Senior Cat-needing Advice

patent123 · May 23, 2018

I am a first time cat owner so my experience is based solely on my one guy. I adopted him from a shelter that I work at almost 10 years ago. He was meant to be a hospice cat. I say that because he came in weighing 5lbs, he was estimated to be in his late teens, and had severe health issues. He was considered unadoptable meaning any average person from the public would over look him. The moment I saw him though I fell in love. So I packed him up and told myself I was taking him home to live out his last few days of life. Those last days turned into year...

Through out the years we have nursed him back to health, watched him act like a kitten again, and find a new life which we have greatly enjoyed with him.

I fear now though he may actually be in his "hospice" days. I'll start off with that I take him to the vet regularly for vet work. I keep a close eye on his blood work etc... and had it done just 2 weeks ago. The vet said he levels were the best they have ever been. Consider his estimated age hes doing amazing. Since our visit to the vet though he has gone down hill drastically. His back end has slowly been going out on him so we have made accommodations for him through out the house.

He has baby gates with holes cut in them so he cant just walk through them(we have dogs that greatly love our old kitty...but he has his own special resting area he has claimed in the basement. So because of this we put a gate up to keep them out.) We have some orthopedic beds for him hut style which are his favorite with heating pads plus his own space heater near by (hes always looking for heat), he has his litter box near his bed, food and water are near by as well. We basically have moved everything within 8 feet of his bed to accommodate his back legs. This seems to make him happy and this is usually where he parks himself. Although in the past he would always come up to yell at us when it was time to eat or when he wanted some some extra attention. For the past month though he hasn't come up at all. He also appears more unstable on his legs these days.

I also make sure to buy and feed him the one brand of food he prefers. But even lately his intake seems lower then usual. More food is being left behind.

Lastly his litter box issues. I do have a low box for him but it doesn't seem to help him. Last night I found diarrhea all over our basement carpet, and puddles of urine on the cement outside his box area. Its almost as if he forgot where to go. My boyfriend says he has watched him go down the basement steps before and just start peeing on the steps as if he couldn't control it.

I guess my question is who else has had similar situations with their old cats? What did you do? Or is this simply a sign that his time is possibly nearing?

Pjg8r · May 23, 2018

Bless you for caring for this boy. It could be physical that he doesn’t get the “signal” he has to go until it’s too late. He could forget where the box is. A vet visit is definitely recommended for your peace of mind. My last senior cat was perky in the morning but she would “sundown” and as it got dark she would get confused, meow for us and get lost in another room. You love and care for him and will make the best decision.

betsygee · May 23, 2018

Aww, sweet old boy. How wonderful of you to take him and nurse him back to health.

We had an old kitty, near 19 years old, who went through the same kind of thing. He wasn't able to control his peeing/pooping. It seemed like he was getting senile and either didn't remember where to go, or couldn't wait until he got to the box. We just put a lot of puppy pads around the litter box (he usually made it to the vicinity of the box at least) and let him do his thing.

We started feeding him whatever he wanted, including baby food (Gerber or Beechnut, just meat and gravy with no added flavors) and organic deli turkey to supplement his cat food, just to keep his food intake up.

One day he couldn't get up at all any more, and had peed all over himself in his bed, and we knew he'd just reached the end. :sigh:

It could be the 'beginning of the end' though you might want to ask your vet about the back legs going out--there may be something new going on that can be dealt with. Best wishes to you and your boy.

Timmer · May 23, 2018

Bless you for taking him on. You nursed him back when no one else would and that is amazing.
If his back legs have gone he may have some nerve damage of some sort and can't feel when he has to go. You said you just had him to the vet two weeks ago so perhaps he has had some type of stroke. Have you talked to the vet at all recently.
Think of his quality of life. Cats are dignified creatures. I am sure he doesn't mean to potty on the floor. He might not be able to get up into the box on his own. When you say his back end is going I'm not exactly sure what that means or what it looks like. Not eating much is another sign the time is near.

patent123 · May 23, 2018

Timmer said:
Bless you for taking him on. You nursed him back when no one else would and that is amazing.
If his back legs have gone he may have some nerve damage of some sort and can't feel when he has to go. You said you just had him to the vet two weeks ago so perhaps he has had some type of stroke. Have you talked to the vet at all recently.
Think of his quality of life. Cats are dignified creatures. I am sure he doesn't mean to potty on the floor. He might not be able to get up into the box on his own. When you say his back end is going I'm not exactly sure what that means or what it looks like. Not eating much is another sign the time is near.

His back end has been an issue for at least a year now. It was diagnosed as arthritis and he was given an oral medication. It helped for awhile but lately his legs are just a little stiffer or weaker. One leg in particular seems more out of place then the other. He is still walked around in his area but he won't take the steps anymore.

catlover73 · May 23, 2018

I lost two cats to strokes years ago. My cats would take a few steps and just fall over. They had no control over their bathroom habits. They were also unable to eat. I tried syringe feeding but it seemed like they could not swallow their food at all. I made the difficult and painful decision to end their suffering. I was not ready to say goodbye but their quailty of life was gone.

