Elderly cat question

Hiya my name is Jo i am writing this due to concern about my rather elderly cat prowler he was born 11/10/97.I will give you a brief history on health he is polydactal always had a problem with a claw growing inwards,he had a accident in his youth year or two old involving back leg tendons were torn,never had UTIs,had a bad ear mite infection a few years ago ear left deformed,a year or two ago he was throwing up allot i changed to a grain free diet that seemed to fix the problem and in recent months i have noticed drooling 

So far he has appeared to be in good health i know i need to get his teeth checked out but due to unemployment i have not had the funds to do so i have contact  many local animal charity's none are offering any financial assistance .I am concerned now due to what happened today i found him curled up on the floor i picked him up gave him some attention stroked his fur and gave him a  belly rub.When i had finished i did what i always did stretch  out my arms lower them so he would understand i am going to put you down usually  he would jump out or when i let go he would land on his feet.For the first time in his life he collapsed on the floor when dropped this has never happened  i felt so guilty i went to pick him up and cuddle him he growled at me he's never done that either what could cause such a sudden change i am worried not sure what to do what is causing this and how to make him comfortable.I know he's very old and i should prepare for the worst but i find this sudden change rather a shock 

Hi, Jo. I am sorry this is happening to your senior kitty. There is no way for us to know here what has caused the change in your cat.
Do you have a vet who would see your cat and give you a payment plan. Other than that, I don't know what to tell you could be wrong. Watch him and see if he shows any more signs of weakness and if so, maybe then you can come up with a plan. Keep us posted.

Is he eating, drinking and moving around normally (whatever is normal for him)? Was is just this one instance where he kind of landed wrong? It really could be so many things, and he should be seen by a vet. At 15 years old, it is very possible that he has some painful arthritis. Try not to rough handle him too much or pick him up and take note of other abnormal behavior.
 

GoHolistic said:

Is he eating, drinking and moving around normally (whatever is normal for him)? Was is just this one instance where he kind of landed wrong? It really could be so many things, and he should be seen by a vet. At 15 years old, it is very possible that he has some painful arthritis. Try not to rough handle him too much or pick him up and take note of other abnormal behavior.
 

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Hiya he's eating fine just movement i have been concerned about today well now i think about it he's has been very slow to climb the baby gates we have in between rooms so it could be arthritis  .But today was the first time he dropped so suddenly and seemed irritable  when held.I do need to take him to a vet i have been wanting to but due to the fact we have so many bills that need paying every month just about getting by another bill would really add there is only so many budget cuts i can make.I guess all i can do is make him comfortable i just find it hard to accept after so many years I've  had prowler since his birth my family owned his mother.After so many years they are family i already lost one a few years ago a sappy boy named Chester i still miss the way he wouldnt stop talking that was hard enough still miss him.I will be more careful with prowler maybe pamper him a bit more.

Glad to hear Prowler is eating okay. I would baby him and avoid him jumping up or down from high places. I would think that climbing the baby gates would not be a good thing, as he could fall, if he hasn't already. Consider getting pet steps so that he can easily get up on beds and sofas.

Can you start setting aside a little money each month for your "cat fund"? If this should turn into something more serious, the poor guy may need to see a vet. ANY pain - whether it's arthritis, a torn muscle, a gastrointestinal issue, a heart condition, etc. - can cause a cat to move slowly and not want to be picked up.
 

I have a 16 year old cat. Many years ago, when he started getting up on age, around 7 years old, I didn't want him jumping up and down from the bed since he sleeps on the bedspread to the left of me on the bed. I figured his joints would eventually suffer in the long run from that height.

I knew arthritis might creep into his life at some point so I wanted to prolong that happening as long as possible. To keep him from jumping up and down from a 30" high bed, many years ago I got him some help. The "help" is cat stairs which he's used since I got it for him. The one I have is a 6 step stairs. He took to it like a duck takes to water. There is a picture of it in the link below. You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

http://www.luckycatfurniture.com/lipetstsmdo.html

My old senior constant cat companion can still jump and can run like the wind. I think his "cat stairs" has so far warded of the onset of arthritis. He's happy and so am I.

BTW, since he likes to be with me when I'm at my computer, he sleeps and/or cat naps between me and my computer monitor. Again, some years back I went to Petsmart and got him a nice orthopedic foam bed manufactured by Top Paw which measures 27"x19" and it's 4" thick so he can be near me all the time when I'm on my computer and his body doesn't suffer from the hard surface of my computer table. The bed is like the one in the link below, but it's smaller in size than the one shown in the link.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=18402386&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

I wanted him to live a long and happy life and I planned ahead for him many years ago if he did live as long as I had hoped and he has.

