Elderly cat getting very thin.

Its exactly a year since I posted (Day one wihout a cat in the house) I still have days when I miss my Jasper so much especially as at our age we will have no more cats. When I see people scrabbling about on the floor at ALDI trying to find the only tins which their cat will eat, then I'm glad its all over as an ailing ageing cat is lot of work and worry.

You did the best thing. It is proof of love not to let them suffer. Cats are freedom loving creatures and when its over its over...
Thinking of you

Kidney or thyroid problems came to mind when I read your description. Our Bertie looked exactly like this and it was kidney issues with him. Hope your lovely old lady remains comfortable and happy for as long as possible.

My Mud Cat is 14. She is eating, drinking and behaving normal and she has gone down to a feather weight over the last 8 months. My Vet made sure no tape worms were present and that she was healthy in all other aspects. He did a Thyroid test. Her test came back LOW, .04. He said there was no treatment for being to low that would restore her weight because if she is skinny and you raise the Thyroid activity that causes them to burn MORE energy. Has anyone heard any different?

The same thing happened to me shazormerod I had an old cat who needed an eye operation and when they did all the tests beforehand they realised how bad his kidneys were. He spent a couple of days on a drip and seemed back to normal, but as soon as he came off the drip he went straight down and the only thing to do was put him to sleep. It's so sad, but you reach a point when there's no other option. I certainly doubt whether four days on a drip would have had a lasting effect and it's very upsetting to think they're back to normal and then find it hasn't worked.

Yes, you did the right thing for him. At least you know there was no alternative.

So sorry to hear that shazormerod I do know how you feel (we've lost 2 this year) but you know you have done the right thing for him.

Hi to everyone who replied back to me regarding my puss cat Piggy,we took Piggy to the vets on Wednesday to get him checked out as we were away for 2 days so left Piggy and my other cat an automatic cat feeder,when we got back on tuesday evening Piggy was miaowing and looking at me as to say i've had enough he sat near the fire and nearly burnt his fur,took him vets on wednesday and vet did blood test and urine sample,took his temperature which was low. blood test and urine sample came back as kidney disease,vet said we could spend £400 and have Piggy on a drip for 4 days and see if we could perk him up but said once he comes of drip he might go back downhill,so we had to do the hardest thing ever and put him to sleep my boyfriend had to go out of the room why they put Piggy to sleep but i stayed with him and we buried him yesterday as by the time we got back to boat wednesday it was to dArk to bury him. So Piggy is now running free with all the other cats in Rainbow Bridge waiting for me to join him

oh dear Faye sounds like it's very sad all round. It's hard when animals get old and sick, we've had too many like that. We are currently spending on our elderly rescue cat who has a chronic eye problem. The vet isn't sure what it is and the insurance company are now refusing to pay out because a year has gone by. It's costing a fortune. All the best.

phoenix - your description of your cat reminds me of the problems our cat had and that turned out to be liver problems. I can only suggest that you take her to the vets for a blood test. It is so hard when we know they are not well and they cannot tell us what is wrong.

annie the cats were very old, one was sitting so close to the heater she was singeing her fur. The other ended up with a broken bone and was terribly old, frail and bedraggled looking. I think their kidneys had well and truly packed in by then.

Faye, has the vet ruled out a kidney problem? We had an elderly cat that got very thin and the vet said that old cats often become diabetic and their kidneys fail. Ours was then on medication and went on happily for some time.

The vet told us that we should have brought our cat in earlier, she was still eating well but feeling the cold. DD ended up with another of our family cats and I told her and SIL that he was too thin and very old and probably suffering, but they wouldn't have it because he ate well. He ended up with a broken bone and they rushed him to the vet. They put a bowl of food next to him and he was still eating on the drive there.

Now their old dog has cancer, the vet had advised he had a dislocated paw, they thought possibly as he was jumping up high to steal the cat's food. Around three hundred pounds for X-rays supposedly showing the dislocated paw then two months later the vet realised the dog has cancer and they needed to get more X-rays. I can't believe the cost of the X-rays plus there are two months of treatment the dog had before the cancer diagnosis. He is a lovely old dog and will be sadly missed.

As an ex vets assistant I agree teeth/mouth problems are quiet likely.