I am sharing this story to help you figure out if you are dealing with a stroke. Both my babies were healthy and acting completely normal before this. There were no warning signs before the stroke.

duckpond · May 23, 2018

Bless him. and i am so glad you took him in and gave him all these happy years! I am sorry he seems to be doing poorly now. Just keep in touch with your vet, love him and keep him as comfortable as possible. keep food, water, and litter boxes close by , so he does not have to go far for anything. Sounds like you are already doing all of this. Keep us updated on him, we will worry right along with you.

mservant · May 23, 2018

Has the vet seen him since the check when he was OK? My previous cat got to nearly 22 despite having arthritis. At one point her back legs gave out almost completely and I thought it was going to be a trip to the vet to say instant goodbyes but no: they diagnosed a likely bony spur in her spine trapping a nerve and gave her an anti-inflammatory injection. She lapped up all TLC she could get from me (which was limitless) and within a day she was back to moving about. She was a much more wobbly than she had been before but I would never have believed she could be back on her feet and still with me.

She did need help to get up on to furniture and had lots of comfy spaces at floor level to curl up on if I wasn't around to lift and carry her, and she did manage to use a low level litter tray other than her last days when we used puppy training pads on the floor.

As for food, my vets advised me to feed my seniors anything they would eat just to keep their weight up to a decent level. Treats, treats and more treats.

patent123 · May 23, 2018

mservant said:
Has the vet seen him since the check when he was OK? My previous cat got to nearly 22 despite having arthritis. At one point her back legs gave out almost completely and I thought it was going to be a trip to the vet to say instant goodbyes but no: they diagnosed a likely bony spur in her spine trapping a nerve and gave her an anti-inflammatory injection. She lapped up all TLC she could get from me (which was limitless) and within a day she was back to moving about. She was a much more wobbly than she had been before but I would never have believed she could be back on her feet and still with me.

She did need help to get up on to furniture and had lots of comfy spaces at floor level to curl up on if I wasn't around to lift and carry her, and she did manage to use a low level litter tray other than her last days when we used puppy training pads on the floor.

As for food, my vets advised me to feed my seniors anything they would eat just to keep their weight up to a decent level. Treats, treats and more treats.

I have not taken him back to the vet since. Part of me is afraid to stress him out to much again. Hes a bit of a home body and mamas boy. Part of me hoped he would snap out of this phase like he always does but I am not so sure this time around. At our last visit he got a little more stressed and started to have more labored breathing. I've noticed since that his breathing is a bit faster then normal.

As for food my vet also recommended feeding him whatever he will take. He has no teeth so he is on a mostly wet diet. Although in the past months he has grown to like the blue buffalo hard food. I decided to keep a bowl of this out on a whim. I read great reviews about this food and he was instantly drawn to it. His appetite for it has slow down the past couple weeks though. His soft food of choice has always been fancy feast with the cheesy bites. I usually add some high protein paste on top as well.

I feel for my little guy right now. He just seems so lost and out of it. But when you pick him up its as if he has found himself again. He starts to purr, and knead, he rubs his head on you, and he nestles into you for a nap. He has always been a snuggler and would love to sleep wrapped up in your arms under the covers at night.

Furballsmom · May 23, 2018

patent123 said:
He starts to purr, and knead, he rubs his head on you, and he nestles into you for a nap. He has always been a snuggler and would love to sleep wrapped up in your arms under the covers at night.

mservant · May 23, 2018

Your description reminds me so much of how Pal was. I used to have to carry her around for ages or she'd call out for me. She had lost her sight and I suspect her hearing wasn't so good either and she looked for lots of reassurance.

Has there been any more sign of diarrhea or missing the litter tray, or was that a one off? If that has carried on I would look to talk to the vet again. I also wonder if he is feeling in need of more reassurance, perhaps if his hearing or sight are reducing. The sight might make it harder for him to get to his litter too as it would slow him up more if there has been a recent change that he hasn't got used to.

With food, if your cat goes through phases of wanting dry food don't worry about his not having his teeth as cats don't generally chew dry food. Mouse only chews his because it is special dental kibble that is larger than normal and he still manages to do that without 2 of his canines and 2 molars. Mostly cats just swallow the dry food whole so as long as your guy drinks plenty of water he should be fine when he wants biscuits for a change.

Hoping you see your special guy pick up again. :vibes:

patent123 · May 25, 2018

mservant said:
Your description reminds me so much of how Pal was. I used to have to carry her around for ages or she'd call out for me. She had lost her sight and I suspect her hearing wasn't so good either and she looked for lots of reassurance.

