Should I Put My Cat Down?

[-Skeme-]

She's pretty old and I think she's becoming senile. She's around 11 or so, I think. She meows incessantly for no apparent reason. She doesn't use her litter box anymore. It ends up on the floor, outside of the box, or on the carpet around the house.

I really don't want to do it, it seems disloyal, but I think I might have to. I remember our older cat had the same problem.. we found out he had leukemia and cat AIDS for quite some time. At the time, we couldn't afford to have him put to sleep.

She doesn't seem to be in much pain. She still purrs and crap, and loves when we pet her, but I can't help but remember our older cat's body breaking down and being in a constant state of pain. He started losing his fur, lost tons of weight, and became so weak that he couldn't move onto the furniture. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Anybody have anything they can add? Thanks.

[IronDragon1]

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She's pretty old and I think she's becoming senile. She's around 11 or so, I think. She meows incessantly for no apparent reason. She doesn't use her litter box anymore. It ends up on the floor, outside of the box, or on the carpet around the house.

I really don't want to do it, it seems disloyal, but I think I might have to. I remember our older cat had the same problem.. we found out he had leukemia and cat AIDS for quite some time. At the time, we couldn't afford to have him put to sleep.

She doesn't seem to be in much pain. She still purrs and crap, and loves when we pet her, but I can't help but remember our older cat's body breaking down and being in a constant state of pain. He started losing his fur, lost tons of weight, and became so weak that he couldn't move onto the furniture. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Anybody have anything they can add? Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

You seem to be still be quite attached to your cat. Sure, it's harder to take care of her but it seems that you're not psychologically prepared to watch her die so I say no-don't put it to sleep.

if she is in pain, i would say yes...

[jayboo]

I voted yes strictly because i HATE cats.
Jay.

[-Skeme-]

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if she is in pain, i would say yes...

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I'm not sure if she is. She seems happy when she's walking around. She meows nonstop, but it doesn't seem like a whimper or anything. She was at the vet not long ago and they said she was fine.


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I voted yes strictly because i HATE cats.

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Thanks a lot.

[phixxx]

The cat that I own now is currently 22 years old. About a year ago, she was obviously going through alot of pain; she was having trouble walking, throwing up everywhere, having seizures, etc. She was also having eyesight problems. We thought about putting her down, but left her and it seems that the problems somehow corrected themselves temporarily. She never really has much energy and spends most of her days sitting around, but it seems like her pain has subsided.

It's up to you though, if your cat does seem to be suffering I think it would be a good idea to put him down. However, if you're really opposed to that idea I'd give it a while and see how he's doing in about a month or two. If it's worse than before, I'd have it put down.

As well, my cat seems to have lost a ton of weight as well and also loves being pet. She is a FIEND for milk, and she'll knock over everything on my computer desk if she thinks she can get to some milk I've left on it.

[vetman81]

You say she is peeing around the house. Is she going more often than normal? What about her water intake? Does it seems like she drinks a lot of water? When you were last at the vet, what exactly did they do to determine she was fine? Did they do any blood work or just an exam?

Also, how many cats do you have, and how many litter boxes do you have? Has anything changed recently around the house to stress her out?

There are a number of problems that cats can get as they get older, but if she is still happy and doing well, then you shouldnt put her down IMO, but in the end it is up to you. 11 yrs is fairly old, but you can likely have a few more good years with her if you want it.


Disclaimer: I am not yet a vet, I am still in school.

[2+2 wannabe]

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I voted yes strictly because i HATE cats.
Jay.

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were you born a douchebag or did you just grow up to be one?

[-Skeme-]

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The cat that I own now is currently 22 years old.

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That's crazy as hell. My earlier cat that died was 15.

http://myspace-144.vo.llnwd.net/00177/44/13/177103144_l.jpg

Baby Kitty (1984-1999)


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You say she is peeing around the house.

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Haven't noticed pee, just poop, if that makes a difference.


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Is she going more often than normal?

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I don't think so. I don't know, I don't really monitor her bathroom habits. My mom cleans the litter box, it's in her room.


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What about her water intake? Does it seems like she drinks a lot of water?

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I really don't know. They always have water and food out.


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When you were last at the vet, what exactly did they do to determine she was fine? Did they do any blood work or just an exam?

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I'm not sure, I have a weak concept of time. I think they took her temperature, weight, and other stuff. I think the actual appointment was an oral examination. They cleaned her teeth. I don't think they did any blood tests.


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Also, how many cats do you have, and how many litter boxes do you have?

[/ QUOTE ]

We have 2 cats. The cat in question, Taj, is the oldest. The younger cat is 5.


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Has anything changed recently around the house to stress her out?

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We stopped letting her outside during the day. Our apartment manager, an idiot, recently decided that our cats can't go outside any longer. Someone moved in, on the complete opposite end of the hall is allergic to cats, so ours can't be outside anymore. We still let them out at night, but that's it. I don't think that'd cause stress, though.


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Disclaimer: I am not yet a vet, I am still in school.

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Your help is very appreciated. Thanks.

