Need some cat advice

Many vets will come to your home to do what is going to be one of the hardest things a pet owner ever has to decide. Vibes to family and da poos. Do what's right for the animal.

 

Went through this same thing last year. Tweak, our 19 y/o Calico suffered a paralytic stroke and was left unable to move her left hindquarter. She had gone blind about 2 years earlier but had adapted well and was always loving and talkative.

As others have noted, you should take her to the vet. I would recommend calling ahead and discussing that you would like a "Quality of Life" assessment. Your vet will evaluate your cat and make a recommendation. The recommendation and evaluation should be similar to this: https://journeyspet.com/pet-quality-of-life-scale-calculator/

In our case, there was no reasonable expectation for a suitable quality of life. Being blind and partially paralysed our vet reasoned from experience that it would be potentially very cruel to keep her around as she would eventually lose basis for evaluating regular stimuli.

There were other signs that it was nearing her time as well. She had recently taken to burrowing under items--pantry racks, bird cage bottom, etc. in ways that she had not normally done before. Cats, in general when they know it is their time will seek out a secluded spot for their final passing.

When the decision was made, the procedure was quick. They took her back and put a catheter in her front foreleg. With the cath they gave a sedative and two shots. She was out with the sedative and went limp after the first shot. It was quick and painless--very dignified. It was terrible to do, but the best for all involved. Considering we took her in as a stray from some kids who were mistreating her as a kitten, she'd had a fantastic life.

This was our second experience with stroke in cats. Our 16 year old Russian blue Hemingway cat had gone from a stroke 6 years prior. She been on long term treatment for the cat double-whammy: thyroid and kidney problems. This is really bad because the treatment for one worsens the other.

When we found her, we thought she had passed in an upstairs closet. It turns out that she had a stroke. This was late evening, after our vet was closed and she was like a zombie version of herself. Her pupils were the size of dimes and her walk had a splayed, mechanical and unsteady gate. When I took her for food she seemed to respond more out of reflex and habit than volition. I stayed with her, expecting to make the trip to the vet's for the same sort of meeting previously described. She passed naturally at about 4 am that night.

Stroke recovery is possible, however in an extreme senior cat it can be a lot to ask. The quality of life scale is a good tool for quantifying the decision criteria and knowing that you're acting in good faith with the animal's best interest. It hurt like hell, but I was comforted that we did what was right.

Hope this helps.

 

This is my current cat, Killer. Never thought I would have another cat after the one I put down, Peanut. But this guy is Awesome.

 

At the risk of highjacking your thread...this is Oreo. He thinks he's a dog. Goes to the beach with me, walks on a leash, rides in the car and even goes out for boat rides. Real cool dude. He's getting old and I can't stand the thought of him not being around.
Hope things work out for your cat.

 

These words of encouragement and wisdom, and photos and stories of your kitties really help a lot. Thank you. We're taking her in tomorrow for a vet appt for an evaluation and probably an electrolyte injection for her dehydration. She was in about 12 days ago for blood tests and everything came back looking pretty good. We'll continue to work with her on exercising her legs and hope for the best. Her appetite isn't the best and she's pretty skinny, so there's probably only so much we can do.

Here is Annabelle. My wife is her whole world. Cats are so awesome.

 

M kitty. I call her Monster but her real name is Tilley.

 

Dick

 

Motion - what's the word?

#1streetracer - That was was a really jackass thing to post.

 

Is there a certain post count needed to post in the classifieds?

 

Damn, and I thought I had an old cat. Mine is inherited so to speak. Daughter got it on her 5th birthday and quickly grew bored of it when it quit being a kitten. Well, the damn thing attached itself to me. And I mean attached...it sleeps next to me, climbs into my lap the second I sit down and follows me everywhere I go no matter what I'm doing. I can be chain sawing in the back yard and it's 10' away watching. She's 18 now and seems spry as ever. My wife hates it and wants me to take it to a shelter but there's no way in hell I could do that. But, cold as it might seem...when it's gone, it's gone. There's more of them at the pound (although this is our last animal). I never got real attached to pets. I guess when you lose a sibling, animals just don't seem that important. But I do like this damn cat.

Here she sits watching me adjust the valves on my GS...

 

No advice, everyone has covered it. Losing a family member isn't easy and never will be. We lost our 3 year old dog last year to a splenic mass that mastacized. Went fast. Putting her down is the hardest thing I've ever done.

 

I'm with Garth, after the previous two cats never thought we'd get another. During the move this summer found this guy on the road. He'd just gotten hit by a car and was too small to even be weened from his mama. Needless to say, Alley (full name AlleyCat) is the newest member of the family.

 

Mark, is Alley a long hair? Maine coone? looks my bastard faced slim jim stealer.

 

Nope - just a plain Jane grey tabby. He's gonna be a big sucker when he's full grown. At 8 months he has a 5 foot vertical chasing the laser pointer.

 

and for you people who say no more after this one, I was there. No dogs! No Cats! Not even a freakin' goldfish! Nice and quiet in the house, not having to buy cat food and no having to deal with their shit (literally and figuratively).

The girls came home with two from the pound and these two dopes brought me out of a long and serious funk over losing bastard face.

 

Ever have your cat give you that look of, “ if I were bigger, I would kill you then eat you”. Killer is pretty good of giving one of those now and again.

 

Beat me to it. My animals all serve a purpose and can't say that either my dog or my cat has ever let me down.

 

I don't see you doing a damned thing.

I see the cat guarding an unattended bike.

 

As hard as it is to lose one I'll never be without a 4 legged companion or 3 around.

 

The cat is 19 years old. Its long outlived its life expectancy. It's never easy to do but you need to let her go. Please don't put it through therapeutic relentlessness.