Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Cheeetar]

Aw, jeeze. I hate not being the first person to spot things like that.

[ChairmanPoo]

My dad's cat died at age 31. Hunted and roamed outside till age 30.

Contact Guinness.

The link says 38 years and 3 days is the record for dead cats.

That's the record for live cats. Dead cats can last as long as you like, and I think the current record is at around 10.000 years

[Bumber]

The link says 38 years and 3 days is the record for dead cats.

That's the record for live cats. Dead cats can last as long as you like, and I think the current record is at around 10.000 years

24 years is the record for oldest currently living cat. 38 years is the record for longest lifespan now dead. 10,000 is oldest known dead pet cat (regardless of lifespan.)

[Bohandas]

Mom and dad seem more concerned with the mess .

I've got to say that that's the impression that I had of your parents' actions from the start.

[Devstorm]

If your cat would let you, it wouldn't hurt to take a good look in her mouth to see if she's got a tooth problem. Lots of older pets have problems digesting, as much from not being able to chew their food properly as from their aging bodies having problems digesting processed dry cat food.

The small amounts more frequently sound like a very good way to keep her going. I do hope your parents see reason and get her to the vet soon, though. If only to reassure you.

[Robot Parade Leader]

Update

The cat is still with us. My dad has said, "she looks a lot better," because before she was all fur and bones. I keep feeding her small amounts several times a day. Basically I want to feed her as much as she wants and as much as she'll keep down. He keeps throwing out terms like, "She's had a good life" and "I don't know how she hangs on."

She's throwing up about once a week now instead of every day, so that's an improvement. Although, she's still too skinny if you ask me. She spends most of her time either sitting on my lap in the chair I usually sit in, or sitting in that chair when I'm not around. She purs around me a lot, and she still roams about a bit.

I don't like that she won't eat more, and she'll still leave part of what I feed her/refuse to eat all of it.  I want this poor cat to eat more and to keep it in her stomach without throwing up so she can benefit from eating.

I did look in her mouth at her teeth. Her fangs seem to be doing ok, but you can tell she's been using her teeth for years and years. I don't entirely know what I'm looking for. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of discoloration, but the teeth seem smaller than I would have expected, and perhaps they've worn away a little? I wouldn't doubt it if she had a tooth ache, though I have no idea what you could ever do about it.

[Caz]

Give her sardines. Cats can never resist them. O_o

[smeeprocket]

my cats hate sardines. I tried that when one of them stopped eating. She had liver cancer though, so nothing was going to fix that.

This could be a dental problem, which would probably be determinable by a quick checkup at the vet. Or you can get a small flashlight and poke around in there and see if you can see anything obvious, abscesses, for example. Check her gums, if they are very red and irritated means something is up. Bad breath can be a sign but I had an old cat with terrible breath that had perfectly good teeth.

When one of my cats started puking/not eating, it was because she had kidney problems. This will get worse and is a terrible way to go but her life was extended by giving her subcutaneous fluids, which can be done at home, and is not super hard to do. As long as you don't have an aversion to needles.

[smeeprocket]

Well, 2 years max. It used to be 1 year, but I recall our somewhat recent 'Party for Animals' managing to get that max sentence upped to two years.

Max sentence would probably only be ruled in extreme cases of neglect though, like a 'professional' breeder losing whole nests of puppies to neglect. The OP's parents would most likely face just a fine of a few 100 euros, confiscation of the animals, and life long prohibition to own animals. They would get a criminal record though, since animal abuse and neglect are classified as criminal offense.

About grass: cats indeed use it as a natural stimulant to help them throw up. This is quite normal if it involves spitting up the occasional hairball when changing furs, or a sign of stomach uneasiness otherwise.

that is a beautiful punishment. It should be longer, tbh. I doubt it would serve as a deterrent, but considering the things my neighbors like to do to cats and dogs, I'm sure straight up cruelty would net even more time, and both types of people are better off in jail. Of course, my neighbor keeps getting out of jail after being brought up on gun charges when we have a 10/20/life policy here.

The really important part is tagging them as a criminal and preventing animal adoption. It doesn't mean they won't get another animal, but any animals after that could be rescued immediately.

[Ancalagon_TB]

I hate to be harsh but... sooner or later, pets die.  (and so do people   )

That being said, whatever is troubling your cat could be a simple, easy to fix health problem (as some have suggested, worms, or something else), not terminal age.  The animal should be brought to the vet, and let the professional make a determination.  You have to accept though that if you do that, you may get bad news. 

