hi. ok i got a question I need help with

ok so I've been a cat owner since I was 5. lol I remember the day we got my cat it was aug 20 1990. he was only 15 days old cause when he was 5 days old his mother died. and he was my uncle's and aunt's cats (his mother and the three kittens). anyhoo. he just turned 17 on aug 5th. and the past year he was losing weight he was the most like 25 lbs. he was a fat cat and his name is Garfield (you know the cartoon) lol anyhoo. he started to gain weight back by the soft food and different food. but I know he won't make it til his 18th bday i'm sad but then when i think about all he went thru in his 17 yrs life it's not that sad. i'll tell you all if you want to know. like the biggest bestest things. and the question is(why i'm posting it here) on thurs I seen him laying in his litter box he never did that before. so what does that mean???


-Connie

Just that he's probably a little disoriented now - cats (like people) can have a lot of mini- strokes that we don't 'see' happening, but which leave them slightly confused, and so they forget routines, and get places mixed up, and times, and we have to just go with it all and try to help them when they need it, and not introduce a lot of new things or noises or other animals to their space, but let them stay where they want to as long as it's not hurting them or anything else, and keep a close eye on them because they may end up in nooks and crannies where you don't expect them (keep basement doors closed, for instance, cuz they can hide behind furnaces and you can't get them out!

Yeah. He is just getting older... that's normal. Love him as always; he'll be fine.

Signs of problems in cats: Lack of grooming, lack of energy, change in behavior, hiding, aggression.

But sleeping in the litter box... Nah, that's just a senior kitty getting a little confused. He might enjoy a heated cat bed, though, or a window bed or one that mounts on a radiator. Cats of that age often have creaky joints and that feels really comfy to them.

yea his joints are like .. ugh what do you call it.. artarigious? or i dunno the spelling it's the thing where you can't move your joints. but yea.

another question. he was in my life since I was 5. I'm 22 now. so I like know him soo much. is it bad that i don't want to put him down like i know he's gonna go sometime and I just don't want to get him put down but let him go here at home cause I think he would want that , just to be with everyone here. like I think he would want that cause how much he loves everyone, is that bad?

he's been thru alot. living with tons of dogs. being bitten in the same ear 3 times by 3 different dogs, living it a dog and 21 other cats, other animals, and moving around alot. lol