<sigh> My kitty is in the twilight of his life.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m sure this will be very TL,DR so please feel free to ignore.

I have a lovely kitty: Schatzi.

Schatzi is 22 years old. He’s not sick in any way, he’s just really, really old.

One day he started yeowling and meowing in a very distressed way. I found him in the hallway and he was lying on his side having a seizure or a stroke or some other type of neurological event. My husband and I both went bananas with me calling the emergency vet to say we were on the way, hubby finding the cat carrier, etc. We got everything sorted and started looking for Schatzi and couldn’t find him. I was horrified thinking he had hidden somewhere and died. In fact he was over at his food dish having a snack. ??!!??:confused:

We scooped him up into his carrier and rushed him to the vet where he was examined - the vet said that she couldn’t find any obvious symptoms - his heart beat was strong, he was neurologically responsive, his hind end was a bit wasted but nothing unusual given his age. She advised that we could either leave him there for observation or bring him home and watch him there. She also advised that typically in that type of case the animal would likely die within 24 hours. Hubby and I decided to bring Schatzi home so he would be where he was comfortable, with his family and doggie friend, etc - he gets very agitated when he’s out of the home, crying if we even carry him into the hallway of our condo. We brought him home, got his fluffiest kitty bed sorted, put him there and waited. And waited. And waited. That was three years ago.

Huh, so apparently this was going to be a one time event. Hubby and I went through the house and senior-kitty proofed it. We got rid of the tall cat tree incase Schatzi missed a jump and hurt himself. We rearranged the living room furniture so the sofa would be in front of a window so Schatzi could still sit in his kitty bed and look out. We got a small step for the master bedroom so Schatzi could get in our bed without too much difficulty, and things progressed.

About 3 months after the first event it happened again. This time we were slightly less panicked; however, we called the vet and described things as they were happening. Again, he fell on his side, and had a seizure type thing. Panted for a moment or two and went and had a snack. The vet told us to keep an eye on him, keep him comfortable and he would most likely die over night.

Well, he didn’t die and he hasn’t had another episode in 2.5 years. He’s had his regular checkups and every time he’s given a clean bill of health for a geriatric cat.

Recently, he’s been having some trouble with his hind end. Specifically, he will sometimes lose control of his back legs and sit down hard on his butt. He always masks this by licking his butt hole (aren’t cats the best? They totally wipe out and instantly start licking something to make it look like they did it on purpose). So, the first time this happen hubby and I went into banana mode, called the emergency vet (they know us by now) grabbed the kitty carrier, etc. While we were doing this Schatzi got up and got in bed. Walked away, leapt up on our bed and started cleaning his paw. Huh. So, as per the vet I gave him a pat down, felt his legs, butt, etc. Schatzi was in no distress/pain or discomfort. Just sitting there cleaning his paw. Again, the vet said keep an eye on him, if he appears to be in any discomfort or distress, bring him in. Great, will do. And then nothing happened until about 2 weeks later when the same back leg weakness happened. Again - there was no discomfort, no meowing or yeowling, he just sits on his butt for a minute or two, and then gets up and walks away.

So here we are. We have a 22 year old cat that sits on his butt sometimes. It’s important to note that generally Schatzi has no trouble at all. He has excellent mobility, a very good appetite, a good friend in the dog whom he plays with and cuddles up beside at night to sleep. It is now moth time of year around these parts and he hunts them. I woke up at about 5 AM a few days ago and Schatzi was doing a weird kitty growl thing. I looked up and there was a huge moth fluttering around behind the drapes in the bedroom. Schatzi leapt up, swatted the moth down to the ground, pounced on it, wacked it, and stuffed it in his mouth and crunched the thing to death and then swallowed. :eek::eek: He was like a tiny little lion!

Now, I’m not a kitty, but when determining kitty quality of life, I think having an absurd assortment of fluffy kitty beds, as much kitty snack as I want, kitty treats, moths to hunt, catch and eat, and a good doggie friend to cuddle up to at night, as well as a kitty mom and dad who dote on you, that seems worth occasionally sitting in an awkward position for a minute or two.

However, hubby and I both feel like we have an axe hanging over our heads. Well, we KNOW we have an axe hanging over our heads - we have a 22 year old cat. It’s the human version of being 116. 116 years old. That’s REALLY old. That’s what the vets always say - he’s not sick - he’s just old. Really, really old. However, they also comment how good he looks, and what good shape his in, etc.

