Advise Needed for Senior Cat owners

[LynzeyAHL]

I have a cat that I have had only 4 years and was almost 7 when I got him making him 11... wow math! hehe

anyway, about 2 years ago my other cat jumped off an oak tv tray and it came smashing down right on his paw. It was badly broken and my husband had to hold him while I cleaned the wound and set it until we took him to the vet the next day. He screamed in the car the whole time like he was going to die there and back and this behavior continues to this day on any car trips and he will PEE himself if he sees the carrier. She casted his paw gave him kittybiotics for possible infection and we were on our way. Well he was in his cast for 3 weeks and in that time we kept him in the spare bedroom with everything he needed.

Ever since he is DEATHLY afraid of my DH runs the opposite direction when he comes near. He hides all day, everyday, and the only time is ever seen is AFTER DH goes to bed he will get on the foot of the bed. He will come to me if I call him but ONLY if DH isn't around. He has since started hissing and growling at the other two cats. And has been having potty accidents. I don't know if he's to afraid to make his fat butt down the hall to the litter or what but our apartment isn't big enough that this should even be an issue.

I guess my question is should we put him down b/c psychologically he's not the same, he doesn't seem very happy, he's not taking care of himself (not cleaning etc) he's no longer friendly to us or the other two cats, he's poopin all over, and I think he's getting cateracks (sp?) b/c his eyes have the dull filmy greenish haze to them more of recently. I guess I'm not sure what the average cat age is, 11-13 is old for dogs but I've heard of some 15-18 year old cats. I just want to ultimately do what's best for him and us, while not having to pay for new carpet when we move b/c he's used my house as a litter box which is TOTALLY unacceptable to me

[Heidi9771]

I would talk to your vet about this...11 doesn't seem like the high end of scale for cats, but geneticaly he might be predispositioned to live that long.

It sounds like your poor kitty is anxiety ridden and depressed (yes, animals get those same conditions we do after a traumatic event!) There are antidepressants that can address this which have been effective in these sorts of situations.

Also, I noticed your vet didn't give you pain meds for your cat...these are also available to ease your cat's trauma during the event so he suffers less and associates less trauma with the incident.

[sublime311]

He could also be suffering an underlying condition unrelated to the paw trauma. I agree with the other poster that you should probably talk to your vet - just to make sure that there isn't something else going on. I would imagine that it is only a very physically, or emotionally, sick cat that won't take care of his basic needs.

I also have an older, 15 year old cat that is DEATHLY afraid of my DH. It started when he reached to grab her as she ran by - now he's the devil in her eyes. It was made worse during a move where he had to put her in a crate. Now she'll jump on the bed with us ONLY when he's alseep. Weird - cats are soooo testy!

Please keep us posted. I wish you the best.

[Soulmate]

First...here are some links:

Euthinasia: The most painful decision (http://www.pet-loss.net/euthanasia.html)

Defining quality of life (http://www.pet-loss.net/quality.html)

First the decision to euthinize is completely yours though I can understand what you are going through...I had an incident with my kitty last weekend that brought this issue up for me (she is 12). Your kitty seems completely traumatized by what happened and it being 2 years since the event it doesn't seem like she is just going to "get over it". I would talk to your vet about options. I know my kitty was on a kitty prozac when she was younger for litter box anxiety (she would only poop on bathroom rugs and not in her litter box) from what I think too was a traumatic event (she is now ok with some modifications ;) ). The prozac didn't help her but it is something to think about for your kitty. She does not sound very happy and unfortunately cats cannot to talk therapy. Animals can go crazy at which point their behavior can become very disturbing.

I wish you luck in your decision...it is very difficult no matter what you choose.

[LynzeyAHL]

Well we had a bad week with my kitty boy puking all over and then I went to check on him and he had his head in the litter box and was pooping on the floor. My DH took him to the vet today. It was the best thing I could do for him even though my heart hurts. Thanks for your support and suggestions we were able to spend a few weeks more together.

:(

[SingleWhiteFemale]

I am so sorry that you had to make this decision. You did what you could, and made the best choice for your baby boy. He's happier where he is now, and I know that he would thank you for making this hard decision for his best interests.