19 year old is she suffering?

[janeyredlion]

So so torn. Have a beautiful 19 year old tabby, and I'm thinking of having her pts which is breaking my heart. DH and DC both want to let nature take its course, but that's because they can't bear the thought of her being around.

She has really changed last couple of years - completely deaf, sight is going, very vocal and yowls a lot especially in the small hours. Her back legs give way sometimes, but she eventually corrects herself. Fur is so matted and no amount of us grooming her and all the brushes I've bought seem to help. She's lost so much weight but eats loads, four pouches a day. Always hungry though 😞 Her breathing is rapid.

On the plus side very affectionate, clearly recognises us as her known and trusted humans. Purrs loads when given attention. Loves to cuddle up and no continence issues, no vomiting. I also saw her bravely go out and try to see off a cat in our garden the other day, even though she's so old. She is no trouble. I just worry that she's suffering.

I've spoken to our vet on the phone. She probably has hyperthyroidism and a load of other stuff going on. Vet said they need to run some tests but I'm not sure I can put her through that. She has only been to the vets five times in her life and gets so sweaty and stressed on the journey, never mind once she gets there. I worry it will finish her off.

I'm thinking of paying for a house call and if the vet is in agreement letting her take her last breath at home, rather than prolong things until she is seriously ill, or we're forced to take her to vets which she hates. but DH and DC are against this. They keep saying she's eating, cuddling etc, hasn't lost her faculties.

Has anyone else been in this position? I just don't know what to do. We will all be devastated to lose her but I'm not sure if it's fair not to intervene.

I'm afraid I don't have a link but someone posted a quality of life questionnaire on here a few weeks ago. We have a cat in a similar condition - though he sees the vet regularly and is on lots of medication- and we feared the end was near but after doing the questionnaire we realised he actually has a fairly good quality of life.

I think that if your cat is rapid breathing and her legs are going I would ask the vet to come out and check her over. If the vet thinks she is suffering, they should let you know and do the right thing.

I agree with you that it isn't fair to just let nature take its course if your cat is in pain.

Thank you, I'll scroll back and see if I can find it

I think if her legs are going and her breathing is rapid then it's probably time to look at her quality of life.

Can you ask the vet to come over - get the DC to be elsewhere and just let them talk it over with you and DH, with the agreement that you'll go with whatever the vet recommends?

I think this was it (or very similar)

https://journeyspet.com/pet-quality-of-life-scale-calculator/

It's awful when they get old and you just want the best for them :(

I think the best option would be as @cinnamonfrenchtoast say , ask the vet to come to you and have a look at your cat. And then take their advice, she may have a chest infection which meds would sort out but the rapid breathing would concern me.
When her back legs give way , is it when she has just stood up ? I wonder if her legs are still asleep .
See if you can video this and her generally moving around ( head on from both sides and the back ) so you can show the vet her natural movement.
This can also be a clear point of reference for you and the family to refer back to and look for changs in a few weeks / months as it can be hard to notice gradual changes .

I have just lost my 19 year old but she let us know it was time. She stopped eating and started hiding. From what you say she just sounds like old age and reasonably happy - as long as she's eating she should be ok.
The back legs is linked to hyperthyroidism. My girl had treatment for it for her last two years and once she was on meds her legs improved a lot.

Sorry I missed the breathing part - agree that would need looking at but again could be thyroid.

How has a 19 year old cat only been to the vet 5 times? Is she not vaccinated? Has she never had a once over, particularly when she went deaf and her vision deteriorated?

To be fair, not everyone vaccinates their animals and there's not much a vet can do for an animal that's going blind or deaf.

Some animals get so stressed out by the vet that it's actually better not to take them unless absolutely necessary.

Everyone should vaccinate their animals - and have them spayed or neutered and chipped. Our old boy hated the car, feliway spray and zylkene helped.

If a cats legs are collapsing under them and they are breathing rapidly and losing weight, a responsible owner takes them to the vet straight away or seeks veterinary advice/stumps up for a home visit.

I agree that it would be very unfair to let nature takes its course. That is awful, so regardless of suffering they want to keep the cat? I do understand how hard it is, but cats mask pain so well.
I couldn't do it.
I think a trip to the vet is warranted.
Good luck.

There's actually a lot of evidence out there against annual vaccinations - titre testing is becoming more and more common and shows that many animals are still immune despite never having had vaccinations beyond kitten/puppy hood.

You also don't know that her cat isn't spayed/neutered or chipped. Mine were all neutered and chipped in one day at the vets as kittens.

I actually think it's really unfair that you're trying to imply OP is irresponsible. If you read her OP, she has spoken to the vet but it's important to weigh up the benefits of a vet visit against the stress of getting them there, especially when they're elderly. For some, the stress of going in the carrier and back could kill them.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate the input though still not sure what to do. She's snuggled up with me now and she looks so content.

To answer some questions, she has been to the vet recently, a year ago the first time I saw her legs go. She was so stressed out and her paws were all sweaty. The vet said it could be this, could that, she talked about things she couldn't do like steroids because her heart is too weak, she said they'd need to take bloods to find out what's actually going on. She noted the fast heart rate but said it was hard to tell because cat was so stressed out. We left none the wiser as I don't want to put her through something she hates, it's not a short journey and if she needs the vet again I'll pay for them to come out.

Yes she really has only been five times - for neutering, microchipping, a couple of minor things ten years ago and then last year. She's not vaccinated, shoot me.

I've looked at the quality of life chart and there's lots of positives. Still eating, sociable, likes to be touched, goes out into the garden but doesn't venture far. But I know cats are good at masking, I just don't know.

I think you need to get the vet out to you for a good check over.

At 19 years old it's all about management and quality of life - if she's mostly happy your vet may be happy to just monitor her for a while, but you're right that cats are excellent at masking pain so I think it's important to get her checked - just in case there's something you're missing.

We lost our little cat at home recently - she went downhill incredibly rapidly and we had no time to get her to the vets (it was literally minutes between us finding her and her passing away). Without meaning to upset you, it was quite distressing (for her as well as for us) and I do wish it could have been different for her.

Better a week early than a day late, as they say. Big hugs to you x

Thanks for the advice @cinnamonfrenchtoast, I'm so sorry for your loss. It must be hard when that's the last memory but I'm sure there are many many years of happy memories too and she knew how loved she was. I've decided I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and book a home visit for them to check her over while she's relaxed. Then we'll have to go from there.

Thank you @janeyredlion - it was horrible but I hope she went knowing she was loved (she died in my arms) and I know she had a wonderful life with us.

Hopefully the vet can give you some answers and you can make a decision either way - I think it will help to get an expert opinion to put your mind at ease and to reassure you that you're making the right call either way.

Good luck