So here we sit. Every time I hear a weird meow I rush over generally to find Schatzi lost in the hallway. So I turn him around and point him towards the bedroom and he’s fine. When we hear a thump we wonder if he’s hunting a moth and just caught it, or if he’s having another seizure which will be the last one. We cuddle him, and spend time with him, and enjoy him as much as we can, but it’s still a drag because we KNOW his days are numbered.

Anyhow, I know in the grand scheme of things a very old kitty is not a huge deal. We’re very lucky to have been able to enjoy him as long as we have. It’s just the feeling of inevitability is getting bigger with each passing day and we’re sad.

If you actually made it this far - :eek::eek::eek:well thanks for reading. :slight_smile:

2

As a fellow cat owner, that was a great read. Thanks for sharing!

3

Yeah, I just got myself a dog last fall and she now owns my heart. I dread the day that will inevitably come…

Here’s hoping your cat lives many more good years.

4

The old question - we know what the right thing to do is, we just don’t always know when. Jim’s cat is 14, and has had arthritis for a couple of years now. She doesn’t seem to be getting worse too fast, and we have some meds for her that help a lot, but there’s no doubt that it’s a progressive condition and there will come a time when her quality of life is too low with too much pain. Hopefully it will be many year from now.

Give Schatzi a snuggle from us! :slight_smile:

5

That’s just it. We had another senior citizen cat that we had to put down at the beginning of this year; however, with Taz he was obviously sick and uncomfortable. He would still come and cuddle us and be playful, but when you pet him you could tell he wasn’t feeling good.

With Schatzi, well, who knows. He looks like an old grandpa when he’s wandering around the place, but if you shake the kitty treat bag he shoots across the room like a rocket. So, we wait.

He is VERY snuggly though, which makes it kinda worth it. :slight_smile:

6

Sounds to me like you’re doing everything just right. Cats don’t get to be that age without having good care. That speaks volumes in itself!

For anyone wondering, here’s a quality of life scale. It’s very useful for evaluating end-of-life for a pet. I have an 11-year-old kitty now with lymphoma, so this is in the back of my mind often. Haven’t needed it yet, (for this kitty) but I’ve given it to lots of people over the years and it’s been really helpful. We use it at the shelter, too.

7

I know the bittersweet gift that is an old cat. Have had quite a few over the years. Sounds like you have a good handle on the situation.

One of our little old ladies took to howling at night in the dark hall. She didn’t seem to have any pain and the vet mentioned that sometimes as cats begin to lose their hearing they do that.

Another lost her memory so that she’d stop in mid-task and get a bewildered look on her face like, “What was it I was doing now again?” Dear old soul.

Enjoy your last days (or years?) with your long-lived Schatzie.

8

sigh…old kittehs. Our Kitty is going on 17 and a survivor of cancer of the spleen. After that every day is a gift - she still jumps right up to the windowsill, meoooows insistently for her noms, and kneads on mama. Every house cat is a kitten who never grows up…

9

My Rocky sounds so much like your kitty, alice, without the seizures but with the occasional weakness in the hind legs. He’s also gotten very skinny although he hasn’t really lost much weight, just muscle tone. But going by the quality of life chart SeaDragon posted, he’s still basically fine. My biggest worry is that something bad will happen to him when we are traveling and the pet sitter will have to deal with it. That wouldn’t be fair to her I don’t think. A friend and I were talking about this as she has a dog in about the same condition, and she said, it’s so hard just waiting for the end. And it is. I try not to think about it.

Anyhow alice, thanks for posting this; it helps to hear from others in the same place.

10

We’ve been having hot weather here lately and we have painted concrete floors which both the cat and dog enjoy laying on.

As I mentioned, Schatzi has wasting in his hind end which makes his back end look pretty thin. Generally if he’s laying on a kitty bed, or a cushion, or a duvet the bulk of that object sort of fluffs him up; however, on the concrete he’s really, really flat looking. Sort of like he was run over with a steam roller.

It took me by surprise the first time I walked in the bedroom and saw him racked out looking like this: http://www.coppergifts.com/ProductCart/pc/cg_ProductDetails.asp?idproduct=120

11

Cleo is 17 now. I’ve noticed that some days she sleeps almost all day around and doesn’t want to eat. Some days she’s blasting around the house with a mouse in her mouth and raising hell. She’s going through a phase at the moment where she’s very clingy and upset about everything. A recent bout with flea allergies made her over-groom her back end, so her tail and back legs look…weird. But last vet vist, she’s in pretty great health and seems very happy.

