What Happens When Cats Get Older

In this post I will review a few of the problems senior cats can face.  

This was our 20 year old cat who had to be put to sleep last summer due to end stage renal disease.  As you can see, she was very thin.

Weight loss in seniors can be caused by:

• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Dental Disease
• Diabetes
• Thyroid Disease
• Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency
• Bowel Disease
• Cancer

Best thing to do is have the Vet perform some tests and see what the problem may be and discuss the appropriate course of treatment.

It may be as simple as getting some teeth pulled followed by some antibiotics.

Maybe some intravenous fluids and diet change.

In our case, CC had to be changed to a strict renal diet which was prescription. Such a diet can be ordered through your vet or a service like Chewy.com. 

Even with the diet change we made a few emergent trips to the Vet for IV fluids. 

Note: Another worrisome symptom of renal disease is increased water intake and decrease urination.  Eventually the kidneys shut down and they don't produce urine.  Unfortunately this leads to lethal levels of toxins building up in the blood.  So keep an eye on that litter box.  Nausea and vomiting is also common.

Also, dementia will likely become apparent.  Most notably howling at night when they become disoriented. (leaving a light on may help)  They may also forget to eat or forget they just ate.  So monitor their oral intake.

Pain, possibly from arthritis, can also cause howling.  Your cat may become withdrawn.  

Whatever symptoms your cat exhibits will help you and your Vet come to an agreement on a plan of care for your dear furry friend.

Our Vet was very supportive and would call to check on CC at least once or twice a week.  She answered so many questions for me. 

We finally agreed that there was not much that was going to help CC's quality of life.  That's when she helped me through the process of letting go.

I recommend holding your pet while he/she goes to sleep.  It's not for everyone but I have done it with 2 pets now and it really helped me cope with the loss.  Helped with closure.

I hope this information has been helpful.  Please let me know your experiences with losing a pet.