When our last cat became a senior and his heart problem advanced, we used chairs, hassocks and sturdy snack tables to make "stairs" to the elevated places he liked, for instance window sills and beds. Sometimes you can find suitable stuff at second-hand stores or garage sales.

Yes, you can make pretty much anything suffice as "stairs".  We used boxes and put books in them so they wouldn't move when jumped on.  Then I put folded towels on top, and wrapped the entire thing with fabric, so they looked nice, yet were soft. 

Cats with arthritis like heat, so if you can figure out something where he can warmed towel or blankie from the dryer or something, or even be able to lay under a lamp, that would be great.  (the heat from the bulb usually draws the cats to the warm spot)

Also, oddly enough, cats benefit from glucosomine/condroitin, just like humans.  Also Collagen.  And did you know that chicken feet are full of Collagen?  If you live anywhere near a chinese market, you can probably get some chicken feet for very inexpensive, then grind them up and mix them into his food.  That could help immensely

And lastly, not sure where you're located, but possibly there may be something in this thread that will help you find low cost vet care:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/155462/cant-afford-a-vet-please-read

mrsgreenjeens said:

Yes, you can make pretty much anything suffice as "stairs".  We used boxes and put books in them so they wouldn't move when jumped on.  Then I put folded towels on top, and wrapped the entire thing with fabric, so they looked nice, yet were soft. 

Cats with arthritis like heat, so if you can figure out something where he can warmed towel or blankie from the dryer or something, or even be able to lay under a lamp, that would be great.  (the heat from the bulb usually draws the cats to the warm spot)

Also, oddly enough, cats benefit from glucosomine/condroitin, just like humans.  Also Collagen.  And did you know that chicken feet are full of Collagen?  If you live anywhere near a chinese market, you can probably get some chicken feet for very inexpensive, then grind them up and mix them into his food.  That could help immensely

And lastly, not sure where you're located, but possibly there may be something in this thread that will help you find low cost vet care:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/155462/cant-afford-a-vet-please-read

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Hiya the baby gates are a hit and miss for prowler yes they are very hard for him to get over but they keep our two year old contained in one room to play in thus prolwer can have a peaceful place to snooze my daughter loves stroking and rubbing her face against prolwers coat but she dosent understand that hes old.I open the gates for him when i see him trying to climb i just need to work out a way of holding the gates open when they are not in use as they swing shut.

He enjoys to sleep on the sofa lucky for him we have a foot stool which is easy for him to climb on so he can climb on sofa via the foot stool.I wish i could let him in the bedroom i used to let him sleep on our bed.But our other cat is very naughty we keep laundry baskets in bedroom before they go in washing machine we don't have a utility  room,she prefers to use a laundry basket over her litter tray as long as we keep door shut she will go in litter tray.If we kept Prolwer in our bedroom at night he would wake us several times a night to be let out for either toilet or food not fair on him as we are heavy sleepers.

I do actually put money aside each month for cats but that goes on cat food as i bulk buy to save money, trying to find any spare cash at end of month is hard when you have bills to pay there usually  always something that needs fixing or replacing or my daughter has grown out her clothes i always buy second hand i use carboots sales or Ebay.

You have just reminded me of something my mother had many years ago you say something warm a radiator bed is a perfect idea keeps very warm when radiator on.Something else i will need to save for 

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_beds_baskets/heater_seats/137923

chicken feet thats interesting i am not sure as i have never given chicken feet to him when my mother was alive she would occasionally  give him plain meat to eat but i think if i gave him chicken feet he would look at me as if too say what the heck is this.He did that with most supermarket pet food when i used to feed him that to him he would protest he get annoyed if i move his bowl he will sit were his bowl is meant to be meowing even though i have shown him its moved. 

thank you =) 

Well, yes, most cats given a whole chicken foot wouldn't know what to do with it...even those who eat raw .  That's why I suggested you grind it up and sprinkle it in his food.

mrsgreenjeens said:

Well, yes, most cats given a whole chicken foot wouldn't know what to do with it...even those who eat raw

.  That's why I suggested you grind it up and sprinkle it in his food.

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lol there have been many times in his life i have tried to hide things in his food he always knows something is up giving him any pills is a utter nightmare thankyou for the tip though 

I've had elderly cats.  They have all liked having something to make getting up and down easier.  Footstools or chairs work good.

Also, on the warm place idea - my old Kevin just loved one of those little teepee/wigwam type fabric cat houses.  It heats up real nice once they are in it for awhile.  He also liked that he could just stick his head out, so nobody could come up on him by surprise.