I hate to think of the huge void her leaving us will create, but I try not to think of that right now. When it happens, it’ll happen and there’s not much I can do about it.

12

When I was having some health problems that made it difficult for me to work steady hours I started a small painting and wallpapering business so I could schedule work at my convenience.

One summer I contracted to paint and wallpaper nearly the entire interior of an old Victorian house. The owner was a college professor who was taking a sabbatical to write a historical novel and was out of town doing research a great deal of the time.

She had an old tabby and we became great friends. One afternoon she called me down from the ladder and obviously needed some TLC. I sat with Ms. Cat all afternoon and didn’t get anymore work done.

The next day I learned from the woman who came in to feed kitty that she had died in the night. When my employer came home I was able to tell her of the last day of her beloved pet and that the creature had had loving attention in her absence.

While I hadn’t charged her for those hours which I hadn’t worked she paid me a very gracious bonus for my extra service to her pet. But I would have done it regardless as it was such a rewarding experience. Just one of those neat little things that happen now and then.

13

Vira is 18, deaf, arthritic, and has a thyroid condition, but she’s been spectacularly healthy over her lifespan. Even with the arthritis, she can still jump up on the bed. We have the same sense of impending doom, but she just keeps plugging away. When she started barfing up her food every day, we thought it may be serious, but it’s apparently just a developed allergy to grains. So now we spend $40 for a bag of catfood. She also gets a bit of canned salmon three times a day - one of the perks of getting old.

14

Great idea to get your old girl off the grain-laced catfood. When my Eddy was ill with pancreatitis I switched the whole household to grainfree, dry and wet, and it made a noticeable difference: shinier coats, smaller and less stinky feces, and overall robust health.

Except for Ed, alas, who followed his brother Fred (succumbed to a chronic urinary problem) over the bridge some months ago. They were both in their early teens, too soon, too soon! Their remaining brother, Ted, continues healthy, thank goodness. That’s right: EddyTeddyFreddy is two-thirds gone.

I’ve had several cats live into their extreme late teens, and currently have Sophie, who’s 16 and still quite healthy, other than some reduced ability to jump up. It’s always hard to see them dwindle.

Tethered Kite, thank you for being such a good friend, so sensitive and attuned to that cat.

15

I just lost my beloved cat Swipesy at the age of 22. She went quickly, with a stroke. I had her put to sleep the next day.

If your Schatzi is happy enough to hunt moths, I’d say he’s good for a little while longer.

My older cats always yowled for no reason sometimes. At times, I think they just want to see how fast we respond. They want attention. Or maybe they do forget where the bedroom is. But they always remember where the litter box is. And the food dish.

What formula do you use to calculate age? I used one I read from somewhere that seemed right to me. You take your cat’s age, 22. You use the first year as equalling 20 human years. Then you add four years for every remaining year. 21 times 4 equals 84. 84 plus 20 equals 104. That’s pretty old. But still not 116. YMMV of course.

16

Dunno - I found something online. :slight_smile:

17

Yeah, Sir Galahad (aka Fatso) is 16 and diabetic, but otherwise quite spunky and active. When we took him for a checkup in May, purely because his Rx for the diabetic food was running out, the vet examined him, said he felt something odd in his belly, and recommended an X-ray. Well, it turned out to be osme kind of growth filling up half his abdoment.

What next? we asked. The vet said “well, we could do more tests and send him to a specialist, but even if it’s a malignant growth, I don’t know that a 16-year-old diabetic cat is really a candidate for surgery or chemo anyway.” So he recommended the wait-and-see approach. The growht doesn’t seem to be bothering him, really, but of course we have no idea how things will go down the line.

So yeah, I know what you mean.

18

I don’t think anyone has mentioned it, but if the cat is having back leg weakness one thing you may want to watch out for is incontinence. When the beloved Inkster was in her last days (18 years old! pretty good for the runt of the litter) she lost strength in her back legs and had accidents on the bed and the couch a couple of times.

19

Shouldn’t you be off birthin’ a baby? :slight_smile: :eek: :cool:

20

We had to put down our 17 year old cat last summer.

You might want to consider having the vet come to your house when its time. So much less stressful for the cat. It cost us about twice what having it done at the vet’s did. Not bad considering their driving time and the fact two people had to come to the house to do it.

You’ll probably have to call a bunch of vet’s to find one that will do it.

If you do a search for my name and cat you should be able to find some of my posts that gives a few pointers on having it done.