Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The litter tray

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

Original poster

Advice please, old cat :-(

8 replies

NC1843 · 22/08/2022 08:04

We have a 17 year old cat, rescued at about 6 months. She’s recently lost a load of weight, started yowling in the morning at 4:30am and stopped eating so we took her to the vets and she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which she’s on medication for.

However we’ve now got the problem when she is weeing just outside of the litter tray (she pops her head in but parks her bum outside) and leaving little trails of poop all over the floor. We have wooden floors throughout which are now essentially ruined from wee & poop stains, despite our best efforts with floor cleaner, but we also have a 2 year old so obviously it’s not the most hygienic thing in the world!

I'm at my wits end - our cat will need dental surgery soon to take out a tooth and the vets have kindly stated that, as she’s not in the best of condition and any intervention might give her a few more months, being PTS may be in her best interests as the surgery will be traumatic at that age however I feel like it wouldn’t even be a consideration if it wasn’t for this constant soiling every day - everything else seems manageable but I just can’t countenance coming downstairs every day at 6am with a torch trying to find all of the soiled areas & cleanings them before DC comings barrelling in 😥

Any advice would be more than welcome

OP posts:
Anonaymoose · 22/08/2022 08:12

Is your cat on arthritis meds? Unfortunately cats are very much under treated for arthritis despite 90% of cats over the age of 11 being affected. I would firstly try a low sided tray like a kitten tray as arthritic cats often can't manage high sided trays, and also add another tray. You could also put puppy pads under the trays. Hyperthyroidism affects the kidneys too so that could also be a cause.

AllTheOtherCats · 22/08/2022 08:53

Hello NG1843, my elderly kitties have all weed over the sides of their litter trays in their turn, including my late hyperthyroid old lady who, because of her arthritis, was almost weeing standing up. I used puppy pads around the trays like the PP suggests and also bought some of these potting trays which made it easier for them to climb in and out of

Advice please, old cat :-(
Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 22/08/2022 08:58

Do you think your cat is happy in herself?

my beloved cat started to do this when she was 19, she was also getting very thin, nit purring as much ….all the signs. I think your vet has tried to tell you something as kindly as they can.

Its not easy to say that you think the end has come, but sometimes we have to be brave enough to be kind.

😪💔

Creepymanonagoatfarm · 22/08/2022 09:32

We had a brain damaged dcat years ago. She was a happy thing until she started missing the tray. I also had dc. Mornings were grim.

Vet said she wouldn't get better and was pts. Dcat like being clean and she had a dirty bum and legs. And my house was starting to smell like a litter tray. Your dcat is 17 op. That's a great innings.

Paranoidandroidmarvin · 22/08/2022 15:10

Mine has a brain neurological thing. He is okay for now. The spasms are not really worrying him. But. I have asked the vet to tell me when to stop. To me I feel like the vet is doing that for u.
I would rather he didn’t suffer one day. So I would rather do it earlier than too late.

HumptyDumpty2022 · 22/08/2022 15:15

I had similar with my beloved cat who was almost 19. He was howling through the night, got very thin and was soiling regularly, luckily we had stone flooring so was easy to clean. I tried to hang onto him as long as I could but ultimately we sent him to cat heaven as we and the vet felt it was kinder. It’s a horribly hard decision and I was devastated. Good luck and thoughts are with you.

WendyAndDave · 22/08/2022 15:16

I think I would follow your vet's advice. If she's in poor condition and can't keep herself clean, then I would pts. She has had a lovely long life with you.

Original poster
NC1843 · 22/08/2022 21:27

Thanks for all of the replies, much appreciated. No arthritis suggested, there’s been no change in her activity behaviour (if that makes sense - still jumping where she shouldn’t and running up the stairs) and the vet didn’t suggest it might be an issue.

I’ll definitely try the lower litter tray suggestions, thank you. We do have puppy pads around the tray, she just seems determined to find spots where they don’t cover!

She does seem reasonably happy in herself but not the laid back kitty we’ve enjoyed for nigh on 2 decades so I’ll definitely keep in mind that trying to keep her as long as possible might not actually be in her best interests 💔

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page