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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.

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Original poster

Elderly cat going off food

17 replies

notanothernana · 24/12/2023 08:58

Hi all. I have a 17 year old cat, late stage kidney disease and hyperthyroidic. She is medicated and as stable as she can be.

Last week or two she has gone off her usual food (renal), then regular cat food. I have tried cat soup, chicken, tuna, Gourmet Pate you name it! Sometimes she eats, sometimes not.

Now to the issue, she is losing weight and I know she's nearing the end but has anyone got any suggestions? Do they have a similar experience with cats? Any food that they would eat?

I suppose i am hoping for the magic bullet, might not be one.

TIA.

OP posts:

Original poster

notanothernana · 24/12/2023 09:39

Hopeful bump

OP posts:

Isabella40 · 26/12/2023 21:41

Noticed no one has responded. We are in similar position cat is possibly 14 maybe older. Fell sick last week rushed to vets but nothing found just told she's elderly. She has arthritis.
She's not eaten properly since last Wednesday she's back at vets tomorrow with the view we might have to put her to sleep. My family are devastated but she's clearly declining. Hope you are ok. 🤗

margotrose · 26/12/2023 23:28

I would get her back to the vets for a check over with the view to having her put to sleep depending on the outcome.

I am sorry x

LittleMissSunshiner · 26/12/2023 23:35

When my cat was near the end of his life, he lost his appetite and wasn't moving around much. Although bless his heart he struggled his way to the litterbox no matter what (by this point I had put it next to us and a cushion for him to step down on).

I loved that cat so much I couldn't bear him dying. Anyway I made him a concoction of liquidised cooked fish (I can't remember which one but it was low in salt / sodium) mixed with cat milk and he would happily eat it from my hand (used a big syringe, not the needle bit obv).

By the time a cat is near the end, they are struggling with the same issues people do and have often lost their hearing, sense of smell, mobility, and they feel cold and achey. This can make them lose their appetite and also cry loudly in the middle of the night :( (

I left my little friend too long trying to eke out his life and by the time the vet saw him he said you're making your cat suffer trying to keep him alive and I agreed to have him euthanised.

LittleMissSunshiner · 26/12/2023 23:39

Most cats will eat tinned tuna in springwater no matter what.

Also cat milk.

And I swear by James Wellbeloved fish dry kibble - it's like kitty crack cocaine. If your cat is struggling with teeth / gums then wet it.

I don't agree with feeding cats junk food but these Dreamies things they seem to lap up.

SquirrelsOnTheBus · 26/12/2023 23:39

Cheese is my suggestion

LittleMissSunshiner · 26/12/2023 23:47

SquirrelsOnTheBus · 26/12/2023 23:39

Cheese is my suggestion

Cheese is v unhealthy for cats tummies tho, altho they do like it.

LoreleiG · 27/12/2023 00:06

My cat is almost 18, underweight with hyperthyroidism (on meds) and doddery in the last month. We went away overnight and he refused to eat the food today. I can’t work out if it’s because he is in decline, we got a new brand of cat food or because the cat sitter didn’t mash it up for him, because he seemed hungry enough, sitting by his full cat bowls and can be very stubborn. Anyway, as a pp said, after mashing it up and putting dreamies in it, tuna in spring water did the trick, he scoffed the lot. But I am taking him to the vet as he isn’t quite right and I don’t want him to be suffering and me not realise.

Dontbesuspicious · 27/12/2023 00:10

You could try pate or kitten weaning paste .. the kitten food is high in calories and might give her a boost. I went through similar with my cat last year and in the end as her condition deteriorated it was kindest for me to make the decision to PTS so that was what I asked the vets. She was 16. I hope your cat lives a little longer, it sounds like you are doing all you can.

LoreleiG · 27/12/2023 11:20

Unfortunately it wasn’t great news for my cat. The vet found a stomach mass and is doing some extended tests but he is 18 so I guess it was inevitable at some point. I have bought his favourite food, some lickylix and some dreamies today as we now have painkillers to get down him too.

LittleMissSunshiner · 27/12/2023 11:50

So sorry @LoreleiG :(

I hope he has a stable and comfortable last part of his little furry life.

I lost the plot when my 20, nearly 21 y/o went, it really broke my heart but we've given them cherished and blessed long lives.

LoreleiG · 30/12/2023 12:22

How is your cat @notanothernana ? I took Dcat to the vet again today and discussed our options. We are making him comfortable over the weekend with painkillers and then putting him to sleep early next week as I don’t want to put him through vet trips and more treatments at 18. If he’d been younger I probably would have.

I hope your cat is just being fussy - I know mine can be, even with his hypothyroidism hunger he frequently sits by his bowl looking at us until we figure out what food he is hoping for! Licky Lix and tuna are still being wolfed down here even though he is mainly sleeping. Cat biscuits and wet food other than the jelly are barely getting a nod atm.

LoreleiG · 30/12/2023 12:24

Thank you @LittleMissSunshiner

It has been a tough few days deciding what to do but I feel relieved now that I have made up my mind to let him go. It is heartbreaking though, when they are our little pals. Dcat has been like my shadow, Albeit one I frequently trip over!

crossstitchingnana · 31/12/2023 08:42

Hi all, thank you for all the advice and sorry to hear about others going through similar. I haven’t been on MN for a few days so didn’t see the messages.

We took her in to the vets last Wednesday as she just wasn’t eating. Made the right, but tough decision to put her to sleep. The vet said the reason she was off her food was she was excreting waste through her skin and saliva, hence all food would taste like wee. She was also under 3kg (half what she was in her prime) and very dehydrated. In fact he struggled to get the cannular in. He gave us some options, like try antibiotics and different renal food but that would only have delayed the inevitable.

I knew ,deep down, when I posted it was the end but it goes against the instinct, to end the life of an animal you love. My heart is broken and I am grieving more than I did for three of my grandparents. I feel anxious, sad and empty. Leaving the vets with an empty carrier is the saddest thing I have ever done. I have a dog and another cat and am terrified they’ll go too. Which of course they will.

I will get there, eventually, and so glad we let her go when we did as the end with renal failure is horrific.

My advice to anyone in a similar position is to look at your cat, and the facts your vet is telling you and think “what would my thoughts be if this was a cat I didn’t know?” Chances are you’d think “PTS”. And as I have heard a 1000 times now, it’s better to PTS too early than too late.

Thanks again.

user1471538283 · 31/12/2023 09:49

It just breaks your heart. I'm so sorry.

Our DBoycat had renal failure due to cancer and he too stopped eating. I tried everything as he was a boy who loved his food.

He like your darlings had a wonderful life. He ate better than me most days! That's all we can comfort ourselves with.

We left it a little too late and he was in pain but it's so hard. I loved him more than most humans and I still miss him terribly.

You just want them to live forever.

Original poster

notanothernana · 31/12/2023 10:03

You do. The grief is more than when I lost 3 of my grandparents.

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LoreleiG · 31/12/2023 12:25

So sorry @notanothernana that is heartbreaking news. It sounds like you made the kindest and most loving decision for your cat though.

@user1471538283 we left it too late with our previous cat, the problem is they don’t let on that they are ill. All we can do is try to give them the best life we can while we still have them and it sounds like you definitely did that 💕

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