17 year old cat

[Jessie1990]

I have had my yellow tabby since I was 5 years old. He is my first memory and I am very afraid he may not live much longer. He has lived a very full and happy life on my parents farm. I have recently decided that the instant he begins showing signs of suffering I want him to be put down. My mother doesn't understand this and is too selfish to even take him to the vet to be examined for fear that they will tell her he needs to be put to sleep.

I am getting very irritated because I'm pretty sure he currently weighs 10 lbs and he is eating normally. He also wants outside no matter how hot it is. I had read somewhere that at a certain age cats may have trouble absorbing nutrients so I'm going to buy him a high calorie food made for older cats with this problem. If that doesn't help I'm going to ask my mother to take him to the vet even if it means I might lose my oldest friend.

This cat saved me from a dog when I was 6 and my mom was not fast enough to get to me when a strange dog came into the yard and bit me. I honestly can't remember a time when I was home and he wasn't by my side. He explored the woods with me growing up, was a great pillow to cry on when I had a bad day, and never failed to make me feel loved. (he scratches every one that picks him up but me)

I feel that it is wrong for my mom to refuse to let me take him to a vet because of her own selfish needs, but I also understand why she's doing it... I'm just very frustrated and need to vent. Sorry for my wall of text.

[KcSaf]

aww, i think its wonderful that you and your cat are so close to eachother. you could try talking to your mom again and explaining his condition, and that it might even be better to put him down rather than let him live longer. its good you understand why she doesnt want to take him to the vet because if you didnt, it would probably lead to more argument. im so sorry that this is happening to you, and i hope that you can find a resolution with your mom.

[Jessie1990]

I Live over an hour away now and she alwAys tells me how much better he looks when I come home. I can't have pets other than fish, otherwise he would be with me so I could make sure he's getting the right food. He actually seems very happy, but he does a few really Wierd things he never used to, like getting on the counter and now he and my dad like each other D: no idea when that happened. It's just the weight that is not okay. He used to be a huge cat and last time I was home he looked very thin. So, I want to try the high calorie foods first.

[Calypso77]

He may have an stomach issue with foods as he has gotten older. My moms cat used to be massive and then thinned right out and it turns out he has issues with certain foods being too harsh on his stomach now. She has changed his food under what the vet recommended and he is doing great and putting weight back on again.

[Jessie1990]

Hmm. I will try to get my mom to take him to the vet again. Did your moms cat still eat normally before she switched foods?

[mkayum]

Every cat is different. You have to ask your vet to see what he/she would recommend the brand of food. Hopefully your cat's okay. With good med & quality food. He sounds like he's not suffering but just food stomach issue.

[Oldfishlady]

Don't take this wrong...but I kinda agree with your mother....If he is not suffering, eating and otherwise healthy for an aging cat...Taking him to the vet could possibly expose him to something that could make him ill.

I do understand....I have a cat, Mr Bob that just turned 18 on July 2, I bottle raised him after he was found by my husband in the trash along with some dead sibling when he was roughly 2-3 days old. This is my baby....he is 6 months older than my son. Mr Bob would sit by the baby monitor and get upset if my son cried, he rode around in the lower part of the stroller and play with his toys with him, any place my son went he was with him-just like two brothers would be.

I live way out in the woods too and I fear that when the time comes he will suffer too long before I can get to a vet to or a vet to me and have him euthanized. I dread that day.......But I am willing to risk it as long as he has good quality of life. Once his quality of life is gone-then and only then will I have him euthanized and then I will call a vet to come to my house no matter what the cost. Large animals vets will make house calls for a price.

As Mr Bob ages-his personality did change, he got cranky or more demanding I should say...lol.....He never meowed-maybe because I didn't teach him or he didn't hear meow as he was growing up-but he meows now. He is-was a really big cat-at least 30 pounds and over the past 2 years he is down to about 10 pounds-but not bony, his beautiful long silky black coat got dull and his eyes got cloudy, his teeth are still in good shape and he was always on a good diet of the Diamond brand hard food with the only soft food being raw deer meat.

We changed his diet to Diamond brand, Chicken Soup and Taste of the Wild brands of can/soft and hard food on 6 small meals a day and this has helped put a couple of pound on him, put the shine back in his coat and cleared his cloudy eyes up.
http://www.diamondpet.com/products/cats/
http://www.chickensoupforthepetlover...products/cats/
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/

I get all of his food at a feed store-but I am sure either petsmart or petco would carry them.

This old man still has pep in his step, runs and plays-he is only allowed outside with supervision but still goes out 1-2 times a day and we go on a walk in the cool of the evening.

He has only been to the vet one time in his life and that was when he was 4 months old to be neutered. All his vaccination I gave to him myself and he only got them for the first 6 months of his life-other than the rabies shot that he gets every 3 years. I chose not to continue the other vaccination after the initial one due to the history of them causing cancer at the injection site.

I do understand-especially since you can't be with him to make sure he gets the special care he needs. But maybe you could buy the foods and since he has taken up with your father-talk to him....I bet he would give him special care for you if you asked him too and got the food for him and since they are on a farm-I bet they go to a feed store and most feeds stores will have Free sample of all 3 of those brands in the hard form that your father could pick up.....Just a thought.....

Got a pic you could post of him....I love seeing others special kitty cats....