struggling !

Autumnchill - oh dear! Could a thorough review at vets be on the cards ?Maybe her thyroid medicine needs tweaking ?

Different litter tray/and or litter ? Is she fairly agile ?Could she be finding it hard to access the lip of the litter tray ?
My male cat is now similar to yours about dripping tap.

Thank you all for advice re cleaning up after weeing .

I was aware about not using bleach/amonia .I've tried bio washing stuff ,bicarb ,Wee Away ,citroen/orange essential oil ,rosemary essential oil .I've cut out the hardboard underneath the carpet ( it's over floorboards)and replaced with puppy training pads .

The trouble is they then move on to a different area .They do use the litter trays ( we have 4 ) but if I'm out and they're not emptied immediately I'm in trouble .

Milliways food is tricky isn't it ? My female cat when presented with something not to her liking sniffed it and then walked backwards .

They are all so different but I have had success with

Encore ( Morrisons ) - sauce not jelly fishy ones .
Wilko own brand - " " "
Applaws

Have not yet tried the suggestion of adding those "licky sticks " to food .

I have found that adding butter or Lurpak nearly always does it .Melt the butter if not soft so it mixes in well .I don't do this v often as I'm worried about diary content .Sometimes I get away with adding a non dairy spread .

Try the butter - just a little .

Have you tried adding grated cheese ? My girl cat is a big fan of cheese .

My female cat is on Ovarid to control over grooming and it does seem to temporarily after each dose ( every fortnight) to increase her appetite .

It does have risk of causing diabetes so many vets are not keen but we had run out of other options and she had lost so much fur we had no choice .

She has her bloods done regularly and I mentioned the noise last time but he was ok with the dose. We're lucky as she loves the stick treats so we break a bit off, hide the tablet in it and she eats it.

I'm going to buy a low small tray this weekend as it is a deep one and we use Worlds Greatest but have tried clumping, wood etc. Might just put a puppy pad in it and see how she goes.

I get a pack of cheap chicken pieces from Tesco and she loves them! Going to have to increase the amount I buy this week.

She must of read this thread last night as we had a relatively quiet night!!

This is such a helpful thread.

Our two senior boys are 19.5 years old (littermates). One has hyperthyroidism, the other CDS, and they both yowl day and night. The litter trays seem to represent moving targets to them. I found large litter trays that have a built-in dip at the front and this seems to help; kinder to their arthriticky little legs when they are climbing in and out. I also use lots and lots of newspaper under and around the litter trays (the Telegraph is particularly absorbent). It's a daily battle.

Boy 1 is skin-and-bone so on the vets' advice, he is now back on kitten food as it is richer in calories. They also have cheap white fish poached in lots of water. I mash the fish and cover it with the fishy water so they have to lap their way through it to reach the fish. Will try the pilchards in tomato sauce though and the sprinkled catnip is worth a try too.

If anyone can come up with anything that might help the boys to settle in the night and sleep rather than wander around yowling, I'd be grateful too! I can't remember when we last had a decent night's sleep.

Would a heating pad under a cosy blanket help them settle ? You can get them for about £10 .

Cat nip on sleeping place ? Feliaway spray/plug in ?

Baby monitor type thingy that you could speak to them on remotely IYSWIM ? Might save you having to get up ?

Ooh, heating pads sound good! They'd love those. Feliway hasn't made any difference unfortunately but catnip might help and we would certainly try a baby monitor. Thank you, peridito.

SingingLilly I've been googling heat pads for cats ,there seem to be 3 kinds

pop in microwave ones

self heating ( foil backed so might be rustly )

plug in ones
This one ?
www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=5826&pf_id=2265

or look on good /bad old Amazon .

( we use a £10 jobby from Lidls but it's designed for humans and has an automatic shut off after 90 mins )

Thank you again, peridito. Plug-in ones, I think, as we don't have a microwave and our Senior Boys have never been known to chew leads. I'll follow that up.

Senior Boy 2 (the one with CDS) is currently snoozing in the chair, tummy full of chicken, but Senior Boy 1 is acting quite peculiarly. He's desperate to go outside, even though it's raining cats and dogs (pun intended ) and even though he normally hates getting his whiskers or paws wet. He wants to lick rainwater off the flags even though he's got multiple clean water sources to choose from in the house. He also has a tummy full of chicken but just won't settle.

I fear we are in for a lively night

Another one here with an old lady. 🙋‍♀️

She moved in with us from next door a few years ago, neighbour perfectly happy with this, I promise I didn’t steal her. I think she is about 16 years old. We already had young cats when she moved in, and she hates them. But, hey, can’t be that bad as she has decided to stay. 🤷‍♀️

She’s getting quite thin, but still has a good appetite. She had bloods taken at vet, all good, she’s just getting old. Misses the litter tray on a regular basis, so we have resorted to the puppy pads all round the tray scenario. She also on occasion, prefers to use a pile of clothes, front door mat, or bath mat as a litter tray, so everyone in the home has been instructed to not leave clothes on the floor and lift bath mat after using. Oh, and feliway friends plug ins all around the house, to try and make her calmer with the other cats. They’re young, and want to play, but she’s on old lady and not interested, so there’s sometimes a few hissing scraps going on.

I often think of when her time comes, what I’m going to do in this situation, if I should discuss it with my neighbour or not. She is effectively our cat now, but still think they have a right to know.

Oh dear ...

We used to have a water fountain ornament thing (Lidls again ) .The cats always drank from it but it was hard to keep clean and limescale built up on it so I didn't continue with it .

Just got in and done the usual, clean hallway, feed, comb, feed....I hate the smell of Zoflora!

My dad's cat was roughly 22 went she went. The vet said the yowling was because her vision was poor and she was working out her bearings with noise around her and the vague light shadows she could see. So then at night, all the sounds and lights disappear and she had no idea wtf was going on, hence the yowling.

Loved that cat though, still miss her even though it has been a few years