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.

Thank you HarryPotterandtheClimateofFear I hope you are doing alright?

I am having a look around but I'm not sure if anything like that will be possible.

I do know that, if it ends up being at the vets, then I will make it as lovely for him as I can. He will be alright, he will know that I'm with him & I'm the only one who's been with him for his whole life so that will be all that matters at the end

It wasn't really the point of the thread when I started it, but I'm just having such conflicted feelings with all of this.

On a positive note, his legs are better since yesterday & he legged it down (& up again!) the stairs today, so he's still quicker than I am (I have problems with my own feet!) when he wants to get somewhere. He's determined.

He's currently munching on some sausage, that he's dragged all over my cardigan (which I took off & chucked on a chair yesterday & he's pulled it down & claimed it)

Everyone says you’ll know when it is time but I’m not sure if that’s true. It’s just incredibly hard and the most heavy responsibility to make that decision on behalf of someone you love so much xxx It sounds like he is doing really well for now though.

we are doing okay thank you 🥰 Have booked a holiday for the summer which is something we haven’t been able to do for over 2 years because we couldn’t leave our old girl. Of course now I am feeling guilty about leaving the other cat 🙈

HarryPotterandtheClimateofFear Absolutely. If I hear anybody saying that, after all of this, then I'm just going to be thinking 'Nope'.

Holiday sounds like a lovely idea, I'm pleased for you

How have things been this week @TabbyTatCat ? Have been thinking of you and your boy.

Hi HarryPotterandtheClimateofFear Thank you for asking, how are you?

He's doing really well.

He's still eating well (anything soft, he won't touch a cat biscuit any more)

He's up & down the stairs (although we have a little routine where he will wait at the bottom when he's ready to go up & I'll carry him up) but a couple of times in the middle of the night he's gone down & come back up by himself.

I stopped closing the baby gate for the time being as he was getting very distressed trying to get through it/open it & his legs are so much better (for now)

That said, he probably used to sleep about 40% of the time & he now sleeps about 70% of the time.

I was speaking to a friend who hasn't seen him for a year, she came & spent some time with him & said that he seems much the same as he always did & if I hadn't told her what was wrong with him then she wouldn't have known.

Obviously they aren't a vet & I know that he is likely hiding how he feels to a point, but it's made me feel a little better as I really was feeling terrible about what the other vet said & I can't bare to think of him suffering.

So the short version is he's still going, & we are still taking it day by day.

I noticed a little mat on his fur yesterday so this morning he's had a lovely comb all over, I found a few Mat's on his tummy & he loves a tummy rub anyway, I laid him in the sunny spot on my bed, he had a plate of chicken if he wanted it, & he's been purring, plucking at my duvet, & smiling.

I havn't done his fur since he became unwell.

I stopped giving him the extra painkillers the other day. He started spitting them out & becoming distressed with them & I don't want to be causing him any more distress right now. (The vet still hasn't got the liquid stuff back in so he was still on the tablets)

He's still doing really well for now.

He wants to go back out the front & this is the only thing I've not let him do. He came charging down the stairs the other day & along the front path & I had to grab him before he charged across the road, when I was putting the wheelie bin out! I stood in the front garden cuddling him saying 'I'm so sorry, this is the one thing that I can't let you do. I'm so, so sorry', And he was a bit like 'Ok you've had your cuddle, now get off me', as he always is

I’m so pleased he is doing so well @TabbyTatCat 🥰 Ours have never been allowed out the front!

Thank you HarryPotterandtheClimateofFear I hope you are alright.

I do feel guilty because he loves it out the front but he won't stay in the garden, he will charge across the road, like he tried the other day. I have had 2 neighbours ask me if he's alright as they are used to seeing him about, but he was across the road when he injured his leg so I can't risk it.

@TabbyTatCat If you put a little bit of olive oil on any mats you find, eventually they will fall off x

Oh do they, YoghurtPotWashingMachine Thank you. They are only little ones, not big ones like he had before.

We had some more blood tests on Friday & the results of these are as expected really, Thyroid, kidney, liver all elevated although the Thyroid is holding steady & his weight has gone up for the last 2 visits.