Very good point re teeth Deedaa, and definitely worth getting the vet to check.

11 isn't all that old for a cat shazormerod so I would definitely get the vet to have a look at him. If he is smelling a bit it could be a problem with his mouth or teeth which would make his saliva very smelly and might put him off eating.You wouldn't want to find that you'd left him with an abscessed tooth or even a tumour in his mouth like one of mine had. Far better to have it checked out now.

I don't know about working out a cat's age. There are quite a few 20 year old cats around and they'd be 140 if you multiplied them by 7!

Hi i was wondering if anybody could help my 11 year old tom cat called Piggy (yes that's right his name is Piggy long story why is name is Piggy) has become thin over the last couple of months he eats what i put out for him but not a great deal of it,he use to wolf his cat meat down but doesn't anymore he will eat a couple of mouthfuls and then leave the rest of it,i thought he had gone of the cat meat so have tried different cat meat even senior but he will hardly eat senior cat meat,please can anybody suggest anything. He will eat a couple of prawns,chicken and tuna. Also there is a bit of a smell on him is that because he is getting old. Could you also tell me do you times a cats age by 7,my boyfriend said you don't but 9i thought you did.

apologies Absent - I just realised this was meant for Phoenix and her poorly moggie. thanks for the idea anyway.

thanks absent, I will take him this week, he isn't TOO thin, but I want to catch anything before it gets too bad, after losing his sister. Fingers croseed its not too serious.

It might be worth investigating the possibility iof steroid injections. These can help make an elderly cat feel better in a general way and put on a bit of weight.

"Cats leave law prints on your heart."

Oh dear, just been snivelling after watching end of the film Marley and me, and now this has me in tears. We lost our much loved Rosie 8 weeks ago aged 15, I had hoped to have her much longer than that. She had a tumour on her chest and it wasn't possible to treat or operate, so we did the last thing we could for her, as she couldn't eat properly.... really miss her.

We have her brother and sister still, (plus a little stray we found the next year) but the boy is also getting a bit thin and old looking, and not himself lately, so I'm probably going to take him to vet this week. No doubt will cost a fortune, blood tests etc, but if its thyroid, may get treatment. I never want to prolong their life if they will suffer, but sometimes, with treatment, they go on for a few more years.

Oh, how sad when it gets to this stage of their lives. Our cat Smudge grew up with the children and would follow them to school, then wait on the caretaker's window ledge at home time, so she could follow them back home. She became very thin when she got to about 13, became as light as a feather, and then one day went missing. We searched for her for about 5 days and eventually I heard a weak miaow and traced her to a nearby garden. I brought her home and fed her well then took her to the vets the next day, when he told me she had broken her leg and had some bone loss on her hip which would prevent it healing, so sadly we let her go. I was so relieved to have found her, as not knowing where she was would have been so distressing. We have to let our pets go when the time comes, but it's the price we pay for all the love and fun they bring us.

I am so cross withh myself because there was something in one of the weekend's newspapers about how to look after an edlerly cat and I can't find the wretched article - it would be either the Sunday Times or Telegraph. I do remember it said that fish is easier to digest than meat. My vet has also recommended that we feed our cat food which is designed for "senior" cats - still looking for it, though. He has a tendency to cystitis and can only have wet food.

Phoenix I'm sorry - I misread the fact that your cat was, in fact, twenty, not ten (it's been a long day). If she'd been younger, then I would have said it was worth a try. Our vet seemed to think it was worth a try even at seventeen, but that's vets for you! We decided to call it a day when our cat didn't seem to be able to support her very little weight any longer. You'll know when it's time to let her go.

The fur thing applies too Ariadne , the best way to describe how she looks at present is like a very old, much loved cuddly toy, a bit ragged round the edges, if that makes sense?

I feel that this is her last stretch. When we got her she had been an indoor cat all her life, she adapted so well to going outside, (although she has never been keen if the weather isn't good!) even now if it is sunny she loves to go out and warm her old bones on the south facing decking.

In an ideal world I would love her to be just lying in her favourite spot, in the sunshine and gently slip away, but it rarely happens like that with pets.

She will be looked after and loved until either she pops her paws or we have to make the decision.