Not sure what to do

[bchristensen67]

I have a 14 year old cat, he has started occasionally leaving a urine trail when he walks, and has urinated in his sleep. He has also now lost bowel control, he walks and leaves a trail of poop behind him and he seems to not even know this is happening. I took him to the vet and they did all kinds of tests and everything came back normal. We had to move him to the basement after he peed on our daughters bed, this is not a dark damp basement mind you, he does have blankets and has taken a liking to a recliner down there. We think he has feline dementia, he forgets he's been fed and was meowing at doors that he has never been through, like the one to the garage and will out of no where bite us when we are petting him.
We think it might be time to put him down but my vet has not answered my email. I guess I'm just looking for some guidance. Thanks in advance

 

[ForeverHungry]

I'm so sorry to hear about what your cat is going through and also how it must hurt you to see your cat like this. I have no advice, just some virtual warm hugs. I'm sure more experienced cat pawrents will have something useful to say. I'm just hoping you find the best possible guidance on this

 

[bchristensen67]

I'm so sorry to hear about what your cat is going through and also how it must hurt you to see your cat like this. I have no advice, just some virtual warm hugs. I'm sure more experienced cat pawrents will have something useful to say. I'm just hoping you find the best possible guidance on this

Thank you

 

[tnl]

You might want to take him to a different vet as he might have a Urinary Tract Infection or something else......
How To Deal With Incontinence In Elderly Cats While Sleeping

 

[bchristensen67]

Thank you for the link. His vet ruled out a UTI

 

[reba]

I think this video is very helpful. Everyone is different.

 

[bchristensen67]

Thank you so much, this video has been very helpful. I'm so disappointed in my pets vet, I am not feeling supported in the possibility of this being the decision, it seems she just wants to keep running tests and redoing tests, after telling me that there isn't anything physically wrong with him. I just feel she's not listening to me.

 

[reba]

IMO some vets want all the power and none of the responsibility. They’re experts whose opinion is supposed to count more than yours (given that their expertise is supposed to help them weigh factors better than a non-expert) and then they behave like it’s all your decision and they’re just giving you options. Personally I really appreciate when my vet tells me what their experience is, no matter how dire the prognosis. I would trust your gut that she’s not listening to you and just accept that this isn’t her strong suit and push-back politely (and change vets later.)

 

[reba]

Here is a local vet‘s quality of life scale:

https://inthecomfortofhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/HuMANE-CARE.pdf

I wouldn’t say I’m extremely religious, but I do think there’s life on the other side of the rainbow bridge - happy, pain-free life with eternal youth and lots of love.

 

[reba]

Here’s another one:

 

[fionasmom]

The only other option I can think of is to take him to another vet in a different practice to see what they think. All of the tests run by your current vet are your property and have to be given to you or sent over in a timely fashion. I don't think that this sounds behavioral at all. There is a definite cause and your vet may not be intuitive enough or experienced enough to figure it out. If you are not sure that you want to euthanize him, getting another opinion may help to clarify the issue.