Senior cat - vet check ups

[Ilikeviognier]

Cat is 17. Seems fine. Last vaccination the vets recommended bringing her in in 6 months for a check up. That time is now…but I’m hesitating- mainly because she seems fine and I can imagine potential unnecessary costs and stress for the cat- perhaps for no good reason.

am I being cynical? Is it better to wait til there actually is an issue, or she’s due boosters - before voluntarily incurring vets costs?

Don’t bother if she’s well in herself. It just stresses cats out for no good reason.

That’s what I was wondering! Plus the cost!

Does your vet do home visits? Or if it’s the expense you want to avoid, weigh them and check things are stable to six months ago.

Not aware of home visits - I could potentially try to weigh her at home I suppose!

Ours is 20 I’ve taken her to nail clipping because they got embedded, and they wanted to do a load of blood tests because she’s thin (she’s always been slim) but she’s so cheery I don’t want to do more than let her end her days on her memory foam bed eating Sheba and being hand fed licky licks. If she was in pain it would be different.

My cat is 17 I only take him to the vet when unwell. At one time he hadn't been for 10 years and still weighed the same.

This is what I’m thinking, she seems fine and I’m not sure I can justify the visit! They did mention she had lost a bit of weight last time but it was just after we’d been on holiday for a week so I’d put it down to her change of routine.

She definitely isn’t getting skinny or anything - she’s a chunky cat!

Then I would weigh her to make sure that’s why because chronic kidney failure is common at this sort of age which a change of diet will make a huge difference to. However, the diet food is expensive which might be an issue if you can’t afford a routine check up.

It’s not so much the cost - it’s the upset and stress when she seems fine. Maybe I could get the vests to tell me what she weighed last time and then weigh her at home.

I definitely wouldn’t take a 17 year old cat to the vet if the cat was fine. 17 is a good age and I think intervention at that time of life should be minimal and only when justified by problems.

Yes I agree with this @unsevered67 - I think I’ll go for the weigh at home option and see first.

We found it is actually quite hard weighing them at home, the bathroom scales aren't accurate enough and the kitchen ones - well she didn't enjoy being plonked in a mixing bowl. Does your vet have a messaging service? We use ours to speak to the vet before deciding whether to go in or not in non-emergency situations.

I’ll call the vet tomorrow- thacks!

My boys go every 6 months but they have underlying health conditions, can be put in a box fairly easily and don’t get stressed by the visit! If they were stressed by it I’d be less inclined to take them but as the vet is on out street and I can have them there and back in under 30 mins, it also doesn’t cost me because we have a pet plan that covers 2 check ups a year.

Yes that’s not the case here - she hates it and sometimes poes in the car on the way - hiding beforehand and then howling the entire way.

hence my reluctance….

We have had annual senior cat checks on 2 of our cats - both seemed fine. One was fine and the other had diabetes - happily now well controlled by dietary changes (and no more Dreamies)

If she's fine then dont. Im sure you'd know if and when your cat needs a vet!

If you have no worries can you get it done next time you are at the vet for a routine appointment? Vaccination etc. It's what we do.

Sometimes it can be good to get an early warning if an older cat is at risk of developing a chronic condition

@Lunde yes I think that’s a good idea - Thankyou

Unless she is in pain, I would leave her be.

@EnchantingDaytime Just weight yourself on the bathroom scales, with and without cat... super easy :)

I would keep an eye on condition/ weight / teeth and breath but not take a otherwise healthy cat in unnecessarily, especially at 17

My vet continuously sends messages offering blood tests for my dog and wellness checks and all this guff. It's just a money making exercise. I take them for their annual check up and booster jabs - and I will take them if they get poorly.

My DD's 10 year old cat was diagnosed with diabetes as a result of a senior cat blood test. As a result of it being caught early she never got poorly, it was managed through dietary changes and saved her a fortune in medication costs.

We tried that but ours are the old fashioned ones with a dial and not very accurate (she's a small cat so not a big difference) plus wriggling cat made the needle jiggle about. We had a chart of all her weighings from the vet and she had fluctuated up and down by about half a kilo over the years but you really couldn't tell that with any degree of accuracy by the bathroom scales method.