I am not sure which section this post belongs in. I have a senior cat, Snowball, who is 16. She is almost blind and the vet believes she has had several small strokes. She sometimes walks in circles and goes in for a steroid shot every few weeks, which seems to help. She is mobile and vocal when hungry.
Here is her history: We have had Snowball since she was a kitten. She never really acclimated to our household or bonded strongly with humans. We had at the time a very active household with multiple cats (we're down to 3 now), dogs and young children. Thinking back, I think I probably should have tried to rehome her to a quieter household, but I didn't, and it's too late now. As a result, Snowball has always spent most of her time in our basement. I have never been comfortable with this, as our basement is unfinished and not real nice, but I finally accepted it as her choice.
Anyhow, now given her health problems and her age, we have become extremely uncomfortable with Snowball more or less living in the basement. We do get water when it rains a lot and now that she is blind, she can't avoid walking in it and also it is cold down there. So, we have confined her with a baby gate to a warm room upstairs. She has her food, water and bed and litter box. However, Snowball seems unhappy. I think she misses the other cats, who cannot get in there. This morning I took her out to feed her her breakfast and let her go and after eating, she high tailed it to the basement. Are we being cruel to insist she stay upstairs after all these years? Seems like what might be best for her physically may not be best emotionally. We just want her last days to be quality. Any opinions would be welcome. Thank you.
Here is her history: We have had Snowball since she was a kitten. She never really acclimated to our household or bonded strongly with humans. We had at the time a very active household with multiple cats (we're down to 3 now), dogs and young children. Thinking back, I think I probably should have tried to rehome her to a quieter household, but I didn't, and it's too late now. As a result, Snowball has always spent most of her time in our basement. I have never been comfortable with this, as our basement is unfinished and not real nice, but I finally accepted it as her choice.
Anyhow, now given her health problems and her age, we have become extremely uncomfortable with Snowball more or less living in the basement. We do get water when it rains a lot and now that she is blind, she can't avoid walking in it and also it is cold down there. So, we have confined her with a baby gate to a warm room upstairs. She has her food, water and bed and litter box. However, Snowball seems unhappy. I think she misses the other cats, who cannot get in there. This morning I took her out to feed her her breakfast and let her go and after eating, she high tailed it to the basement. Are we being cruel to insist she stay upstairs after all these years? Seems like what might be best for her physically may not be best emotionally. We just want her last days to be quality. Any opinions would be welcome. Thank you.
