my cat is 17 years old & sleeps most of the time

by Jenny
(Canada)

My cat Baby was 17 years old on July 2 of this year. In the spring, he seemed more perky watching the birds and squirrels, but the last 6 weeks it has been unnaturally hot here (we have up to 100 degree weather for maybe a few days), during the day he sleeps on this styrofoam pad outside, he seems to be sleeping most of the time, I have heard that older cats do sleep a lot, he is eating okay but since he is outside I don't know what his stool habits are, he does use his box in the basement sometimes to pee.

He was drinking a lot of water before & I had taken him in to see a vet in Feb. because I thought he was constipated, but she said he was ok, but he had arthritis and I should have blood and urine tests taken. Anyways, I noticed that he does not seem to be drinking as much water as he did before (in the last week or two).

I just want some information on cats this age, I know he had never been that active a cat except when he saw another cat and would dash after it, and in his younger years he would be outside walking around a lot, but these last few months I have noticed he is sleeping a lot. I bring him indoors and he goes to sleep. It makes me very sad to see him like this.

I know I have take him to the vet for some tests but I don't know if there is anything they can do for him, maybe old age is just kicking in? Another site called him a "Geriatric cat", unfortunately I lost the name of the other site, when my other computer crashed.

Hi
Well 17 is quite old for a cat and so yes I would expect him to slow down a lot and sleep most of the time. If it is also very hot there than yes cats will just sleep the day away anyway. My two cats do when its hot and they are only 2 years old.

I had a 17 year old cat and all she did was to sleep a lot, this is quite normal.

As you are aware as they get older cats do need extra care and illnesses such as feline arthritis are common.

I have a couple of pages on my site which you may find of further interest. One is about senior cats and one is about cat arthritis.

senior-cat.html

cat-arthritis.html

Kate

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