Old Cat

So sorry Newnanny but what a blessing that Stripey didn't suffer and had that lovely day. You will have a big hole in your lives now especially your DS, puss cats have a way of winding themselves around your heartstrings.

So sorry, I missed your last post, before posting mine.

We have all been there, and it is a horrible situation, so you have my sympathies.

As long as the cat is still eating and drinking, purring, using his tray or going out and doesn't have matted fur, I would do as you are doing: keep an eye on the situation and warn your son that the end of the road is in sight.

In my experience cats know when they are dying and you will notice a change in him too that you can't ignore. If the third eyelid is covering his eye or eyes that is a sure sign of discomfort that may not be fatal, but should be mentioned to a vet.

Your son may be right and the old fellow perks up when the weather gets warmer and the birds really start annoying him.

I transported three elderly cats (one brother and two sisters) to New Zealand – quite an adventure for them. It gave them all a new lease of life and, surprisingly, they settled into their new lives very quickly. There were all old and not sprightly but were doing okay and seemed contented. Dingbat, aka Fatty, who loved having a large garden, was nearly 18 when he started fitting one evening and, in spite of overnight care at the vet, didn't survive. Bodoni made it to 19 until she became so frail and muddled that it was kinder to put an end to her life than keep her hanging on. Frutiger managed to get to 20 before her life came to an end.

Cats have short lives compared with ours and any cat over 17 – quite a good long life – isn't going to last a lot longer, although there have been some spectacular exceptions. However, we cannot count on those.

I would say, keep an eye on the cat but if he is not distressed, let him be. If he becomes distressed, stops eating, stops drinking, or shows any other signs of difficulty functioning or pain, then contact the vet. I would then suggest that you allow yourself to be guided by your vet's advice and, if he thinks euthanasia is the right option, then be brave enough to choose it. It is a very painful decision to make but we pet owners and animal lovers have to be strong and more loving than we have been. Keeping a suffering animal alive is not a kindness. I think, maybe, you should say all this to your son.

I have had to say goodbye to many much loved cats over the years and I know how terribly hard that can be.

Sorry to hear this newnanny but it was the only answer I think cats, well all animals, know when they ve had enough he didn’t know it was his last day but he went with love ?

So sorry. You will all miss him a lot

So sorry - it's so sad when the time comes to say goodbye but it sounds like he had a good life and his last days were full of love and pampering.

Oh sorry to hear about poor Stripey.

I'm so glad for you and your son that he had a lovely day before, and that your son was there too. You both know you've done the very best for him and he's obviously had a lovely life with you. You will both miss him, as he's been part of the family for a long time.

I am so sorry newnanny. My thoughts are with both you and your son. My first cat was 20 when he died in my arms after a very short illness. We had had him since my daughter was 3 years old and he was her special friend when I was going through a horrendous divorce from her father. I think that cat knew more about her life and secrets than I did! She was away at university when it happened but came straight home that day.

Stripey had a bad day yesterday. He did not eat in the morning and in the afternoon I think he had a little stroke or seizure and he could not stand up afterwards. My son took him straight to the vets but they said there was nothing they could do so sadly he had him put down. I felt it had to be my sons decision because Stripey was his cat he had him when he was 7 years old. We are just glad he had one last day sunning himself and feasted on tuna steak in Thursday. We buried him in garden yesterday evening. Thank you everyone for your support. It has been such a difficult time and he has been with us most of my sons life. He did have a lovely life though with a huge garden to run around and sun himself in and my son has always made such a fuss of him. This is the first time he has ever been unwell.

The eldest of my cats was the same - but she had been on medication for an overactive thyroid and kidney failure.

Up to 10 days ago, she was going on OK, then she started sleeping longer, and lying down under my bed most of the time. A day or 2 later, her breathing was laboured (I noticed her little body moving in and out very quickly as she breathed).

Over the next day, she went off her food, and even milk didn't interest her. By then, her breathing was crackly-sounding (fluid in the lungs), so I had her put to sleep last Sunday. She was 18, and she'd had a lovely, pampered life.

Please don't wait until your cat just dies - do the right thing by him and have him put to sleep (you'll know when that is). All the best.

Your cat has had a wonderful life by the sound of it. You have done everything you can for him. You will all be terribly sad when he goes. But will have many, many happy memories I am sure

He had a good day yesterday. He went out and lay in the garden sunning himself. He was there almost 4 hours. My son went to get him some tuna steak as Seacliff suggested and he ate a reasonable amount. My son wants to see if feeding him tuna as suggested by Seacliff will encourage him to eat more and as the weather is forecast for warmer weather he wants to see if he still enjoys sunning himself. Yesterday he was stroking him in sunshine and the cat was purring and pushing his head into my sons hand. My son has agreed if he shows any signs of distress or stops eating he will take him to be put down but wants him to have a chance first. We agreed to take each week at a time but my son knows he may not have much longer with him. There is a general gloom over the house.

