Thoughts on poor old boy!

Hi there

I thought I'd post as you all seem to talk a lot of sense and understand the dilemmas that we cat lovers (slaves!) face.

Our old boy, Freddy, who will (hopefully!) be 20 in November, has been in great health all his life.  On Sunday last when we got home he wasn't in the house or garden.  This NEVER happens.  He has never been a wanderer and, although enjoys the garden, is rarely in it for more than 5 minutes before he goes back in the house to his favourite place on a beanbag by our bed.  He spends at least 20 hours a day asleep and has always been a light eater. Back to the story!  After searching throughout I went to the road and heard a neighbour asking people if they new of anyone with a black cat.  It turned out he had wandered into their conservatory where their two greyhounds were not impressed and had chased him out, causing him to fall off a small garden wall.  He then could not walk properly and was very distressed and that is luckily when we were reunited.  Why he was over there we do not know - they had never seen him before and other neighbours have said they have never seen him.  

I rang the vet who got us to check his breathing etc. but said that if it was purely a broken bone the best thing would to bring him in in the morning (it was fairly late at this point) and see if he was calmer in the morning.  We all passed a fairly sleepless night and I took him in in the morning expecting the worst.  The vet said that he was fine, no bones broken, and had probably jarred himself falling off the wall as he is so old and has so little muscle mass.  He thought his general poor state was down to shock.  He gave him an anti inflammatory painkilling injection and prescribed more and I took him home.

He has been very slowly and gradually getting better, will now eat a tiny bit and drinks quite a lot.  I take him downstairs and make him walk back up again to use his legs.  He only wants to be in the one place, on his beanbag, and always heads back there.  He is weeing in his tray (where we carry him) or in the night he goes on a waterproof sheet we have put under him.   For his one poo he has made it to the shower so obviously has some awareness that he wouldn't make it downstairs without help but also that he shouldn't do it where he is.  His walking is very unbalanced and he keels over to one side.  One leg is particularly odd.  I can't help wondering if he has had a stroke, perhaps with the shock of meeting the dogs or falling.  

We are spoiling him rotton with love, attention and treats but the dilemma is what to do next.  

The slightly tricky bit is that we are due to go on holiday for 2 weeks next wednesday.  Neither my husband or myself want to leave him but this holiday has cost a lot of money and we have two children so thinking one of us better go and take the kids and the other one better stay with the cat.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Aw, I'm so sorry for the situation. What a long, obviously wonderful life your boy has had with you. :heart2:

It does sound like it's possible he's had a stroke. Have you called the vet to discuss these additional symptoms? If not, I would.

Unfortunately, if it is a stroke, I don't think there's much that can be done, other than what you're already doing (and keeping him inside for now). One thing you can do is get more nutrition into him. If he's going to recover, that will surely help. Does he eat/like canned food? Or for a short while, chicken (plain, no other ingredients) babyfood? You can either swipe food with your finger into his mouth if he'll swallow it, you can try spoon feeding him, or you can assist feed him with a feeding syringe, like this:
He really needs at least 1/2 his normal caloric intake to avoid developing problems with his liver. :heart2:

Many vibes he recovers so you can comfortably take the family vacation together.

While at the Vet, did they get a blood sample.  It's suspicious that he's drinking a lot of water.  At his age, he could have other issues going on, and that could be part of his problem.  It's possible his potassium is low, which can cause balance problems. Does he hang his head low?  That's a sign too. 

In the  meantime, I would get him a 2nd litter box upstairs next to his beanbag, for his dignity, so he doesn't have to go potty on the waterproof sheet or in the shower.  And I would definitely get more food into him.  The higher caloric and fat at this point, the better.

Thanks for your replies.

Since I posted I have rung the vet again.  He says he's pretty sure that it wasn't a stroke because Fred is not holding his head to one side or having flickering pupils.  He reckons that perhaps his incident last week has 'brought on' other issues to do with his age.  When I mentioned the water drinking he said 'oh dear'.  Basically he said see how he goes on but he wants to see him Monday and we need to see if his health is really deteriorating and if he is suffering.  The main things to focus on now are keeping him moving and getting food into him, as you have both said.

