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.

Mine was 19 and a half too. She had never been ill until her kidneys packed in. Then I lost my 18 year old Tom recently too. You do know when it's time. 😿

HelwnInHeels Sorry you lost your lovely 2.

Thank you 😺 Now I have a 13 week old kitten and a 19 month old girl. I couldn't wait to get them.

Aww how lovely. Are they friends, HelenInHeels? My 3 were never friends. 2 of them tolerated each other & would rub noses occasionally!

They are, she washes him!

@TabbyTatCat If it’s of small comfort to you, I lost a much loved 4 year old cat the same way. He woke me up in the night, crying in pain and dragging a hind leg behind him. I thought he’d somehow broken it! We rushed him to the emergency vets and it turned out he’d got undiagnosed hypertrophic myocarditis and had thrown a clot (saddle thrombosis) It’s much more common in cats than I even realised.

He was put on medication and the vet warned us the long term prognosis wasn’t good, and 6 weeks later, he threw another clot, was completely paralysed and in excruciating pain. We had no choice but to PTS.

You did absolutely the right thing. There is nothing that can be done for a cat with HCM. I know exactly how you feel, you torture yourself wondering if you could/should have done x,y or z - but you definitely couldn’t have save her and did the final loving act. Xx

Thank you for sharing this & for those kind words, JohnPrescottsPyjamas, and I'm sorry that you lost your cat in the same way. It's awful isn't it.

My cat has struggled again tonight with the fireworks, poor boy. He's had chocolate muffins & malteasers with the kids (he's a chocoholic!) & I hope that has bought some comfort to him. when the fireworks are actually going off, he likes to sit in the middle of the room where he can just listen, he doesn't want any of the cosy areas that I've set up for him around the edges.

My cat started dragging his one back leg, couldn't walk on it & was crying (not his usual meows)

So I took him to the vet. Fearing the worst, that it was going to be the same as what happened to my other one.

Once there, he charged around the room, not letting me catch him, proving me to be a liar & that he was absolutely fine

Except he's not. He has a lot of pain in his leg & hip joints & has arthritis.

So he's on daily medicine now, which luckily seems to be working so far, & he's pretty much back to normal movement, with no more 'different' meowing

He's been utterly spoiled the last few days. Cat treats, chicken, ham, chocolate, constant supply of milk (which he loves) & he's decided that his new favourite spot is the carry box with the blanket in, so he curls up in there (he can only just fit!) & he has a second bowl of milk & biscuits right next to it so that he doesn't have to walk far.

@TabbyTatCat Please don't give chocolate to cats it's toxic!!!!!

HelenInHeels Is it? He's always had it tbh. It's never affected him. I'd heard that dogs need special chocolate but hadn't heard about cats.

Also one of my cats couldn't tolerate milk but this one is fine with it.

I've just googled, I never realised that!

So sorry. We had to have our 19 yrs old girl put down due to advanced feline dementia. Last 2 yrs were a bit of a nightmare but the final decision was still hard to make.

She couldn't groom well before that due to arthritis so she smelled of wee, poo got stuck to her fur, she hated it when we trimmed it off her in bits, she insisted on sleeping with me, I had to have a thick cover on my bed for the smell of wee not to penetrate anything and could be frequently changed. The worst bit was the incessant, loud yowling any time she's left my bed. She got "lost" and called for me to get her. Day or night. I did not sleep properly for 2 years. Vet refused to put her down at first and wanted to try Xanax. It was an unmitigated disaster. She kept on falling off the bed and was very distressed by her own inability to move around normally. We lived with this for 2 yrs. Could have done it longer but it was clear mentally she was far gone and she's not had much joy in life. She could not go out, she was virtually an outdoor cat before, sometimes did not come home for a week in summer, did not eat much, did not enjoy her favourite foods like fresh chicken, could not groom and did not purr much anymore when I tried to stroke her. You need to basically evaluate the cat's quality of life and when it is no longer there you need to be brave and make the decision to visit the vet. Vets always help to make this evaluation and trust you with the final decision.

Hi Aggie15 Thank you for sharing this & I'm so sorry that things turned out this way. Sounds like your cat had a very loving family & home, & that you did your absolute best for her in difficult circumstances. Poor cat. It's so hard isn't it.

My boy is doing ok for now. He actually likes the taste of the medicine & licks all over the bottle whilst I'm filling the syringe! So that's one good thing, that it's not battle to get the painkillers into him.

Glad your old boy is doing well. Seen his photo he is gorgeous. Wishing him long, happy twilight years with good health.

