Tips for elderly cats

[BrainInAJar]

Hello,

My cat is nearly 18 and slowing down. I've ordered her a little set of stairs so she can get on and off the bed more easily.

I'm wondering:

1. what other things can I do to make her life better now she is older; and
2. what sort of health issues or symptoms should I be looking out for? She has hyperthyroidism and very early kidney disease (she is under vet supervision but I feel bad that it took me a while to notice the symptoms).

I want to make sure I am doing everything right for her.

Thanks

Water fountain definitely, especially if she has kidney disease. Site it away from her food. Kidney disease can make their sense of smell more acute and things they like normally can become offensive to them, putting them off eating and drinking.
If she's reluctant to eat, clear away after meals. Half eaten food is never tempting. Sometimes slightly warm can be better (mouse temp).
Don't put her on any special diet without taking advice from your vet first. If she has kidney disease some normal food such as tuna and other fish can be very dangerous and your vet is best to advise, as they know her and we don't.
Some medications shouldn't be given in food - again, I'm sure your vet has advised you on your cat's specific circumstances.
18 is a fantastic age so you're obviously a brilliant owner doing an incredible job, lucky cat xx

At the moment she's eating and drinking well so not too concerned there. Good tips for me to bear in mind though in case that changes! She previously didn't seem to like the water fountain that I tried (maybe the noise?) so I chucked it.

I've just stuck to her normal diet which is mainly Katkin, with some Untamed and some Blink to change it up. With a couple of dreamies, a bit of cat milk and lik-e-lix. I also give her a few drops of olive oil.

Haha, the record in our family for cats is age 24! A 3 legged rescue called Lucy who was my whole childhood! <3

Does anyone have any thoughts on the best kind of litter? I am using KatKin's health litter, a very fine powder. It can flag if there's blood in the urine.

I know my local cat rescue like wood based litter.

I've never had any issue with the wood based litter, I prefer it to the other stuff, my old lady had kidney and thyroid issues towards the end and she was fine. You may want to invest in some puppy pads they can get a bit hit and miss once they are getting on a bit, I used them to surround the litter tray, she still used it but often hung over the edge!

If you really want to spoil her

https://www.thewoolcompany.co.uk/collections/sheepskin-pet-beds?gadsource=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9ezSzLLEgwMVFJSDBx0vGg48EAAYASAAEgKq7fDBwE

@christmaspawpaws ha! She already has TWO sheepskin blankets which I bought from John Lewis which they sell for babies' prams! £60 each and I didn't even blink!

@Pashazade thanks, I have an enclosed litter tray but I will keep an eye on whether she can get in and out of it ok or whether I need to switch to a more open, lower sided one.

I really struggled to find a suitable low-sided litter tray for our old boy, could only get one from Amazon US, and had to get it sent via dh's NY office! I saw one today in Pets at Home that might have worked. The other option I noticed was seed trays in a garden centre. I tried a tray with 3 high sides and 1 low one but it didn't work for miladdo as he insisted on getting out the opposite side to the one he got in...!!

I had him on Yumove to improve his coat which got very matted as he was less able to groom (ended up just doing his face and front paws, bless!) and our vet had him on daily Loxicom as well.

He had some of those little cosy round beds, just on the floor, so he didn't have to climb. In his last few days, he couldn't manage that either so I bought him one with no sides that he could roll/fall off!

I like the lateral thinking on the seed trays!

I have an under bed storage container that works perfectly as a litter tray. You can get different sizes but they have low sides. Thankful I got it as my new cat is a BIG boy

My old boy loved his plug in heat pad and spent many happy hours on there supervising the Avenue. Bought on Amazon. I also found he wanted to eat smaller more regular meals.

We use one of these too as a litter tray and have an empty Quality street tin as a wee step as well.

Hello all,

So in the last week I have purchased:

1. steps for her to get up/down from bed. (She has used to them to get down once or twice. I'm careful not to force her or anything so she doesn't develop an aversion).
2. water fountain (too early to tell yet whether this will be used), it's a nice quiet one, the one I tried her with years ago was quite noisy so fingers crossed
3. digital scales for weighing a baby/pet. I have a routine sussed where I put a tiny dish of her Lik-e-Lix (containing thyroid meds!) on the scale, then reset it to zero whilst holding her back!! and then allow her on. She is scoffing the food whilst the scale weighs her.
4. a few packs of plastic litter, pipette and test tube to keep in stock so I can take a urine sample at a moment's notice without having to go and pick up the kit from the vet first.

I have also been making an effort to add a wee spray of olive oil to her food once daily as I heard this is good for cats. (But not too much).

Any more tips or comments from anyone?

I should say I found this book helpful:
Nine Lives Are Not Enough: A Practical Guide to Caring for Your Geriatric Cat (Old Cat Care and Pet Loss) eBook : Gardner, Mary: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store