Ageing Cat. Support.

[TabbyTatCat]

Hello.

I didn't realise there was a cat section. My lovely boy is nearly 18 & seems to be ageing rapidly the past few months. He's losing his hearing & has also stopped grooming himself.

Is that normal? He currently has a matted section on his back so I need to get that sorted (it's only small, I noticed it today)

He's very noisy, he's always meowing, this hasn't changed, although he used to hear us coming behind him, hear us opening the bedroom window if we were upstairs & he was at the back of the garden, not facing us, & he'd turn & start meowing... Now he won't notice at all or if we are calling him then he will occasionally start looking around, but he can't locate the sound.

He still follows us down the road to the shops but he just kind of sits there gazing into the distance as he can't hear us coming back now, whereas before, he'd hear us from halfway down the road & come charging, meowing.

He has 3 legs but has always been independent & loves being outside. He gets lots of attention from the neighbours/strangers, because of his meowing & then the 3 legs. He runs in like a zig-zag pattern. I joke that he lays on his side across the path, to show everybody that he only has 3 legs, so that they will give him attention!

I'm not sure what I want with this thread really, just to know that there are others out there maybe, to chat about fellow cat-related issues with! I feel really sad that he seems to be getting old so fast, & can't imagine him ever not being here. I got him when he was 2.

My big old ginger Tom is a similar age and is in a similar decline. Very noisy and needy. Seems to forget where he is and what he’s doing at times. I take comfort that he has had a long, good, happy life and just hope that I have the strength to do the night thing for him when the time comes.

Thank you for answering me wanttokickoffbutcant You are so right. I used to have 3 & had to make the decision to have my second PTS but they both died at just 15 (years ago) so they didn't have the 'ageing' like this.

Your cat sounds lovely! Mine isn't any nosier than usual, I did wonder if he might become noisier as he can't 'hear' himself!

Hi OP, I'd say that sounds very normal for an ageing cat - I used to brush the matting out. The deafness is also very normal and I stopped mine from going outside too much.

My gorgeous girl was 19 and a bit when I had her put to sleep in July of this year. I possibly waited a bit too long - but the deterioration was swift and resulted in her having little bladder control - I had puppy pads everywhere - and her just sleeping, very lethargic, no quality of life, no appetite and not moving from one spot.

It was still devastating and I miss her every day but she'd had a long, active and extremely pampered life and I comfort myself with that.

I think we know when it's time, even if we hope for a miracle!

Thank you for sharing that Thewalrusandthecarpenter.
I don't really want to Google & worry myself further! Your cat sounds really lovely & she was lucky to have you.

My boy is still full of energy for now.

I also have a very senior cat. He's nearly 18 and we've had him since he was 2 months old.
He's doddery and a bit deaf, his coat is raggedy and he sleeps a lot.
He still wails at the top of his voice for food and sometimes I think he forgets that he just ate.

Recently he had a sore on his back and he had a cold. Vet sorted those out.

He's never been a lap cat, always preferred to be out in the fields around our house, now he stays in bed most of the time.

He's had the best life a cat could have and while he still has a decent quality of life we will carry on as we are.

Forgot to add a pic.

Aww look at him TootsyPants! How lovely
Thank you for this. All of our similar 'ageing' cats.

Here is my boy

Hello hello my boy is 18, deaf but still enjoying life as much as his arthritis allows. Nice to meet you.

Hi. My beautiful girl was a week from turning 18 when we had to have her PTS in May. She had been aging like that for some time. I had to groom her really and we bought her food to her on her bed. I think it's normal sadly

This is her in November last year

Thank you jennielouises. You gave her all your love & that's what we do for them isn't it.

And thank you SkaterGrrrrl I'm glad that I posted. It's lovely to hear that your boy is still happy... I think that with mine, him not being able to hear very much distresses me more than it does him (well, I hope that's the case)

Lovely old kitties. My old lady turns 20 next month. She is deaf (such loud meows!) and losing her cat marbles a bit but happy with life as long as she has a warm lap to sit on every night.

She used to be very feisty and bully my younger cat but she’s forgotten who she is! Younger one spends a lot of time looking quite puzzled as a result.

Said I know all round but we just need to give them their best lives don’t we?

Hello. My cat is 21. We don't know if he is deaf or has selective hearing. Some days he doesn't eat anything and other days he eats tonnes. He doesn't do much now but will sit outside in the garden for a bit and likes getting brushed.

Regarding the mats, my cat got very matted and we noticed he wasn't eating as much. We took him to the vet and it turns out his teeth needed done. He had the operation at 20 and now the mats are not so bad. He still gets mats in places he can't reach due to arthritis. We put olive oil on them and they fall off.

