Older Cats- Anyone Else Have One?

[GreenKnitPocket]

Hey all-

My cat is 17- she's a family cat and currently lives with my parents but I'm trying to help keep her healthy to take the burden from them. We took her to the vet a few weeks ago and she was doing OK, she had e-coli so we put her on antibiotics and gave her a geriatric blood test. So we know her health is pretty good, but she's just acting funny. She sleeps in the closet and I thought she may have arthritis pain because she never jumps on the bed for my parents anymore, but when I'm home she jumps up and is playful.

Does anyone else have an older cat? I'd love advice on how to deal with their problems when aging- both physical and mental. I found this article on the Chicken Soup Pet Food Web site and it talks a lot about the physical precautions to take: http://www.chickensoupforthepetlover...otes/cats/186/

I currently feed her a mix of foods, Chicken Soup and Whiskas, and she eats fine and digests well I guess.

Any thoughts? Thank you!

[Noelle C.]

My boy lived until 23 years. He only died this pasy June. He'd have been 24 in August.

We just took our cues from him. If he was doing well, we let him be. If he wasn't feeling so hot, it was lots of gentle hugs and cuddles. At his age, the vets said there wasn't much they could do if he got sick that wouldn't jeopardize his life, and I was told that si-month check-ups just weren't going to be necessary because of this. If something was found he was to old to reliably and safely treat.

It was hard watching him deal with an aural hematoma and to know that the anesthesia necessary to shunt it could kill him, so having to decide between the wait-and-see approach, or euthanizing. He was doing BAD, but I swear that cat and I had a connection, and I knew he was fighting and nt ready to give up, and so gave him time, and he did get better! Scrunchy little ear after that, but so?

Wait-and-see or euthanize really became the options the last couple years. When he died, it was on his own terms, and I have no regret.

Probably the best advice I could give is to just take your cues from your kitty on what to do, and quiet, gentle cuddle time really goes a long way.

As to his diet, we fed him what he liked: Friskies Senior canned food (he favored the turkey a lot) with some dry kibble mixed in sometimes. And he LOVED gravy, so sometimes we'd buy jars of chicken or turkey gravy, and that put him over the moon with happiness. We've been accused of abusing him and shortening his life by no feeding Chicken Soup or Wellness or one of those other brands, but he was HAPPY, and did I mention lived until 23? If that's a shorter life, oh well. He had a damned good one. He traveled a lot, saw Pier 39 in San Francisco, the beach in Santa Barbara, the snow in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, corn growing in Kansas...

[GreenKnitPocket]

Originally Posted by Noelle C.

Probably the best advice I could give is to just take your cues from your kitty on what to do, and quiet, gentle cuddle time really goes a long way...

We've been accused of abusing him and shortening his life by no feeding Chicken Soup or Wellness or one of those other brands, but he was HAPPY, and did I mention lived until 23?

He sounds like he was a sweet, well-loved kitty! Thanks for sharing. I'm visiting my parent's house this weekend and plan on lots of cuddle time to show her she's loved. My mom cuddles with her everyday, lays on the floor and plays, but she doesn't cuddle with her the way she does with me.

Also, I agree, if 23 is a short life for a kitty, then I'd like to know what experience those people had with cats! You kept him happy!