I need help making my 17 year old cat comfy

by Rachel
(Camarillo, CA)

My 17 year old cat

My 17 year old cat

My 17 year old cat, Boy, has been acting very wierd lately. I am very worried about him. He just had blood work and everything is normal except for his thyroid which has been a problem for the last 3 years. He has been on thyroid medication that the doctor upped about a month ago when the last blood work came back. He used to sleep all the time and now he wont stop pacing and meowing so loudly like he is in pain. I am thinking it might be his med and I am going to take 1/4 of tab off of one of his doses,he takes 3/4 of 5mg tab of Methimazole 2x a day. I am worried it might be something worse. He is very old and I love him so much it is going to be very hard to wake up each day without him but I refuse to keep him alive if he is suffering. I rescued a 2 year old cat from a very abusive home 2 years ago and she has become very attached to me. No one else can pet her and she gets very very jealous if she sees me giving Boy too much attention. He perked up a lot after he got use to not being the only kitty anymore. Lately he has been biting her and she has been following him around a lot like she is keeping an eye on him. I am going to talk to my vet tomorrow about this. I love my vet, she is amazing but I always like having several opinions on what people think might be the problem. Thank you

Boys Mommy

reply
i don't think it his his meds. My cat was on thyroid meds for years and it is very important to keep them on the proper dose as it regulates the condition which can get out of hand suddenly if the meds are not given properly.

it is more likely to be due to his age and the fact that he is not feeling his usual self.

Please see my page about older cats and how there behavior can change

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/senior-cat.html

Unfortunately at 17 things do start to go wrong more often and your totally right you have to balance the situation with whether or not your cats quality of life is good or bad. Hard I know but as you know as a pet owner it is something we have to be brave about.

Speak to your vet again and see what she think, she is in the best position to give you a truthful answer as to how your cat is etc.

best wishes Kate

Comments for I need help making my 17 year old cat comfy

Click here to add your own comments

Euthanization
by: Anonymous

To the person who told her "do not euthanize" lstand by him until his last breath! You asked if she would euthanize a child!!! Big difference. Children in pain can talk and say what’s wrong or in pain can put them in hospital, treat pain. A pet CANNOT. We can only go by how they are acting and if they are in pain we as humans have the responsibility to help them. If they are old and in pain I would and have most definitely humanely euthanize my babies. Last year my beautiful Himalayan 5 lb anirexic kitty was my life. She stopped eating the vet treated the ulcer in her mouth but it was keeping her from eating even tho she was hungry and tried to eat fir 3 days, then gave up trying. I couldn’t just watch her starve to death so yes to prevent suffering I would help them by ending their suffering. That’s a humans RESPONSIBILITY for their pets!!!!
kitty problems
by: Anonymous

I had a cat doing the same things but I didn't put much thought into it because she was only 7 . I learned the hard way when kitty starts acting weird at any age better take kitty to Dr right away. I noticed my kitty was hanging out only in my sons room I thought maybe it was so she could get away from other cats so she could sleep. I was far from wrong when cats are panting like a dog when ac is on means there no getting enough oxygen and could have fluid on cats lungs. Am not a Dr am just telling you what I went through. Because I took my baby in vet only to walk out holding a dead cat in a box so I could keep her near me but underground unfortunately. I cried for 2 weeks I couldn't eat a thing in that 2 weeks and going to work all I did was show up I did very little work I got lucky they didn't fire me. So please if you love your kitties like I do when they act weird time to see Dr. I could never sign them papers again to put my cat down it hurts way to much. Hope this helps any one who might be going through a weird acting cat problem. Once again am no Dr nor can I give you medical advice on what to do. Other than please take kitty to Dr let a vet tell you what might be wrong with your kitty. This is just my experience with cats I've had
don`t euthanize him or her :(
by: Anonymous

how could u even say that just for the mere fact of not being him self ??:((
would u terminate your sick child if u had one or would u stand by him or her to the very last moment of breath ???!!!.
Please be very patient , and loving to your cat and keep on praying for the Lord for his great healing hand !!.
You are doing your part by taking him for regular check ups and giving him the recommended dosage
on your next check up be very invistigative with your vet if his thyrod problem has improved and if dosage can be reduced by 15 or 25%

i wish your cat awesome health and many manyyears to live!!:-)
Old cat acting weird
by: Anonymous

My female cat was acting a bit wierd a while ago, she was walking funny but not crying, so I put it down to the fact that she has arthritis... I could hear a noise as she walked across the tiles on the kitchen floor so I decided to look at her feet... I was horrified to see that one of her claws on each of her front paws had grown & curled under & was sticking into her pads... as it was very late at night I got my pet nail clippers and cut the nail in half making sure that I did'nt cut into the vein / quick in the nail, then I pulled out the bits in her pads & soaked her feet to clean them... it must have been awfull for our cat, a bit like walking around with a couple of wicklows... we took her to the vet the following day & she was put on some antibiotics... we were told that as cats get old they stop shedding the outer layer of the claw so they grow right the way round & curl under... I thought I would pass that on as it's worth regular checking of your cats claws.

Comment from Kate Site owner

thank you for this tip, that does sound rather awful and its a good reminder to check our cats feet from time to time too.
I have a 19 year old female cat
by: AD

Hi. I have a 19 year old female cat, that was accting very weird when my other cat passed away on April 2011. She way yowling crying and walking in the house day and night, she is also deaf and when we go to sleep upstairs she starts to cry because she does not see us downstairs or hear us. We addopted Happy and Princess in May, they were 8 weeks old, as soon as we brought them home my older cat stoped crying, but theres a problem now, since the kittens are 8 months old now they are following her everywhere and she gets anoying and she is accting weird. I took her to the vet and he did all the tests on her and everything was fine, the vet said she does not like the kittens. Maybe thats why your cat acts weird. I hope this helps and God bless you 17 year old...I hope she lives long and helthy life...

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Cat Questions.