Anyone have a Geriatric Cat?

[Dive Bar Casanova]

At St Anthony Sand Dunes So Dakota:

https://imgur.com/RWbhzz7

Dune Cat is 13 now and really skinny but healthy according to a recent physical. Now wants to be endless petted and carried around.

Vet once said "Cats are geriatric at 6 years old."
Dune cat will eat anything, even a bowl of spaghetti if offered, anything.

Meiko I got when a daughter left to earn her PhD. Lived to 20 years old. Smartest animal we ever owned.
Cleaned up the neighborhood gopher, rat, mouse and dive bombing bird problem.

https://imgur.com/SeKAH4U

Anyone else have geriatric cats?

 

[BrianL]

Mine is about 12/13, so I guess so. She doesn't show much signs of it other than that she developed a minor asthma in recent years. My previous cat lived to almost 20. He was always a tad too overweight though and developed heart and kidney issues.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I have a 13 year old, 12 year old, and 8 year old cats. The 13 year old is the only female. She’s starting to feel skinnier but she was a chonk so now she is at a normal weight. Sometimes I think she is getting dementia though. Like last night she was acting like someone was at the door and no one was there.

 

[NannyBeBe]

My daughter lives across the street from us. She has three kitties. The oldest is Prince, who we call Fat Cat. We know for sure that he is at least 18 years old. He is not as fat as he used to be and cannot groom himself properly, but he still eats well and especially loves lasagna and spaghetti. We love him dearly and treasure the time we have with him.

 

[dez1978]

My cat is 18. I think she's about on her last leg sadly. She recently went blind, and its stressing her out and shes pulling out her fur. We are trying a couple things first, but idk if it will help. I hate this part of pet ownership. When you know they aren't having a good time anymore, but it's not quite bad enough that you feel like it's time.
We did have a diabetic cat once who lived to be almost 20. He was on insulin 2x a day for 6 years and did fine with it. He'd actually start meowing when it was time and go stand in the kitchen waiting lol. He eventually got a tumor and it was time.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Currently I have "kitten". They are 2yrs old but their breeds are not adult until 3-4yrs old.

I've had 2 geriatric cats.
One lived to be 18 and was the smartest and biggest personality cat I'll ever have.
The other was 15 and unfortunately from the time he was 13 he started going down hill but he was the sweetest lil baby I'll ever have.

 

[emmabelle]

I have one that's between 16-17. Former stray that we found in August 2009. He's gotten skinnier but already on Felimazole for his thyroid. I have to supplement syringe feed him a couple of times a day to make sure he's getting enough calories. We think he still has quality of life though so I'll keep doing it until he tells me it's time.

 

[mom2rtk]

I have one that's between 16-17. Former stray that we found in August 2009. He's gotten skinnier but already on Felimazole for his thyroid. I have to supplement syringe feed him a couple of times a day to make sure he's getting enough calories. We think he still has quality of life though so I'll keep doing it until he tells me it's time.

Big hugs to you with your HT cat. Ours did great for 2 1/2 years on her medication. We all got to enjoy some great bonus time with her after the diagnosis.

There are some great and helpful groups on FB for hyperthyroid cat owners. Message me if you want the link. They were instrumental helping us get over the initial period post diagnosis where we almost lost her.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Mush Mush was 20ish when she passed away. We aren't 100% certain how old she was since I rescued her from a field behind the school I worked at at the time. She had a microchip in her that was dated 2002, so we went off that for her age. She could have been older.

She passed away on my birthday, April 1st, 2022.



Fat Cat, aka Zara, is 8+ years old, so I guess by your vets standards, she's a senior kitty-zen.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

I have a 13 year old, 12 year old, and 8 year old cats. The 13 year old is the only female. She’s starting to feel skinnier but she was a chonk so now she is at a normal weight. Sometimes I think she is getting dementia though. Like last night she was acting like someone was at the door and no one was there.

Yeah ours is feather light but eats good

 

[sarahann77]

My oldest is 17. She has osteoarthritis in her spine so have been deeply considering it might be time for her. She had the HT treatment at 15 as she didn't tolerate the meds. With that treatment her kidneys are getting poorer now. She's doing well just ornery really.

 

[emmabelle]

Big hugs to you with your HT cat. Ours did great for 2 1/2 years on her medication. We all got to enjoy some great bonus time with her after the diagnosis.

There are some great and helpful groups on FB for hyperthyroid cat owners. Message me if you want the link. They were instrumental helping us get over the initial period post diagnosis where we almost lost her.

My guy has been on thyroid meds for six years now. So crazy. At least I found Felimazole because they are tiny coated tablets. Really easy to pill. Here he is sleeping next to me. He’s a good boy

 

[OneOftheB's]

By the medical definition our Barney is a senior (he's been with us for 6 years and was already a year or two old when we adopted him). Other than dental issues that led to a UTI due to stress and watching him closely because he is FIV+, he's healthy. (knock on wood)

We lost our old man, Kit Kat in May 2023. He had a list of issues including hyperthyroidism, arthritis from being declawed (by someone before he came to our home) and probably high blood pressure that lead to him becoming deaf but the vet could never verify because he was a terror at her office. You would never believe how much damage a declawed, arthritic, nearly toothless old cat can cause if he refuses to cooperate. We lost him to a mass in his abdomen, there was just no way we were going to put him through a major surgery at his age and with his hatred of all vets. He was the smartest cat I have ever been around and I feel his loss often.

We had a 19 year old that we lost a few years ago named Autumn. She was incredibly healthy until she had a stroke when she was 14 or 15. I actually took her to the vet's for the final appointment but was convinced to give her a few extra days to see if she recovered. She did, well about 85% or so. She was never fully steady so we moved her litter boxes down stairs so she wouldn't fall and she puttered around for many years, enjoying life from the floor and low furniture.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I have two are 16 this month:





Both are on special food for early-stage kidney issues, but it seems to be doing the trick.

One has some sort of growth on her lip/nose that I'm worried about, though. We have an appointment with a specialist next week. But her behavior is good, so I'm hoping it turns out OK.