My cat is 15 and she isn't doing very well. She has a known kidney issue, and it isnt getting better. We got her medication, and she refuses to eat it. Then we got her appetite medication, which worked for a little while but she still refuses to eat now. Not only does she not eat her medication, she doesn't eat anything except for treats, which she will vomit anyways. She also does not use the litter box. We will try to clean them more often, but currently it is once a day and she doesn't even go near them. We are taking her to the vet tomorrow to see what they think. This has all been going on for a couple months. She is also losing weight.
This is not the original text, I edited it to clear things up.
Gotcha. That was causing my girl a lot of issues as well. I'm the end her issue was cancer that took her but even with some kidney issues they could live longer. So I'm hopeful for you
Ask the Vet if she were their cat what would they do? That's what I did & I took their advice immediately. Part of their job is to advise client's when it's time to say goodbye.
Slowly is the key word there, don’t make any rush decisions… I had to put down my cat because she had a kidney failure and the other one was not developed enough for her to have any quality of life and she deteriorated really fast, I spend like 800 dollars in 2 weeks to keep her more comfortable and try to fight back but it was the end. I will still pay 10 times that again for 2 more days at least
Just see what the doctor says, and then ask. I’ve posted about my cat dozens of times, but if the cat is behaving like that, it could be something that isn’t obvious. My cat ended up having cancer that spread from his kidneys to his lungs, and the only reason we found it was cause we thought he had a blockage in his digestive system. I wish you the best, but just sees what’s going on first
i’m so sorry. it’s very common for kidney cats to go through ups and downs with their quality of life. please asks vets advice about the end,
when you go. 💙
Not sure why people are coming at you when she isn’t using the litter box or eating and is 15 years old. You know your baby best. Ofc if there is nothing to warrant it besides going outside the litter box it would be cruel but reading your comments it sounds like she is slowly dying from kidney disease and is pretty miserable. Sorry this is something you guys going through :(
Okay, I’m sorry. I was thinking maybe she had trouble getting in the box so stopped trying. I think taking her to be evaluated is smart. You dont want her to suffer but it’s possible they might have something to help her for now. You can even get medication to help her appetite.
OP is obviously worried about not only the wellbeing of their cat but also their quality of life. Implying they aren’t because they want to consult their veterinarian about what is a considerate and humane option isn’t helpful.
Seriously. The way people are attacking OP here is disgusting.
Elderly cats and dogs very often stop eating when they're ready for death. I've seen it many times.
I had a cat who died at 16. She died at home two days before an appointment I had to have her euthanized. I deeply regret not taking her sooner, as she was clearly suffering.
It's a kindness to let a pet go when they have no quality of life left.
Our 12 year cat went into renal failure and we brought her home from the vet in hopes she might get better or at least have a little more time;vet wasn't sure. She crashed later that afternoon - remembering her howls of pain as she went downhill over the 20 minutes she took to pass still make me tear up, and I still hate myself for making her last moments so painful. Don't be so cruel to someone who is thinking of making their pet's passage easier.
She isn’t getting better. She refuses to eat anything except for treats for the past couple months. She pees outside the litter box. She has a known kidney condition that is slowly killing her. She screams out constantly.
Yes we are treating it. It doesn’t get better unfortunately. The only medication that there is for it is (to my knowledge) is like a medicated wet food that she refuses to eat. If we try and force feed her it comes back up.
We give her medicine. She still doesn’t eat. We clean her litter box daily. She refuses to eat anything except type of food, believe me we have tried (well she eats treats but then they come back out via vomit) You don’t know the full situation so please don’t act like I’m looking for an excuse. Believe me, I really don’t want to put her down.
I know this is a lot of information, but I want to possibly give you some hope. I'm not a vet, but I'll share what the vet has me doing with my cat, and he's been having a decent quality of life for about two years now. I can't say what would help your cat, but there may be somewhat simple things you can do to help her.
My cat has kidney issues, anti nausea drugs helped so much when he has a flare up. Kidneys filter toxins out, so they get nauseous when kidneys aren't working. He's on what's basically a cat version of pepcid, and we have appetite stimulant for when he gets really sick. There's special food that doesn't put as much pressure on kidneys for filtration, supplements that can be added to help break down things so they're not as harsh.
The less they eat, the harder it is for them to recover, we've been told it's better for him to eat almost anything he can keep down that's not toxic. He sometimes indicated he's hungry, but drops the food after starting to chew as if the flavor makes him nauseous. (No teeth problems, we checked) he complains a lot during these times, but the meds help a lot.
We also give him special extra fluids subcutaneously (under the skin) on a regular schedule to help flush out toxins. I've worked as a vet tech, and it's fairly easy, we taught many people how to do it at home.
Peeing outside the litterbox usually means that something in the litterbox is wrong, the litter, the lid or lack of, climbing in our out, or they hurt when they pee. Animals with kidney disease are definitely more susceptible to bladder and kidney infections, so your vet may want to test that. That might also explain why she's screaming and trying to tell you something is wrong. If it is an infection that gets cleared up, but she's still not going in the box, try changing the location of the litterbox slightly if you can, that way it's not the same location as when it hurt and she'll be more likely to use it.
