Elderly cat has changed recently, timeliness for the end?

[DiscoBoots]

Hi,

My 17 year old cat changed about 5 weeks ago, suddenly he started yowling like he was lost or confused in his house and at the same time he stopped going outside and now poos / pees in the house, seemingly almost unaware of doing it, eg pees while eating.

He wanders around the house, going in areas he never visited before (he's always been odd and only ever went between two rooms, never going upstairs until recently) and he's got a different look in his eyes now, hard to explain but it's like he's gone from a twinkly eyes friendly grandad to a zombie. Oh and he had a fit too.

He's very wobbly in the last few days on his feet too.

Saw the vet 3 weeks ago, got some pain relief and he told us to return tomorrow... No idea what he'll say.

I've described all the negatives above, but he's still a friendly cat who gets a lot of comfort from curling up on the sofa with us, if anything he's more affectionate where he's clearly lost a lot of his mental capacity.

Does this sound like dementia? A tumour? Both? Any ideas on timelines?

Just wondered if anyone has been through similar. It's my first cat as an adult owner so I'm not sure if this is likely to end in a few more weeks or if he could go on for a year or more?

Thanks for all replies

If it was my cat, I think I'd be having him PTS when you see the vet. He doesn't sound a happy boy anymore.

Your post is very sad to read - I think if he is weeing while eating and confused and distressed it is time to make the heartbreaking move to have him kindly slip away. ❤️

This can go on as long as you and your vet feel you can manage it but you have to be honest about his quality of life.
Better a day too early, than a day too late.

He might have a UTI

It's time. I let my boy go a little early and I've never regretted it - no emergency rush, no pain or suffering, he just went cuddled in my arms before he went downhill

We let our 21 year old go last week when he had similar signs of dementia (standing in front of food bowl but not eating / yowling/ not sleeping). It’s distressing to watch and the idea that he could be scared and confused was enough (he had other complex medical issues and was 21. There was only one direction and we were possibly only cutting things short by days or weeks)

Poor puss. I'm so sorry, OP, but I think it's time. I know how hard it is.

You could try and treat potential UTI but you know your cat the best if they've lost their twinkle. What's the saying, better a week early than a day late

Thanks for all the understanding replies.

I'm surprised to see so many in agreement, I want to backtrack and tell you all the stuff he still enjoys! Which is mostly following me round the house and jumping up onto the sofa then purr dozing. He has been sleeping deeply recently too, yesterday I thought he'd died while asleep next to me and DD cooking, we had a little cry together then she called his name and he woke up. We're enjoying the humour in the sadness?!

Might have a word with DH who is taking him to the vet tmrw. I'm half tempted to say he's got another fortnight in him but will see what the vet says. Hard to know if the vet will remember him and be able to spot a difference

Mine was still eating, drinking, using his tray, jumping up on things etc

What I didn't want was to wake up in the middle of the night and find something had happened, he was in pain and suffering and I then would have to drive him 40 mins to the out of hours. Or for him to suffer in any way so I planned it

Cats don't like having toilet accidents and once you're at that point, yes you could have another fortnight but that's for you, not him

See if they can do some bloods or a urine test for any kidney stuff - sadly that’s usually the way cats go and peeing in the wrong place is a big sign. We had to let our lovely old boy go last week, what I would say is while it might be tempting to try and get another fortnight out, if you’re doing it for yourselves and not him it’s definitely time to let him go. It is heartbreaking but you really don’t want him to get into the worst possible state before you put him to sleep. It’s a horrible way to spend his last few days potentially in pain and confused etc. I’ve had several cats throughout my life and I’ve never regretted putting them to sleep ‘early’ but have often regretted/wondered if some I only kept alive selfishly for my own benefit and should’ve let them be at peace sooner. Hope the vet can shed some light for you.

My feeling, based on my own cats, is kidney failure. The vet can check. If it is, it will be quite advanced to show these symptoms and kindest to euthanise.

If you are really lucky, a simple UTI, but that wouldn't explain the wobbly on paws and dementia-type symptoms.

This

Your vet needs to ascertain the cause of these changes. Hope your cat gets the treatment he needs. Please ignore the doom mongers on this thread.

How did it go OP? Thinking of you