It was another different vet, he said 'I wouldn't say that he's at the end of his life but I'd say that it won't be long, but you know this anyway'.

On the phone today, he's said that I shouldn't have taken my cat off the renal diet, although he's not 'off' it completely, he still has the pouches but mixed in with a lot of Chicken/other pouches/turkey... But I explained to him that the previous vet just wanted my cat to eat as his weight was dropping & they said that since he was never keen on the renal food then just getting him to eat anything at all is the battle right now.

I didn't really feel like he listened to this, & just said that I should transition him onto the renal diet slowly instead of just swapping instantly (I know this)

I am feeling frustrated that this blood test was done at all tbh as it just told us what we already knew, but since they wouldn't let him have his Thyroid meds without another blood test then I'm between a rock & a hard place.

My cat had the calming meds so he was 'alright-ish' but the vet said that he was still very distressed at having his blood taken & it took a long time so I knew that things weren't going smoothly. They tried with his neck & his paw this time

As for my boy, he was very sad on coming back from the vets & let me wrap him in a blanket which he's never ever done before, & slept next to me for a couple of hours.

He then came to life & ate tonnes of food (but he's hardly eaten over the weekend) & he has been sick several times. But he has been very active. He's been downstairs with us instead of in his hiding place upstairs, he's been running about, in & out of the garden (I'm leaving the back door open for him when I'm around, as he does struggle with the cat flap now) & he's coming & going, alert, happy.

I'm not feeling happy about these blood tests at all, he will need another one in 3 months. Which is weird to think about in itself as I didn't think that he'd even make it through January.

The vet was saying how it's been so long since he had a blood test & as he was talking I remembered actually that the next one was due now, so we are actually right on schedule, as they told me get get his calming meds & book the next one for the end of Jan/early Feb but after everything went haywire in December, I'd completely forgotten about this.

Hello @TabbyTatCat , I was thinking about you and your boy over the weekend. I’m so pleased to hear he is doing okay. I have to admit I do not love the sound of your vet though! Is there any reason why you can’t just say no to further bloods? What are they actually telling anyone when you know he is so near the end of his life? X

Thank you HarryPotterandtheClimateofFear my boy still has his character & his stubborn spirit. He's so lovely.

I googled & apparently it's fine for the vets to refuse to give him his medicine if I won't let him have another blood test.

So my options would be no more thyroid meds. I don't know serious this is?

I can get the Arthritis meds at the local cats welfare clinic, but not the Thyroid one (he's actually much better visiting this clinic as it's 2 mins, quick check over, give me the meds & done)

I don't know who to talk this through with so thank you for answering me. I hope you are doing alright?

I mentioned it to 2 people over the weekend & they said 'The vets can't do that' & 'If it was me I'd just say no' obviously I didn't know that the blood test would be difficult for my poor boy, before it was done.

Also, the vet said that these tests would be more extensive but they've not told me anything new at all.

My DP told me today he dreamt about our cat last night - she came back to visit us 😭 I cried for the first time in a while.

id look into moving vets if I were you tbh — it doesn’t sound like you’re getting much continuity of care anyway and their approach sounds very rigid. Towards the end of our girl’s life the vet would be like, Well we can do bloods/another scan etc if you want but… We just didn’t see the point.

Lots of love to you and your sweet boy 😻

Thank you for the support, HarryPotterandtheClimateofFear. I don't know about another vets as it would mean yet another check up for him & more messing him about.

I'm sorry that you've been upset today. The dream sounds bittersweet. Sometimes our minds are cruel to us, aren't they? How is your DP? I'm sending you virtual hugs!

He is okay, thank you. He didn’t want to wake up so he could stay in the dream with her for longer 😢

Maybe you could do a bit of research on your local Facebook group or whatever into other vets and just see what’s out there, and if anywhere is particularly recommended ring or pop in for a chat? The existing vet would send his notes over so there’d be no need for any major investigation, he’d just have his next routine appointment somewhere else?

I think I’ve asked this before but it’s Solensia injections he’s on for arthritis isn’t it? So monthly appointments are happening anyway. Neither of ours have had thyroid issues though so maybe regular bloods are needed for that medication and I’m dissing your vet unfairly!

