Aged cats

I'd like to know why the cats round here all use my garden as a toilet instead of their own.

Hi, Grannytwoshoes! I'd say, 'welcome to Gransnet' but I'm quite new myself & it seems a bit presumptuous. I think you'd probably need to get a vet's opinion on the howling if it has started recently. One of my cats learned howling from the Oriental cross who had always howled but the other two started howling as they got old. They were all very vocal and I always thought that was because it's a very vocal household. I thought the howling was comparable to old ladies/gents muttering to themselves as they still appeared to be in good health. Good luck.

I have no answer grannytwoshoes but welcome to Gransnet, there are no such things as mistakes around here,everything is ok. Why are you not meant to have a cat?

Welcome to Gransnet Grannytwoshoes, I had elderly cats sadly all gone now, but my vet told me a variety of reasons why mine were 'very vocal' in old age, could be deafness, senility and thyroid related problems, one had hyperthyroidism and she drove me bonkers with yowling in the middle of the night. But bless them all I loved them to bits and the last two beautiful kitties lived to 21 and 20 so reached a ripe old age.. I never found a solution to the problem we had to learn to live with it..
Mine would also rather drink from a dirty puddle in the garden than a bowl of nice clean tap water so no idea why they do that apart from the fact cats like to do as they please and thats apparently what pleases them... I've loved all my cats but can't say its not a relief now to be able to holiday or go out for the day and not have to worry about them.

Thank you for your comments. It looks like we are going to have to put up with the noise. I had heard about the thyroid problem, but loathe to start down the vet route until absolutely necessary. Why am I not meant to have a cat Goldengran?! Because of my lease...walls have ears!

My old cat has started yowling too. I now know that it's usually when she wants something - I just don't always know what!
Sometimes she just wants to know where I am. I do think she gets a bit confused.
Earlier this morning she sat in the hall at the bottom of the stairs and yowled, didn't want food, didn't want out, I finally realised she wanted - me to come back to bed so she could lie there too.
So I did, for a little while - but she is still there.

Our last cat, Lucky, was a yowler! Just an ordinary old moggie - who had a conversation with you by yowling back when you spoke to him. No distress shown at all - just nattering away! He would also stand on the edge of the bathroom basin and wait for me to turn the tap on so he could drink out of it, and would never drink water which was laid down for him. Liked the bird bath or pond, too!

My eldest cat Mowgli, dark brown and magnificent...sits on the edge of the bath and licks me or the warm water! Mad!

My last cat, Rosie, was about 24 when she died. She was deaf, and I think her yowling was like an old deaf person shouting because she couldn't hear herself. If you see what I mean?

My mother cat has become senile in the last few months. I think she yowls mostly because she is confused – it's the equivalent of "Mum, why I am in this room?"

Our Siamese, Mai-Ling passed over 3 months ago at 20 years. She always did her oriental yowl, but in about the last 18 months boy did she yell.....quite often in the wee small hours!! I had to go down to her as she would have disturbed the neighbours. She was allowed upstairs on the bed, but she kind of got lost and couldn't find us. She would do it during the day too, if we both went out in the garden (she was an indoor only cat) she would wander round the house yowling. But we really miss her xx

My poor senile mum cat is really reaching the end of her time. I keep hoping (as it were) that I shall wake up one morning and she won't. I think we are fast approaching the time when I shall have to ask the vet to intervene, but I so don't want that to happen. She often howls because she's confused and uncertain where she is. The other night I woke up and thought a child was crying "Mummy, Mummy" and then realised it was my poor old lady. I don't think she hurts but I do think her kidneys are slowly going judging by how much she drinks. I would just like it if everything stopped for her rather than my having to put her in a carrier and taxi which I know she would find frightening and uncomfortable.If nature doesn't take its course by the end of this week, I think I shall have to bite the bullet.

oh dear absentgrana yes they do get frightened when put in a carrier, and wonder where on earth they are going, I hope that she will pass peacfully for you when the time comes....

Oh absent , I feel for you. I was sort of lucky that my ancient girl went at home, I did post about it, I think the title of the thread was "And then there were two"

I don't have a cat any more but in the past I've always preferred to pay a bit more and have the vet come to my house to do the deed.

I had to do it twice in a couple of months, absent, but it wasn't far to go to the vet's. I was sad, but they were both very old and very poorly and I was able to stay stroking them up to the end. 15 years later, I still miss them.

anno
Ten years ago in 2002 I lost all three of my little dogs, the last one just before Christmas. I still think of them

It was round about this time last year that my lovely witch's cat Dylan collapsed and had to be put to sleep. Looks very much as if Fishpaste will be going the same way next week. So that will just leave the Fonts (so called because they were all born to Fishpaste in my office). Fishpaste is now the same age as Dilly was then and Dingbat (an accurate description), Helvetica Semi Bold (he's quite shy), Bodoni (she's a serif cat) and Fruitger Light Condensed (small but feisty) are only one year younger. We are planning to emigrate in April. It seems a lot to put the cats through to travel all that way and endure three months' quarantine, but I cannot possibly leave them behind. Oh, it's all so hard.

I don't know what to say absent

absent you have my sympathies. I posted elsewhere about 'losing' all but one cat in a very short space of time. It's horrid isn't it!

I've had a couple of my cats put down in the past. Very sad. The last time the vet had to have two goes to get the needle in properly and Claudia gave one loud blood curdling howl and then just sort of collapsed, all life gone in an instant.

It was over ten years ago but I still feel a bit tearful thinking about it.

Also feeling guilty because none of my cats have gone beyond the age of twelve. I wonder if it is because I feed them on commercial cat food though they do have the best (iams).

petallus Mine – present and past –  have all gone well past the age of 12, apart from Mozzarella who went missing, and they have all thrived on cheap and cheerful commercial cat food.

I gather that cats like puddles etc. because they don't like the chlorine in tap water. One of our cats is about 16 and being treated for hyperthyroidism at the moment. It's costing about £28 a month but is very effective. We did it once before with one who lived to be 19, he went deaf and a bit senile but was very happy until he suddenly went blind. He was obviously so unhappy not knowing where we were or what was happening that the only thing we could do was have him put to sleep. Sadly he was soon followed our little old black and white lady who was found to have an inoperable tumour in her mouth. At least we didn't have to do any soul searching about whether she could have any sort of treatment because there was none. In the past I have found that invasive treatment tends to leave you with an astronomical bill and a dead cat.

I have bitten the bullet to the extent that I have made an appointment at the vets tomorrow afternoon. We had a chat on the phone and I mentioned that another cat in the past had also become senile and while he didn't seem to be ill, he was doing strange things and was confused. My then vet gave him steroid injections for about six months which made him more comfortable, less confused and perkier. The vet agreed that this was a possibility and is going to give Fishpaste a thorough physical check up and then discuss the best course of action with me. Fingers crossed but I have asked Mr absent to come with me in case it turns out that we have to say goodbye to her.