Thank you Aggie15 that's kind of you.
He seems completely back to 'normal' for now (with the hearing loss which is normal now) & he's still loving his new favourite spot (the carry box)

Update on my 'grumpy old man' as the vet called him today

His fur isn't great, its kind of clumpy & coming out in small patches, although it doesn't seem to bother him, it bothers me!

He has lost weight & his heart-rate is too fast. This added with the changes in his fur probably means a thyroid problem. Poor boy.

@TabbyTatCat In he still a happy cat though? My wee (formally) big cat has lost a lot of weight and had thyroid issues but is still happy enough.

He is, YoghurtPotWashingMachine. I havn't actually noticed the weight loss (although I have heard him eating a lot in the night which I never normally hear. He has extra bells on his collar since he's deaf, & they 'clang' against the food bowl)

He still seems fine in himself, & I'm glad that yours is too!

Unhappy update

It's Hyper-thyroid & stage 2 kidney disease.

The vet wasn't optimistic about his future at all. She said try meds for a bit but the kidney meds will affect the thyroid & given his age, it may be kinder to let him go

He just seems ok & this is what's confusing for me.
Not that I want him to seem unwell, of course I don't. But (apart from his fur being clumpy which doesn't bother him) & him eating & drinking more often, he is just fine.

Is this normal for kidney disease? Or will he suddenly decline?

He sat & watched me on the phone to the vet yesterday then sob my heart out when I hung up, & he came over to me 'Meow! Meow!' & I said through tears 'But you are ok, aren't you?' (then he ran away when I tried to pick him up, as he does, with his little 'Mmrp'!)

Any experience of kidney disease?
Is he suffering greatly & I just can't see it?

I can completely understand how heartbreaking and confusing this must feel. When a vet paints a very grim picture but your cat still seems ok, it can be hard to reconcile the two.

Stage 2 kidney disease in cats is actually a stage where many still have a good quality of life – sometimes for years – especially if their appetite is good and they’re still engaged with their surroundings, as your boy clearly is. Hyperthyroidism, too, is often manageable with the right medication. Yes, treatment can be a balancing act between thyroid and kidney function, but many cats respond well, and the vet’s concerns may be more about the potential trajectory rather than where he is right now.

From what you’ve described it really sounds like he’s not in immediate distress. You’ll know when the time comes to say goodbye. Right now, it doesn’t sound like that time – and your lovely boy seems to be telling you that too.

Sending you strength and a gentle hug. You’re doing right by him, just by caring so deeply.

Hello - just coming on to share my experience of kidney disease. Elton was diagnosed with stage 3 CKD - so worse again than your beautiful boy and still managed to enjoy life for another 18 months after diagnosis. I'm not sure what meds the vet is suggesting for CKD as there isn't really an official treatment apart from kidney friendly food (although there are several supplements that we tried with Elton which I can recommend if you would like). Thyroid disease is quite common alongside CKD in older cats and it can be managed. Let me know if you would like me to pass on any further info.

Thank you so much for the lovely, kind messages Mia184 & Puppylucky I feel a bit better after reading these. I was feeling like he must be having a terrible time, in great pain, & I'm the worst cat-mum in the world as I just can't see it!

He is definitely still with-it. He actually pounced on (& caught, then dragged inside) something in the garden last week, which he hasn't done for years.

I don't know what the medicine is, I'm picking it up on Monday. She said we will start on a really low dose & then have another blood test.

I have ordered some renal food, just from googling, but I would be grateful for any information about diet, thank you.

This is my little old man. He’s at least 16. So far he seems fine, a bit shouty and his fur gets matted. He sleeps on my head, which can be a bit hot.

You are not the worst cat mum and my understanding is that CKD is not painful. Elton drank a lot of water and was probably more tired and nauseous than the average cat but even at the end wasn't hugely distressed - he'd just clearly had enough. In terms of supplements the most well regarded one is Porus One which is easy to administer and helps filter out toxins to give the kidneys a bit of a break. There are also Phos Binders like Epakatin you can buy if your boy still insists on eating non kidney friendly food - you just sprinkle it on and it reduces the phosphate level in the food. I did find that vets aren't necessarily up to speed with the proactive treatment of CKD so you may want to educate yourself. There is a website called Tanya's CKD which is an amazing resource and gave me a lot of practical and emotional support. Attached is Elton living his best life with CKD!

Aww look at him, ThePussy and yours, Puppylucky. Very lovely.
This is mine today.

I suppose the vet was just trying to prepare me for the worst, & she said 'I want you to understand how dire the situation is'. But all I can do is try the meds & try the change in diet really, isn't it. I'll have a look at that website, thank you.