Saying all this, this evening he has been down on our laps watching TV, which is the first time since last week.  Plus I took him into the garden and he showed a little interest.  He's certainly my courageous old boy, that's for sure!

Hello fellow slave. I've just seen your post. Really sorry to hear Freddy's suddenly been in the wars and hope he makes a recovery. Reason I thought I'd comment is I too had a pensioner cat - sadly lost nearly 3 years ago shortly before she would have turned 22. 

Unlike Freddy my Pal had been showing her age for a few years, she had quite bad arthritis plus she was blind due to retinal damage from un-diagnosed high blood pressure. One afternoon I saw her sitting on the floor looking really pathetic and then noticed her back legs were in a strange position. It quickly became evident she couldn't stand up properly, and like Freddy was going over to one side and one of her legs looked particularly odd. Having a reasonable amount of medical knowledge I figured there weren't any obvious signs of neurological problems (eyes were unchanged, head level,  even strength in all her limbs, and responding normally to me) but she couldn't support herself on her hind legs for some reason. I managed to get her to the vet quickly and, like Freddy, they confirmed no stroke and didn't think there was any neurological cause such as brain tumour either. They thought maybe it could be a bony spur in her spine causing acute problems and gave her an anti inflammatory injection then let her come home with me for observation.  She did pick up over the next few days but because of her  general arthritis and blindness  she couldn't cope with the residual effect on her mobility, it  was just too much for her to cope with. I think if she had been in slightly better health she would have had a good few more months of pampering and made it to 22.

Keep positive and hope for the best. As the others have said, it may be something to do with potassium levels or similar, or it could be that whatever happened outside that day has left him with residual pain, pulled something out of joint a bit or chipped a bit of bone and trapped a nerve causing short term problems for him. Like my little cat he may improve by the time you go back to your vet. I am hoping for you all that Freddy picks up and manages to celebrate his big birthday. Keep up that pampering.  Thinking of you. 

Hi there

MServant - your description of your cat sounds just the same as Freddy.  I think he's slightly better again this morning.  He toddled off for a wee in the shower (much to my husband's delight!!) so I'm off to get him a litter train for the upstairs shower room.  I think it's a good sign that he prefers not to wee where he sleeps and, as has been said, this will give him some dignity.  He had a handful of cat treats when he woke up but no proper food.  Lots of water though and hubby said he was up in the night several times for water (Hubby is watching him half the night I think!).

So it is following the same pattern as yours and we will have to see where it leads us.  He is much loved and knows it I believe, so hopefully is fairly happy.

I'm so pleased he's picking up. Pal wasn't drinking more water than usual but I guess it may or may not be related to the balance and mobility stuff. As your vet said, one event can trigger other things off, especially with our elderly companions. 

Have you tried the finger or spoon feeding like LDG suggested? My other pensioner would lick up tiny bits of high calorie pate cat food like that when she was really sick.

I hope the rest of the weekend goes well and will be thinking of you on Monday for that vet visit. 

I would definitely try to see if he'll eat some baby food.  Just make sure it has no onions or garlic.  Stage 1 probably.  Meat only (no need for vegies).  Cats usually love it!  Or you could even try poaching some chicken (don't use any herbs or spices or anything) and see if he'll eat any of that.  Just don't give him any of the cooked bones if you are using "bone-in" chicken. 

Thanks everyone for your help, support and advice. It was really helpful when I needed it most.