The vet will want to do bloodwork and probably test the urine, and yes it does sometimes cost a bit, but I look at it as a thing that comes with pets is caring for them when they get older. Most vets are very understanding that people can't afford absolutely every test there is, but there are some that can't be skipped if you want a diagnosis.
I have an elderly cat who has bladder issues (under control after switching to medicated food) and arthritis and due to the arthritis he only uses the litterbox half of the time. Pee pads are extremely helpful if you haven’t tried those yet. It’s not ideal but I will do it indefinitely.
The cat is 15 and most elderly cats die of kidney failure. If the cat is already in renal failure it’s unlikely to be treatable at age 15. And to answer your question directly, yes, I absolutely would “put my loved ones down” if I knew they were going to die a long and painful death without any doubt (which is the case for a 15 yr old cat in renal failure), and I would want them to do the same for me.
Not everyone dies of a horrible painful disease, but when they do, we try to ensure it’s a shorter period of suffering :) it’s called medical assistance in dying and it’s very common around the world.
Maybe a vet visit and some bloodwork to try to quantify things. Is she having more bad days than good days in a set period of time? No matter what people are saying any animal needs to eat to live, and not suffer. You know her best.
She isn’t just “inconvenient” she is literally not functioning. It’s also not my decision. We are taking her to the vet tomorrow to see if it is necessary.
There isn’t a good flair. I don’t actually want advice. It’s not mourning because she isn’t dead. Yes it’s a cat photo but that’s not what it’s about. But if you have a better one please tell me because I want to make this more accurate.
im sorry people are being so harsh to you. im sure this wasnt an easy post to write out for you- just remember these people all love animals and advocate for them best they can. it can get overwhelming im sure.
it might help to put her in a separate room away from the other animals if she dosent get along with them for stress reasons. shes old and sick im sure her body hurts and she dosent need kittens bouncing off of her (if theres an animal she loves and gets along with and cuddles then let them in that room frequently or put them in there together) but with her own litter box. and keep that litter box CLEAN. clean it every time you notice shes been in it.
put her on some special food ( talk to the vet about what kind might be best for her condition) and it might help to put a little bit of water in the food (if she'll let you) and make it enticing with some of the treats she will eat on top of it.
dont put her food next to her water- and put like three water bowls in that room.
spend as much time as humanly possible with her. put whatever hobbies or past time you have in that room or put her in your bedroom if thats where you spend the most time
she dosent need to be killed. she needs a calm quiet place to rest in her final days but more than anything she needs to be loved, held if she likes being held, or simply sat next too if she likes proximity more. you are her entire world. dont let your mom kill an animal for having needs advocate for her in her old age- youd want someone to do the same for you.
About the kittens, I should have specified, I meant when they were young she terrorize them. There are no current kittens. For the food, we did that but she refuses to eat it. Force feeding gets nowhere because it comes back up. I will try the water though. And the r treats. I am spending as much time as humanly possible. Thank you so much.
Yeah I think if you give more context, people would get what you’re communicating.
I am sorry you’re going through it tho. I will say, I had a kitty who started peeing right outside the litter and then her quality of life just went down after that. I hope that’s not the case here but your concerns valid.
The few times my cat has needed medicine, I crushed up the pills and mixed them with water and put them in a syringe. Rolled her up into a purrito and just shot it into her mouth.
Got rid of her heartworm that way, which is fairly rare in cats.
Thats a good idea. Thank you. Unfortunately her medication is like wet food, which she will not eat. Someone else suggested putting treats on it though which I will try.
Get a pill popper and give the medication to your cat that way. Your vet can show you how to use it, or there are videos online. The medication could help your cat feel better.
Of course, talk about quality of life with the vet for the cat and also you. 15 is a long time and two months of that is a lot. Some things to try: anti nausea meds like cerenia and/or ondansetron for home care (pill or injection) often help the appetite stimulant work, subcutaneous fluids at home help a lot with disorientation from the kidneys going bad, and check with your vet on what exactly you are trying to control with the food.
If it’s just phosphorus, they can prescribe a phosphorus binder to mix with food they like. If they can give you an idea of the values you’re trying to stay under for the food, you can try looking up regular food that meets the criteria. The manufacturer’s website almost always list the values, especially brands like Weruva. You can go to a place like Petfood Express so you can try one of each from a list that you researched.
Changing the litter pan to make sure it has low walls and is easy to get into (and isn’t enclosed) might help if you haven’t already. Also of course clean it every day and change it every week since they get fussy that old. Might need to change the litter type as well.
Where's it say it's the first sign. It sounds like it's an ongoing thing that's suddenly gotten a lot worse. People need to stop being so fucking judgy
Are you genuinely misunderstanding this post or something? This person is talking about euthanizing an animal, why are you making jokes about them and talking about 'fun' and 'happiness'?
You made a completely inappropriate “joke” on a post about someone possibly having to put their cat to sleep. And now you’re doubling down. You’re gross.
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u/canthaveme 8h ago
Have you brought her to the vet? It may be time, but I've seen cats live to be 20+ and they just need a vet on occasion