Sounds like you are taking good care of him. Here's hoping you have lots of quality time together ahead x

jennielouises I can't see your photo.

Hi AuntieJoyce. Thank you. Mine has always woken us all up with his meows so looks like those are going to get louder!
Your lady sounds lovely, & content, & that's all that we hope for isn't it.

For some reason the app won't let me add it 😢

Hopefully this one works. Her name was sparky

I'm a fellow slave to a senior cat. Her name is Nicola and she's going on 18.

She, too, has become very hard of hearing. Her (near constant) miaowing has got very loud, and she can't hear us approaching, so we have to take very great care not to startle her.

Getting her to eat can be difficult. She has become quite fussy and it's hard to know what will take her fancy. Poached white fish and raw chicken always go down a treat, but we can never be sure otherwise.

We so want her to be content but it's sometimes so difficult to know what she needs. She has phases of seeming lonely and wanting human comfort (she adores DH), but a day later she will prefer to just seek out an obscure place in the house, where she can sleep undisturbed for hours. And then sometimes she will be back to her curious and mischievous self and occasionally even have a truly mad moment and be like a kitten again😻(which generally signals further damage to the landing carpet!) .

Matting is not an issue as yet. She has had many teeth removed but is still super fastidious. Her limiting factor in grooming seems to be her arthritis, which can prevent some twisting movements. We're therefore currently trying to get her used to a gentle brushing each day so that it's not too much of a shock if we have to take over her selfcare for her.

We know all the above is perfectly normal but it's nevertheless quite sad to watch as she's otherwise super fit. The vet always comments on her amazing blood values for her age.

thank you for this thread because a lot of what people are saying is resonating. Particularly the bit about some days they don’t want to eat and other days they eat a lot. It’s quite reassuring

Ah he’s gorgeous @TabbyTatCat - will try and upload a photo of my boy x

Loving the photographs! This was Cordelia.

My 21-year-old boy.

@Gulbekian my Jin has also taken to sleeping under my bed for hours - newish behaviour as he is out of the way but in safe space. He still loves a lap though and is my shadow when I work from home. I am only the substitute parent though as he is my husbands cat as soon as he is here ….

Fellow Senior Feline Slave here!

Our girl is 18.5 and very deaf and possibly going a bit senile. She’s got osteoarthritis in her hips/back legs but it is managed with monthly steroid injections. She has been losing weight gradually over the last year but we’ve managed to get her on some medication that stimulates her appetite she’s now very slowly gaining a little bit back.

We did a scan 6 months ago to see if there was anything nasty going on with her insides given the weight loss but they couldn’t find anything. They offered to do surgery to have a better look but we decided not to risk it given her age. Even if they did find something I’m not prepared to put her through any nasty treatments as at best they’ll buy a couple of months but what would her quality of life be like.

As things stand, she seems to be happy - she sleeps a lot but always has done and likes to spend her evenings curled up on my lap. The vet told us that while cats are good at masking pain and discomfort, when they’ve “had enough” they tend to withdraw so while she’s still happy to spend her time with us we will do our best to make it as comfortable as possible for her.

Picture taken 2 mins ago 😍

Aww all of these photos are so lovely! Beautiful furry friends, all of them.

Thank you all for sharing your stories. I'm sorry for those who have lost their cats.

I feel much better about things now. I realised that although I know plenty of people who like cats/have had cats, I don't know anybody who's cat has lived as long as mine, so didn't have anybody to ask about the 'symptoms'.

Mine isn't showing any signs of pain, I've always been on 'high alert' for his back leg, since he only has the one, but he's still climbing over the 6 foot back fence without a bother. It's 'just' the deafness & lack of grooming, for now.

CaveMum My first cat suddenly lost weight & became very sleepy, then just died one day, the vet checked her over & found a lump on her tummy (you couldn't get near my first ladies tummy, ever, or she would rip your eyes out) but the vet said that she wouldn't have been in pain & that, had it of been discovered sooner, they wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway. So I'm glad that things 'ended' like that for her.

My second, lost the use of her back legs just like that one evening. Frantic trip to the emergency vet & they said that they could do tests but it was neurological & it might be kinder not to... she was extremely distressed, kept crying (normally she never made a sound so this was alarming to hear) & kept trying to walk, so I had her PTS there & then. It was very fast & extremely traumatic for her (& me) & her death still haunts me (did I do the right thing, could she have been 'cured')

My cat has never been bothered about fireworks but there's some here tonight & he's really struggling. Maybe it's because he can't hear properly so when they are loud bangs they are really making him jump. He's so scared & I can't comfort him