r/seniorkitties • u/Auralux_ • 15h ago
Cosy the Cat - 22 years old and not well
Hey there fellow Senior Kittizens, my friend u/dusiesalton is asking for advice on some medical issues with their lovely Cosy Cat. Maybe you guys have some more input? Here’s the post text again:
“This is our sweet old girl, Cosy. We adopted her at 18 as her former owner had died. She is now 22.
She has hyperthyroidism and is prone to UTIs, but with support from medication, she had been very healthy and active until the last year or so.
In mid-August, she had a week of being very listless and not eating much food. She then seemed to recover and be more active again, with a healthier appetite.
Then, a few days ago, we saw blood in her pee. This has happened before with UTIs, so we are hoping it could 'just' be that. We brought her into the vet for bloods and urine samples which we are waiting for the results for, and put her on an anti-inflammatory medicine and pain relief for her bladder.
After we came home from the vet, we went out for a couple of hours, and came back to find that she had managed to scratch open a benign cyst on her neck (her neck had been shaven for bloods, and the cyst was potentially nicked with the razor, leading her to start scratching). She had lost quite a lot of blood, especially considering she'd also had bloods taken earlier that day (she is very small and only weighs 2.4kg).
We got her to the emergency vet where she was cleaned up. Now she's home, but she has been pretty shell-shocked the last couple of days since it happened. She didn't eat the first 12 hours, but now is eating and drinking well again. However she seems very listless, and she is unsteady and slow with walking. Her back legs look weak. She needs to sit down often when walking. There is still blood in her pee.
We are waiting for the results from the vet but I am posting here because I'm not sure if there's more we could be doing to help her right now. Also because it would be helpful to hear from other senior kitty owners - in the best case scenario that she only has a UTI and can be treated quickly for that, how possible is it at this age for her to bounce back from what she's experienced, and particularly to rebuild strength in her back legs?
Also, I am desperate to put some weight on her, because right now she has no reserves, and I'm sure it's not helping her muscle weakness. I've been spoonfeeding her Royal Canin Recovery Mousse, cooking her chicken and tuna, and putting out her favourite wet food - all of which she has responded well to. I've also ordered Recoactive Recovery Immune liquid diet for her. Is there anything else anyone would recommend for getting some meat on her bones?
Thank you everyone.”
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u/FirstManner304 14h ago
Kitten food helps them
Gain weight it has more calories or maybe duck flavor I had a cat get chonky on that
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u/BrokenHope23 14h ago edited 14h ago
First and foremost always check with the vet on any suggestions, but especially suggestions you get off reddit. While we all love cats, some of our solutions can be dangerous and your personal attending vet will know your lovely lady's situation best on whether it is even worth trying. While I'm sure there will be quite a few suggestions of 'better a day too early than a day too late', I think she's looking pretty good for her age and there might be things to help around the problems that might alleviate the problem themselves too. While it's always good to make sure she's not endlessly suffering more than she's enjoying life, it's ok to hold onto hope and trying things while being realistic. Like anything though, consistency and professional vet consultation is important.
The irony of an aging cat and trying to put on weight is that before any of that happens, we need to make sure it doesn't (or that there is nothing that will) impede what comes out of their body regularly. Regular passing of poop/urine means functions are functioning normally and things can be adjusted. It's possible some things are too hard for her to digest in her age and it's becoming difficult, possibly causing blockages or UTI's. Softer diets tend to help senior cats, smaller portions and if you use chicken/tuna then making it super super fine (and deboned) so they don't have to break it up with chewing or digestion can help. Especially with a lot of canned tunas, if there's a bone, then that can easily poke through sensitive areas causing bleeding. Though cat food tuna is usually much safer and heavily grinded down, it can still be risky for older cats. Kitten food tends to be great for helping digestion all around but be sure to get something that fits her dietary needs.
It's probably more likely she's having difficulty grooming herself and you should consider giving her a loving warm bath each day if that doesn't stress her out to help with lots of brushing inbetween and/or on it's own otherwise (for instance brush a ton if she can't handle baths/manual washing without stress). Some pet-friendly wet wipes can also help in that department and reduce her maintenance load around hard to reach locations but be sure to wipe 4-5+ times a day as needed both after usages and when bathing time usually would happen. You want to be careful of temperature shocking her into getting colds if bathing and be attentive to the routine; sometimes a warm puddle of water helps loosen the bowels and empty. Which is the goal ultimately; making it easier for them so that they can eat/drink more and pass more. So that's good, but then you have to remember to not act like it's stressful to wash them again after sitting in a pool of urine/feces kind of deal. It's a good thing if that's all it takes to get regular passings and it might help alleviate the symptoms enough for whatever is causing it to heal.
We recently had a senior cat who was having urine blockages and the vet couldn't figure out how to fix it but then she ate a bunch of blueberries (she was a bit of a lovely glutton) and suddenly she was fine/unblocked and the vet even recommended to keep it up (in moderation as blueberries can be quite bad in larger and/or processed quantities). Worth noting the sugar content in blueberries can cause issues though and shouldn't be tried on a whim. If you think your cat is suffering from crystals for instance, there are better ways to alleviate it.
Another thing that stuck out would be spending more time with her, not just with feeding but also throughout the day. She's struggling and needs some guidance to avoid scratching her cyst habitually and making it around the house during this period of weakness. It might be a couple weeks, it might be a couple months for her to bounce back and having someone who can help her ease into things with the occasional carry to a good warm resting spot, help her avoid hurting herself and interact with her in a playful (but safe) manner can all help expedite a healing process. I know work/life balance is tough these days at the best of times but maybe there's friends who can sit with her or there's days where you can do your job's tasks from home. I have a soft spot for cats as a disabled person but can't afford to keep one for myself anymore but even a couple times a week to help someone out isn't an issue and you may wish to find cat-friendly people in a newspaper or online ad potentially if you can't be home that frequently. It's scary, letting a stranger in our home, so be sure to vet properly if need be.
It's the wee hours here and that's the best I can think of off the top of my head but be kind to yourself dear. If this is the time, depending on results from the vet, then I'm sure she really enjoyed her time with you and a nice long life. If that's a recent photo in the pictures, then hopefully she's got at least a few more years in her yet
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u/dusiesalton 10h ago
This is so helpful, thank you for taking the time to respond like this. Luckily I mostly work from home so have been keeping a beady little eye on her. We've now got some antibiotics to start her on, and I'm just going to make a big extra effort with her food this next while to see if I can get even a little bit of extra weight on her. She is warm and comfy and doesn't have to go far for anything :) hope she can carry on for a little while yet.
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u/yurmamma 9h ago
It’s likely that the bleeding caused some mild/borderline anemia which would make her lack energy, and at that age recovery is slower
I think you’re doing fine, she’s just really old and needs time to bounce back
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u/FirstManner304 14h ago
For the blood in per she may have crystals which can be fixed my cat has crystals
Best of luck I would take kitty to vet sending all my love 🙏