We to had a very old cat. She was 25 when she died. Like your cat in her last few months she became very thin and often could not be tempted to eat her favourite food. It was only a matter of a few weeks until she died. She weighed practically nothing, but apart from not eating still did her usual things. Sadly the vet found a growth on her liver and we had her put to sleep. She was a lovely rescue cat which we had had from a tiny kitten.
It sounds as if your dear cat is coming to the end of his life. It is very sad but from the tone of your post he has had a very happy loving home

Margaret it really does hurt doesn't it. We also thought we were too old to start again but with many misgivings we took on a 4 month old kitten, well there were two brothers originally but we returned 'bully boy' to the cat charity and kept the quiet, timid one. He has blossomed on his own and is an absolute joy and we wouldn't be without him even though it has been a challenge to keep up with him at our age. In hindsight it might have been more sensible to take on a young adult cat but we wouldn't change him now! He is such a little character and very determined and even seems to have his own timepiece as he knows our routine so well, are we really so predictable?!
Just because vets can do operations and treatments doesn't mean that they should or that it is either kind or sensible when the animal is so old anyway.

Yes some, not all, vets keep suggesting treatments and tests, some of which we've gone for in the past.

Now, if the cat is a good age, I think it's kinder for them not to put them though all that. You may get another year or so, but I don't think it's always best for them.

I'm sorry to hear that but my old tom also died at 18 after a short but awful last three months. Looking back it was the vet that caused the pain after carrying out a operation on his upper gums.
It is all now 3 years on but we are too old to have another cat and it hurts.

Be brave and don't extend any suffering.

One of my cats had thyroid problems, he was on meds for a couple of years. I think thyroid problems means they eat a lot but still get skinny. Poor boy hated the regular blood tests, got so upset and distraught.

If he is losing weight it could be his thyroid or kidneys. Thyroid is treatable so I would suggest having a blood test if possible to make sure it is just old age. As an older cat he could have the medication which does work. If he's still grooming that's good even if he's not eating much.

I've had several old age cats - the oldest was 23 when she had a sudden stroke and we had to say goodbye. Her mother was 18 when she died and her son 17 when he developed kidney failure.

It's very sad when they reach a good age as it means they've usually been in your life for all that time so hard to lose them.

Our last pusscat was 18 and she had a very happy life. We knew it was time when even sleeping up against the warming oven door of the Aga was not enough for her to keep warm but more than anything it was the smell of urine on her fur. Her kidneys were no longer working so she coukdn't pass anything. She was very happy in herself, very loving as always but .....
You never forget them though and I can still 'see' her running straight up the huge tree we had in the garden. It took us a while but we now have Smokey who is a real character and has such life and energy and I just love him to bits. He knows what a beautiful boy he is and the effect on me of those big eyes which he uses to such effect with those melting looks. He follows me everywhere and if I go out of the room and he can't follow DH says he cries pathetically - the cat that is! DH says it is really pathetic but I think it is sweet. Life does go on and the memories are forever.

Synonymous - sorry to hear that. It's always such a hard thing to decide when to act.

We have had many cats over the years. We now have 5 of our own and 2 foster cats. We lost most of our cats at about 14 or 15. We had them put to sleep when they had become too ill to enjoy life, and so that they didn't suffer too much. We always hoped they'd go in their sleep, but it didn't happen. I think it's the last kindness you can do for your much loved pet, they hate it when they have no control over their bladder, or similar problems. We did have the vet to the house for one, as he hated travelling.

But your cat may go on a good few years yet. He will be more sleepy as he ages, but if he is still eating, drinking and going to the loo normally, he s probably quite happy. He will hopefully enjoy snoozing in the sunshine.

Just watch out if he starts drinking lots of water, or stops grooming. You could give him a treat of tinned tuna, they often love that. Also if you warm the food a little in the microwave (stir it so no hot spots) that sometimes tempts them to eat.

I will be talking to my son this evening.

The vet popped in on her way home so that my pusscat didn't need to be stressed by travelling. She said that it wouldn't be long so I decided that it was time to do the deed and it was done there and then and very quick.

I will talk to my son about taking him back to the vet. He still grooms himself and his fur is not matted at all, he seems content. I just know how much he detest and gets so stressed when he has to go into the pet carrier and I was trying to spare him that.