Unfortunately Freddy went downhill from about Friday and stopped eating anything at all.  The only thing I could get into him was 'kitimilk' which he would lap off a spoon.  He was still staggering to the shower room for a pee (new litter tray to stop him going in the shower!) and having lots of water.  However  he was fading away before our eyes.  I took him to the vet this morning and he checked him over and said his kidneys were failing and he had to put him to sleep.  To be honest it was not a surprise.  We gave him a lovely last evening on the sofa with us and then I lay on the floor next to his bean bag until he went to sleep.  He kept trying to cuddle up to me on the floor but it was just too painful for him so he went back to his beanbag.  He still purred when I stroked him. 

I think he was very ready to go, it only took about half a second and I had my hands on him stroking him.

My children (and us of course!) are distraught and we have had a funeral in the garden this evening.

Although we are grieving I am thankful that he had such a long, healthy and happy life and I believe he knew how loved he was. and still is.

Thanks again for the support which helped me enormously.

Jo

I am so sorry you had such a similar parting to me and my Pal. Your evening together with Freddy must be very precious.  Thinking of you. 

I'm so sorry, but I'm glad that his passing was peaceful and in a place filled with love.

:heart2: He had a wonderful long life, clearly filled love. I'm so glad you had a lovely last evening, and his crossing was quick, painless, and peaceful. :heart2: My heart goes out to you and your family during this time of grief.

I'd like to express my sympathies on behalf of the TCS team. We have a section called Crossing The Bridge where you can tell us more about Freddy and his life when you feel up to it, and people can give their condolences. A link to that thread can be added here, and this thread closed.

It's so difficult to lose a longtime companion, even when you're prepared for the worst and can make the crossing as peaceful as possible. RIP, Freddy.

I'm so sorry to read this

Oh my.......Jo, I am so saddened to hear of Freddy's passing.

I had read your post last week and wanted to leave a few thoughts. I feel worse than horrible now, that I didn't.

I've also sent along a message to you - mentioning it now, because I don't know which notifications, if any, you've set up on the forum

Hoping to hear from you.

Take care of yourselves now.......otherwise, Freddy will be feeling guilty.

Dear Jo, I'm so very sorry for your loss. Please take comfort in Freddy's wonderfully long and full life and the joy you gave him.

Sorry for your loss. Both my wife and I have lost an old cat companion so we can relate. Our first cat was a lynx point siamese female. Her name was Woodstock. She was with us for 19 years 6 months and 6 days before we had her put to sleep.

Woodstock chose my wife as her favorite person. My wife really took it hard when Woodstock passed because we got Woodstock as a kitten. When Woodstock passed, my wife said she never wanted another cat in the house because every cat she saw after Woodstock's passing, seeing another cat just made my wife very sad.

Four years later, a one year old stray male emaciated looking totally tail less manx cat showed up at our back door. Very friendly cat. Him and I hit it off very well right from the start. At first, my wife didn't want to keep him and told me to find a home for him and if I couldn't, take him to the animal shelter. I secretly wanted to keep him. I tried to find him a home. But, after two weeks of trying, I quit looking for a home for him. By then, I had grown attached to him. I told my wife if she didn't want him around, then she was going to be the one to take him to the animal shelter because I told her I wasn't going to do that.

When it comes to cats, my wife is a big softy. I knew my wife wouldn't and couldn't take him to the shelter so she relented and allowed him to stay. That day we named him Tiger since he is a brown colored tabby striped cat and he became an inside cat. Tiger chose me as his favorite. Tiger has always been very friendly to my wife. He always takes the time to rub on her legs, head butt her and meow to her. He sits in her lap too, but wherever I go in the house, Tiger always follows me. Right now as I type this, he is lying down on his big 29"x24"x4" foam orthopedic bed and this bed is on the computer table between me and the computer monitor.

Tiger just turned 16 years old this past June. I dread the day when Tiger passes and hope that day for me is still a long ways off. My wife told me she is glad I stood my ground with her and didn't take him to the shelter. Because of all the love Tiger has always shown to both of us all these past years, my wife said taking Tiger to the shelter back then would have been a serious mistake on her part of monumental proportions.

Again, both my wife and I send our condolences to you and your family on losing your beloved Freddy.