Hello all.
This is not an emergency or do I see it as urgent but my cat is around 16-17 years old and in the last 6 months she will meow all night long even though we leave 2-3 lights on downstairs for her which we figure this is dementia but she also doesn't seem to want to walk up and down stairs anymore because she is going to the bathroom on the main level of the house and her litter box is in the basement (no we cannot move it because both my dogs will either eat her litter or pee all around if they can smell the cat pee) and her pee is very potent and it seems almost like she is spraying. She is also sleeping all the time now. Whether it be on the couch in the living room or on a patio chair outside. She does appear to have some hearing loss and is losing her coordination a bit because we keep her food up on a pedestal due to the dogs. And instead of jumping up she will just grab onto the top and pull her back end up behind her now. My brother keeps telling me that she needs to be put down and that I'm being cruel but to me she doesn't have enough bad days for me to justify doing this. I've had her since I was 9 years old and she has been with me through a lot and even though cats aren't my favourite pet and i will never own another one I don't want to just put her down.... I also am currently unemployed so I cannot afford a bunch of testing for my cat so please no vet suggestions I'm just looking for some answers about when I should think it's time for her. Thank you.
This is not an emergency or do I see it as urgent but my cat is around 16-17 years old and in the last 6 months she will meow all night long even though we leave 2-3 lights on downstairs for her which we figure this is dementia but she also doesn't seem to want to walk up and down stairs anymore because she is going to the bathroom on the main level of the house and her litter box is in the basement (no we cannot move it because both my dogs will either eat her litter or pee all around if they can smell the cat pee) and her pee is very potent and it seems almost like she is spraying. She is also sleeping all the time now. Whether it be on the couch in the living room or on a patio chair outside. She does appear to have some hearing loss and is losing her coordination a bit because we keep her food up on a pedestal due to the dogs. And instead of jumping up she will just grab onto the top and pull her back end up behind her now. My brother keeps telling me that she needs to be put down and that I'm being cruel but to me she doesn't have enough bad days for me to justify doing this. I've had her since I was 9 years old and she has been with me through a lot and even though cats aren't my favourite pet and i will never own another one I don't want to just put her down.... I also am currently unemployed so I cannot afford a bunch of testing for my cat so please no vet suggestions I'm just looking for some answers about when I should think it's time for her. Thank you.