HarryPotterandtheClimateofFear Oh it sounds really sad, for you both. I am sorry. It's so hard when they are such a part of the family, isn't it.

He is on Arthrocam for Arthritis & they only need to see him once every 6 months at the clinic for that.

According to Google the Thyroid needs to be checked 3/6 monthly so it seems that I will just have to accept the blood tests & hope that they aren't always so traumatic for him (maybe next time when he says extensive tests though I'll ask if they can just do the standard)... If he's even still with me in 3 months...

I don't always get my info off Google but when I asked the other cat charity they basically told me I'm cruel for forcing him to stay alive, didn't they, & offered no further advice.

Anybody else who I've spoken to has said that the vets where we are, are the best around. This is why I came here in the first place.

My old vets where I had my 3 cats all registered, it became really difficult to get appointments & they just went down hill tbh.

Maybe I just need things explained more clearly at the appointments, but it always feels so rushed. Or maybe they can give my boy something different for the blood tests? Since the last stuff to 'relax' him only worked to a point.

Anyway, my boy is currently sat at the open back door, chatting away to me away about something. (He won't let me shut the door as he runs back outside, so I'm just sat here with 2 blankets on freezing, but at least my boys happy!)

Dcat1 is ‘only’ 16, but I think he’s nearing the end.

his kidney disease has now progressed very quickly to stage 2. His arthritis meds have definitely made him feel a bit more mobile, but he now frequently doesn’t make it to the litter tray in time - despite it only being 2 meters away.

i just want to get past ds2’s birthday next Tues as they grew up together and they were always each others favorite.

I’m really sad about this. He seems okish 90% of the time, so I’m just hoping he’s ok to carry on for the next few days. But I know I need to do what’s best for him, which is hard as I can only guesstimate how he’s doing.

hope all your furry friends are in fine fettle.

Sewaccidentprone I'm really sorry. I'm sending hope that you get a little bit more time, it sounds really difficult for you all. I am glad that your cat is mainly happy for now, & that you are having some more happy memories. Tough decision for you, it's very hard isn't it.

Does it bother him when he misses the litter tray?

It doesn’t both him in the slightest. He likes to pee on top of previous accidents. Which compounds the problem and smell. It bothers me, but I know he’s not doing it on purpose.

ive move one of his litter trays as close to his pee places as I can and he’s now used that. so he has earned a temp reprieve.

But he’ll only use one tray once, so if I don’t clean them out asap he’ll just use the floor. Maybe I should just buy one huge tray and put it directly next to he sleeping spot so he always has to stand in it on his way to wherever.

but he seems happy now after his daily walk and 4th small meal.

These geriatric cats and their never ending problems. So hard to call it time though.

I was so so wrong about fluffy cat 1.

I've phoned the vet and I’ll be taking him this Friday.

i strangely feel relieved now I’ve made the decision. Ds1 & 2 are going to pop round and give him lots of loves tomorrow (and I’m trying really hard not to thinks about it). Ds2 was giving me loads of reassurance that I’m doing the right thing and that fluffy boy has had a lovely life since we rescued him 16 years ago.

Sewaccidentprone I'm so sorry to read this, but know that you've given him the best life, all that you have written that you do for him daily, his little routines that you know, just shows how loved he is.

Sending you every wish that the next days are calm & peaceful for you

I’m so sorry @Sewaccidentprone , it’s just the most heartbreaking decision to make. The constant monitoring of the litter tray was a big thing for us in the end - we didn’t mind doing it but it was just a signal that she was struggling with basic catting stuff. I hope you have a lovely, peaceful rest of the week with your sweet fluffy boy and everything is calm and full of love at the end - that’s the last and hardest thing you’ll do for him. 💐

Sewaccidentprone I hope you are all alright.

Mini update on my boy.
Thriving the last couple of weeks.
Apart from his little syringes of meds that he has with his tea, you'd never know that anything was wrong.

He's eating well, running around, no longer needing help to get up & down the stairs, he's climbing up onto our beds like he used to, he's no longer hiding himself away to sleep.

Very confusing time but I'm obviously extremely happy that he's still with us, & that he's doing so well.

So pleased to read this @TabbyTatCat 😻 You’ve been in my thoughts xx