I can see why you are upset that your parents seem to be giving up a bit too early and it's commendable how you've taken care of her. If she's gained some weight, you definitely are doing something right!  But your parents may have lost several pets in the past and not have quite the same perspective.

[Robot Parade Leader]

Yeah, all cats may die and eventually will, but until then, I'm not going to just let it happen.

Cat is still with us, and mostly hangs out with me as much as she can. She prefers to sit in my lap in the computer chair for some reason. Otherwise she won't (unless it is at that location).

She has resumed throwing up a lot for some reason, though I am unsure what has changed since last time. She is now eating age cat type cat food, whatever that means. I still feed her small amounts several times a day.

At some point in the next two or three months, the cat will have to go to the vet for her twice a year shot. (cortisol I think). During that time, I want to talk to the vet about this problem.

I am unsure exactly what to say:

* Some of my cat's teeth seem either severely decayed due to old age or missing.
* She throws up and it is never blood, always yellowish brown colored and either cat food or fur.
* Explaining the food schedule thing. She always wants food and I would give it to her but she can't hold it down to benefit from it.
* She's lost a log of weight (She used to be too heavy).

Thoughts?

[smeeprocket]

It honestly sounds like kidney failure. Without, you know, being a vet actually examining your cat.

You need to find a way to take your cat to the vet for that sooner rather than later. Bad teeth won't make her throw up. Kidney failure will.

Regular treatments of subcutaneous fluids will flush her system and could give her extra years if this is acted on quickly. But that would mean convincing your parents to buy the needles, the bag of saline solution, etc. Most vets won't charge you a lot though. It is, however, very easy to do, I've done it on one of my cats that is actually rather unhinged (her mother's owners put lsd in her mother's water when she was pregnant) Admittedly, I had to trap her in a cage with a door on the top to kind of manage it, but any more agreeable cat will just let you do it.

You will need bloodwork to check up on her kidneys.

If she is having this and there is no option to deliver any treatment, I hate to say this, but that is consigning her to a slow death via wasting away and constant nausea.

Without a vet doing tests it could be anything though. But kidney failure is common in older cats.

Alternately, you could probably get the stuff for the fluids online and watch some youtube videos on how to give them. I would do it once or twice a day, probably once, and see if she starts to recover.

One worry about excess fluids this way is it thins the blood and makes the heart pump harder so if they have a weak heart, it can be an issue. I have never had this be an issue, personally.

I looked on Amazon but didn't see the needles (12 gauge iirc) or the bag of saline solution for sale. I believe the dosage would probably be 100mg. That's one line on the bag. You could probably hunt these down somewhere.

The needle is injected under the skin (not in a vein) around the shoulder blades. You pinch up on the skin and slide the needle in, then make sure you didn't puncture the other side or anyway. The fluids will create a large bump for a bit on your cats back while they are processed into her system.

Unfortunately, only a vet can tell you what is really going on.

Personally, I always used the "you are monstrous people and you neglect animals just like you've neglected me as a child and now you are failing me once again." line on my parents. They were bad parents, but I could guilt trip them well enough.

[smeeprocket]

Here... Like I said, I have no idea if this is actually the problem, I can count a number of times I've misdiagnosed my pets based on previous experience. But this site explains a lot and has links to the supplies. So I mean, you could get the money for the supplies and do this yourself and if that is the problem, it will help. If it isn't... it probably won't hurt.

http://www.felinecrf.org/subcutaneous_fluids.htm

[Truean]

Wouldn't Kidney Failure  usually involve blood in the urine or some kind of difficulty while urinating? 

I could be wrong here and I'm not a medical doctor of a vet or anything. Just asking.

[smeeprocket]

Wouldn't Kidney Failure  usually involve blood in the urine or some kind of difficulty while urinating? 

I could be wrong here and I'm not a medical doctor of a vet or anything. Just asking.

kidney failure may not be the right term, I'm actually thinking kidney disease in the advanced stages, but what I am talking about doesn't involve blood in the urine or problems urinating. You want to give a cat with kidney disease special food, but when they get to the point where they aren't eating and are just vomiting you are at quality of life stage, so feed them whatever the hell they will eat.

There is this super nutritious, fatty, good tasting cat food vets have when they are trying to nourish a previously starved cat or get a cat to gain some weight they use it. However, high protein foods can be bad for kidney disease.

Here I found the food. My cat would devour this. The kidney disease food is awful, and she refused to eat it. http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-feline-ad-caninefeline-critical-care-canned.html

Basically the kidneys aren't filtering anything out.