How best to help my 20 year old cat.

by Janice
(Canton, Ohio)

My kitty is 20; has CRF, but recently I thought she was dying because of an inability to walk straight and her back legs gave out frequently. Took her to the vet and she thought she might have had a blood clot let loose. Vet cut her claws under light aesthetic and suggested half-dose aspirin for clots.... didn’t really know what could have caused it.

While the vet was at it she did tests for the kidney values and said she was happy cause no change (after 8 mos. and kitty not eating the special diet just her usual). Brought my girl home and she wouldn’t eat after a day or so. so I went and got a appetite enhancer from the vet called cyprotedine (sp?)... My cat freaked out on it (hunching over, howling a little). I read on line that that can happen once in a while so I waited a day then gave her a quarter dose, then since no eating the next day gave her half dose. She has suddenly given up walking, won’t eat, (I feed her syringe) and now I think is near death so don’t want to stress her by taking her back.

She hunches down and had been doing that over the past few months.. Wonder if that is what the problem is... because crf seemed to be under control. Been reading how to know if your cat passes at home or when to take them. If it sounds like another trip to vet might help...someone let me know.

Reply
Hi
Well at 20 years old your cat is very old indeed and so yes, sadly it may just be her time to pass.

When cats get this old often the vets feel that there is no point in putting them through lots of tests and heavy medications as their systems may not be able to take it. Instead they often just provide support for their system, such as pain relief, antibiotics etc where appropriate depending on the symptoms.

There could be all sorts of reasons for your cat’s condition and many different things involved, this is usual as they get older, well like the rest of us I suppose our organs etc are just getting old and not as good at working as they once did.

This is a hard one to advice on, as only you can decide what is right for your cat. However you must take these things into consideration your cat is not eating and appears to be weak, do you think she is suffering. If you do then it may be kinder to help her pass now rather than prolong her end. But as I say only you can judge this for yourself.

I appreciate you have hard decisions ahead of you, but as all us cat owners and animal lovers know, that we all come to this point at some time with our furry friends and it’s all part of enjoying these wonderful creatures in our lives. I wish you all the best.

Kate