[johnc]

I remember growing up we had a dog named Ceasar that was almost totally blind and stone deaf but he really liked people and didn't have any other problems like doing his business in the house. Towards the end he had series of small stokes which caused him to be very confused and scared which was made worse by him being deaf & blind. Poor little guy used to walked in a circle in the backyard all day long wearing a pathway in the lawn b/c he seemed too afraid to stop moving. As he suffered more and more of these little strokes and his "circle" got smaller and smaller. We didn't put him down right away b/c he stilled enjoyed being petted and liked eating his food but we knew the end was close. When he started having pain we never hesitated to put him to sleep. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[swede123]

I wouldn't put the cat down until its quality of life was reduced noticably. Crapping on the floor sometimes doesn't mean she's in pain - in fact, from your description it sounds like she's doing quite well. Also, 11 isn't a very high age for a cat, so I say keep the money at hand in case the situation worsens significantly but no need to end her life right now.

Swede

[Josh W]

Does he have a urinary tract infection?

Before we put my cat to sleep, we saw him 'try' to pee, but he couldn't do it. Turns out he had something similar to a kidney stone that ended up blocking his urethra. We took him to the vet, they disolved the stone, and everything was fine for a few hours...then another stone, another blockage. Turns out he had a cancerous tumor on his bladder that was (somehow) creating these blockages. He was actually in a lot of pain, and we didn't know it.

Does your cat seem happy (ask him if you aren't sure). If so, and if he doesn't have a urinary tract infection, and he's not in pain, why not let him live?

Josh

[DavidC]

Hey bud.

Thanks for your help in the SS NLHE forums, and sorry to hear about your cat. I didn't really like cats until I went out with a girl that had 7 of them (yes, 7), but I've really grown to like them since.

If you can stand the meowing, try your best to find some sort of solution to her crapping everywhere. This might include using some sort of large cage that she can walk around. If you can play P/NLHE as well as you can think about it, you should be able to afford this. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

The key here is that the cat isn't in pain and still enjoys your company. If you were to get a large wire enclosure, that she could see out of, and still spend some time with her, then this might not be such a bad idea.

---

My favourite cat of my ex-gf's was Scamper... kinda dumb name, but AWESOME cat!

They'd been walking home and had found him in a ditch, dirty and he had some blood on his head. Someone had thrown them out of their car. The owner of the property said that people did that a lot with cats around this area. They took him home and cleaned him up.

The was a really friendly cat, but he was a little goofy and had absolutely no sense of balance whatsoever. As a result, you could pick him up just under his hips, hold him upside down, and pet his belly. If you were petting him on your lap, you had to be careful because he might just roll right off of you and only the floor head-first.

Again, awesome cat. He ended up getting hit by a car, but he had a very good life when he was with her family.

I hope this works out for you.

Take care, man.
--Dave.

[vetman81]

Well, it is a bit different if it is poop rather than pee, but I still have a suggestion. A good rule of thumb for litterboxes is cats + 1. You have two cats, so you should have 3 litterboxes around the house. If you dont, you might add another one or two and see if that makes a difference. Definitely give this a try before you decide to put her down and see if it helps.

If she is upset about the recent schedule change, she may eventually get used to only going out at night and adjust. Of course, that may not even be related, but it could be.

Also, since she had her teeth cleaned recently, she probably had some bloodwork done, so she is probably ok in that respect. HTH.

[Cry Me A River]

If she's only 11, she's almost certainly not senile. My girlfriend had two cats live to be almost 20 and both were in their right minds when they went.

Take her to a vet.

And keep in mind, the two incidents you're mentioning (howling and failure to use the litter box) may be unrelated. In particular is her little box kept really clean? Have you changed kitty litter brands (cats can be really picky)? If she was an outdoor cat, she may be used to going to the bathroom outside and it might take some time for her to get used to being inside and using the box all the time.

She may well be howling to go outside. Or she may have picked up an infection that can be cleared up quickly and easily.

[Meatmaw]

There are a number of things that are notably bad for cats, among them milk (yes, milk), chocolate, onions, garlic, and some other stuff. look at cats.about.com and search around for the article. Even if you don't fully believe it, it's worth looking into before unknowingly giving him/her something you think might be harmless, but is not.

[swede123]

[ QUOTE ]
There are a number of things that are notably bad for cats, among them milk (yes, milk), chocolate, onions, garlic, and some other stuff. look at cats.about.com and search around for the article. Even if you don't fully believe it, it's worth looking into before unknowingly giving him/her something you think might be harmless, but is not.

[/ QUOTE ]

Another great website for research is persian kitty (http://www.persiankitty.com) Lots of good stuff to be gotten from there.

Swede

[-Skeme-]

Thanks for the replies everyone, they're appreciated. I just talked to my mom a second ago and she is really insisting that we need to put her down. She insists the cat is senile and there is nothing we can do. I've suggested we take her to the vet once more and have them do another screening. Perhaps it's something much more simple, and less serious, than senility, and maybe we can get her fixed up. She doesn't seem to be budging.

To be honest, she likes the other cat much more, it seems that she doesn't really care about this one. Oh well, my cat will end up at the vet for sure. I'll let you guys know how it goes..

Again, thanks.

[KDawgCometh]

I really think a visit to the vet is the best thing before making such a major decision. THe meowing could very well be pain. Is you cat walking any differently than normal, or is she just slow to react to things. At her age you definetly need to start watching her joints more cause of wear and tear, she could have a bad hip or shoulder

[-Skeme-]

I haven't noticed anything changing in her walking, but arthritis seems plausible. She whines whenever she gets picked up. Her nails get stuck in the carpet when she walks around. Whenever I pick her up her nails get stuck in my clothes, I have to gently take them out before I set her down. I'll have to have the vet trim her nails again.