Elderly Cat Advice

[Dilysthemilk]

We have much loved 14 year old long haired cat. He’s on penicillin at the moment for a urine infection, and has just been put on rheumocam for arthritis. He’s not at all distressed, but he spends much of the day sleeping on his favourite person’s bed (my son, his room also gets the sun). He isn’t eating very much, he’s always been very fussy with food. He prefers dry, crunchy food, and will only lick the jelly from wet food briefly and then leave it. We’ve been giving him small bits of tuna mixed with his medications. He’s drinking ok. Is there anything else we could do for him to keep him comfortable? Any other food we could try? The vet said he’s lost a few teeth, so we tried wet food but he just won’t eat it. However absolutely happy to try other things (chicken?) or brands.

So sorry to hear that your cherished cat is struggling with his health - he sounds such a lovely boy 🐾❤️
Have you tried the soups - Sheba do a couple and the mousses/ pate range . Also the Dreamies licky licks in a tube are very soft and will all bring extra hydration to help the UTI.
We lost one of our beloved cats last year from cancer and these are the many treats we used to tempt her . Hoping for better health for him soon 🙏🏼 xxx

My cat is very fussy and has been refusing wet food lately. He eats a tiny amount and is underweight so I do worry.
We've recently discovered Lick e Lix which he loves! I also boil him fish and he eats that. I buy the cheapest frozen fish fillets I can find (the Sainsbury's Stamford Street frozen fish fillets). I then put three frozen fish fillets into a pan of water and bring to the boil. By the time it starts boiling the fish is cooked. The three fillets last him three or four days. It only costs about £3 a week and he'll consistently eat it. Sometimes I boil a little chicken which he also likes but seems to prefer the fish.
I also buy frozen cooked muscles. He likes those. Occasionally he'll eat prawns.
It's really important to heat the food for a few seconds in the microwave if you're taking it out of the fridge. It makes it more tasty. My cat ignores cold fish but if I heat it, he'll eat it.

Thank you both, I’m going to take a trip to the supermarket and try and get some bits to tempt him. Here here is a picture of him:

My cats have all adored a raw egg. I figure it's a good source of protein, fat and water. It's also very funny to watch them chase the yolk around the bowl and try to chew the white 😄

Tinned fish always goes down well. In oil or in spring water, never in brine (too salty). Drained, of course. I think tuna is not recommended, but sardines are good.

What a gorgeous boy!

So an update to this. Following blood tests my poor old boy has kidney problems, so he is going on some prescription food, and moving from rheumocam to a monthly injection which will be safer for his arthritis. The injection will cost £100/month, however we did have the option of continuing with the rheumocam (£40/month) with the proviso that it will be helping with the pain whilst affecting his kidneys. We feel that he doesn’t have forever left, so we are going to try the injection. Here’s a photo of him :) He’s definitely feeling better as he’s started being a bit more active.

I had 2 cats with chronic kidney disease both refused renal prescription food and one went onto the monthly silensium injection following a very bad UTI she lasted a year with good quality of life but recently PTS following a stroke aged 20 and her brother is still going on Loxicom and renal food which he's now decided he loves. He's 21 and still soldiering on...........