Has there been any more sign of diarrhea or missing the litter tray, or was that a one off? If that has carried on I would look to talk to the vet again. I also wonder if he is feeling in need of more reassurance, perhaps if his hearing or sight are reducing. The sight might make it harder for him to get to his litter too as it would slow him up more if there has been a recent change that he hasn't got used to.

With food, if your cat goes through phases of wanting dry food don't worry about his not having his teeth as cats don't generally chew dry food. Mouse only chews his because it is special dental kibble that is larger than normal and he still manages to do that without 2 of his canines and 2 molars. Mostly cats just swallow the dry food whole so as long as your guy drinks plenty of water he should be fine when he wants biscuits for a change.

Hoping you see your special guy pick up again.

UPDATE:

In my original post I mentioned that when I first adopted my old guy he was a mess health wise. What I failed to say was that the vet that works closely with our animal shelter was a huge reason I was able to take on my old man. The vet offered to GREATLY discount his services so that we could at the very least make the little guys last days comfortable. Since then he has kept a close watch on Papa (thats what I call him

since hes old like a Grandpa ) and has monitored his health since.

Yesterday this amazing vet was able to squeeze him in for a quick check up. It was decided that Papa is likely in some severe pain in his hips from arthritis. Typically he is on oral pain medication. Since his kidneys aren't in the best of shape due to his age the vet opted with a steroid shot. They said the shot will last a few months and to give him the weekend to see if he perks up. If he doesn't we go back in for some laser therapy on his hip and back legs.

I was happy to see when I went to check in and feed him supper he hustled out of his hut faster then he has in the past couple of weeks. I think the shot is giving him some relief. I hope he continues to show some improvements. If not we will give therapy a try twice a week and go from there.

Thank you all for your support. Its great to have a team behind you for guidance during trying times. Especially when you don't have as much experience in these situations as you would like.

Furballsmom · May 25, 2018

good for you, and I love hearing when there's a great vet involved!

patent123 · May 31, 2018

Update- Well Papa was doing fairly well. He was moving around better, eating well, and seemed to be using the bathroom/box with more ease.

Last night when I checked on him before bed I noticed one of his eyes had turned. It was no longer its bright blue but had turned an odd green and started to pool blood around it. The other is still blue but has some green discharge. He is also breathing from his mouth. I contacted the vet last night and we have an appointment for this morning. Needless to say I feel down in the dumps. Everyone keeps saying something probably popped or poked his eye...

People are refusing to believe that he literally hangs in his safe spot every day all day. Our dogs are blocked from him. And even if they could get to him they always protected him. They would always lay with him and bath him or let him curl up next to them for warmth. Since his health has declined though Papa has chosen to hang in the basement. So we have set up his own "home" down there. He has food, water, beds, boxes, and everything is gated off to keep him safe. I really don't know what has caused his eye to become injured.

I'm afraid something bigger is going on. Has anyone else experienced sudden eye issues?

Furballsmom · May 31, 2018

I'm sorry, I don't have any experience with this --oh my word, poor baby!!
What is happening now?

patent123 · May 31, 2018

Furballsmom said:
I'm sorry, I don't have any experience with this --oh my word, poor baby!!
What is happening now?

well we left the vet about 2 hours ago. Its not terrible news but he basically has Hyphema. Which is something I knew nothing of before today. He basically has floaters on his eye. In other words it looks like he has pools of blood in one eye. The vet said its not causing him any pain. Its just causing patchy eye site and will lead to some blindness. It could happen in the other eye or it might not.

It can happen to cats as they age, high blood pressure, cancer, and other health issues can cause it. I told the vet it literally happened over night and he said it does. Blood vessels in the eyes will pop and that's exactly what happened. unfortunately its not going to go away. I feel for my old man but I'm happy he isn't hurting. Its just another notch on our list of him getting closer to his time though...and that is hard.

Furballsmom · May 31, 2018

patent123 said:
I feel for my old man but I'm happy he isn't hurting

whew

patent123 · Jun 11, 2018

Update:

Thank you all for your advice in this post. Sadly Papa passed Thursday night. It was sudden and I wish I could say it was a surprise but I think it as clear he was declining.

I heard him howling so I went to check on him. It was there I found him huddled down with his face practically in his water bowl. He had labored breathing and could not stand. It wasn't uncommon for him to get winded so I sat with him for 30 minutes and held him. during that time he relaxed and cuddled in. I thought for sure he was just tired so I went to let him crawl back into his bed and it was at that point he fell over and could no longer stand and continued to howl until I picked him back up.

We rushed him to the emergency vet were it was decided he was in failure and we made the hard but right decision to put him to sleep. I held my little guys head as he passed. This site was a great source of knowledge the past couple of weeks. Its nice to have that second opinion from fellow cat lovers even when you are religiously going to a vets office.

Thank you all

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Just what part of meow don't you understand.

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