TBone my 19 year old cat is "acting old"

juliew19673 · Aug 15, 2008

My "1st" fur child is showing her age to the Nth degree; she has outlived her brother and step-brother by 4 and 5 years respectively (as she is a girl I'm thinking)..

But she's starting to have "kitty dementia" as she gets lost in my hallway and is just not "there" alot of the time (kinda like my Human Mom who is 79 and has had a stroke).

Tbone was last at the vet 1.5 years ago for a "general" seniour checkup (full seniour blood work, full on 30 minute vet visit of checking out all organs) and the next day she was HORRIBLY sick! So really not all that "EXCITED" to take her again as she doesn't respond well to being outside her home (this is my main concern).

She caught some BUG at the vet and was SO sick the 2nd day after being there that she went on Zirithroimicin (sp?) as the Vet didn't want to take a chance with waiting on pencilin and she DID respond VERY well. That being said her blood work at that time showed that her Kidneys were working at about -half of their capacity (which I kinda thought at the time as I've dealt with cats with kidney failure). So gave her Sub-Q injections and changed her food and waited out the Zithromicin treatment and she was fine.

Now fast forward about 2 years later and she's showing signs again of the Kidney problem (peeing on the carpet, but this time is "smells" so thinking her kidneys are processing) but her "mind" is not working as well - reminds me of my Mother - her "eyes" just don't seem to understand or capture life..

I'm taking her to the Vet next week but would like to hear the feedback as to what to ask the Vet as far as "Convalescence" (sp?) care should be asked for. Most Vets want to just "throw" every treatment they know of at the elderly animal and I'm thinking the "full on blood work" and follow up Ultrastound/Xray to see what is going?

How do you give your "healthy" aged pet a graceful exit I guess is my question?

seniorcats · Aug 15, 2008

Has she been getting subq's at home for her renal failure? If her kidneys were functioning at 50% 2 years ago, they are probably barely functioning now. Kidney failure, as well as age, can contributeto the loss of mental acuity. A lot of cats with renal failure become anemic which again influences kitty dementia (cognitive dysfunction). The cat's kidneys normally produce the hormone erythropoietin which stimulates the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. When the kidney fail, fewer red blood cells are produced.It's possible to give Procrit (epoetin alfa) which is also used in cancer patients. It's expensive. At cost it is about $35 a bottle and one bottle only yields only 3 injections. When I've used this, we started with 3 injections a week for the first month then went to 2 injections a week.

Bloodwork, especially BUN and creatinine, should give a good picture of how well or how little her kidneys are functioning. An xray could hsow the shape and size of the kidneys. As they fail, the kidneys get rounder and smaller. The blood work should be the first step along with a physical exam.

I am sorry your old girl is ailing. It's really a tribute to your good care that she has lived o be 19. Please give her some kitty pats from me.

Ann

pinksalamander · Aug 15, 2008

I'm sorry she seems to be going that way, our cat was put down at 17 a few years ago. My Mum was on holiday in Idaho over Christmas and I was popping into the house for a couple of hours every day to look after him. He had started going senile just before that, kept going to the loo in the house etc. The day she got back he followed her around the house, but he was so weak he could barely make it to the other room before she walked back. We took him to the vets that night and had him put down, it was like he was 'hanging on' to say goodbye to her before he died.

When we put him down it was so sad (it took around 2 minutes for him to die because his heart was beating so slowly it took ages to pump the drug around his entire body). It was sad but it felt good too, because I knew he was ready. It was weird going home without a cat, because my parents adopted him 3 years before I was born, so he had always been there. He had such a personality too. We adopted Herbie in the spring after Alan died and he was already 8. Now he is 14 and is going the same way already. I know as soon as he passes we will have to get another cat, possibly a kitten, because my cat Trixi is 3 and ADORES Herbie even though he pretends to hate her, and I don't know what she would do on her own.

I guess in that long way, I'd have to say I personally wouldn't take a very old cat to the vets, but that is my personal opinion. Unless they were in pain, I wouldn't want them to die after contracting something and getting sick. 20 years old is very old (well, I assume so, I'm sure cats have lived longer) but although I feel awful saying it the chances of her holding on for a few more years, especially as she has started going senile too, I would let her live out her last moments peacefully, unless it was really badly affecting her. I wouldn't want to be pushing pills down an old cats throat or making endless vet trips, I would think with my cat it would have thrown him over the edge!

Fran

:hearts :brownbunny

Bassetluv · Aug 15, 2008

I'd agree that an assessment to find out where she's at internally would be best, and then take it from there. My oldest cat is now 16 and was having difficulty with food; would vomit a lot, developed chronic (and then severe) diarrhea, and was terribly thin. I thought she was on her way out, but the vet assessed her, and after a lot of tests and blood work concluded that she has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. So she now takes prednisone and is on a special diet. She also has an issue going on with her jaw - she was having problems eating - but I decided not to pursue it. She's elderly, she's tiny (just over 4 lbs), and the vet suggested x-rays and possible surgery...but I decided that I didn't want to put her through all of that. And ever since putting her on soft food she has been able to eat her meals with no problem. Getting your kitty assessed will let you know where she stands, andif she has options thevet can give you them...and you can best decide that way what route to follow.

(Seniorcats, I am always so in awe of your depth of knowledge! Great advice you gave.

)

kirst3buns · Aug 15, 2008

I'm sorry T-Bone isn't doing well. You've gotten some great advice and I hope T-Bone is OK. I had a 15 year old cat pass away from cancer two years ago. For me, knowing whatis wrong and what the options were, was important. At least if you find out what is going on, you will better be able to figure out if the best course of action is totry treatmentor to manage the possible discomfort until the time comes to say goodbye.T-Bone has obviously had great care to reach theage of 19.I do think you will know when the time comes to stop treatment and say goodbye.

seniorcats · Aug 15, 2008

Bassetluv wrote:

(Seniorcats, I am always so in awe of your depth of knowledge! Great advice you gave.)

Thank you. I've been a cat slave for 45 years.... used to work at a vet clinic and volunteer at a cats only shelter. What amazes me is how much I don't know after all these years. There's so many advances in vet medicine for cats and so much more to learn. It's amazing.