sick, old kitty :(

My oldest cat is about 20 years old. It feels like she's been around forever and she's just trying to keep on hanging on. Although, she's gotten to be really picky with her food. She will no longer eat dry cat food. She will only eat the wet cat food that is either "pate" or "classic." She also only weighs about 3 lbs, give or take some ounces. We've tried taking her to the vet, but they claim that she is perfectly healthy, just underweight. Any suggestions as a way to get her to gain weight?

 

Twenty years is a long time for a cat. The only thing I can think of is to feed her whatever she can eat and keep her comfortable. Whatever you do, never ever consider the possibility of putting her to sleep. Be with her to the end. You will meet her again in heaven.

 

My question is, if she is pain, then what should I do?

 

I would just feed her what she can eat. Why do you think she might be in pain? If the vet says she is healthy then why would she be in pain? If she was actually in pain then I would put her to sleep it's better than letting her suffer.

 

My cats use to be picky until i switched them to the Buffalo brand of cat food. You are advised to start out by mixing half of the new cat food to half of the normal brand always being used. My cats now eat good, and are maintaining good weight. My one cat is 14 years old, and has diabetes. I knew I had to find a high quality food once I found out. Some of the main brand food have by products in them. This one doesn't I think this new cat food has help my cat that has diabetes level out his blood sugar. The box has information on it about how to help cats accept this new brand of cat food. It's advised to heat the food up for a few seconds to bring out the natural oils in this product. I tried this suggestion and it worked, and now all my cats are excited when they see their food coming.

 

The reason I'm worried that she's in pain is because it seems like she is throwing up every day. Not just normal cat throwing up either. It's always liquid and whenever she does it, it sounds like it's really painful.

 

The answer is very simple. Supposing your very dear friend is very old and in pain. What do you do? Do you put your very dear friend to sleep to ease his pain?

 

I don't know what to do because keeping her alive seems so selfish. And it would just make her suffer for longer. I know that if I were dying and I were in a lot of pain, I would either want medications so that I could stay around longer without the pain, or I would want to be put out of my misery. I hate that cats can't talk and just tell you straight out what they want.

 

If she is throwing up a lot then you should make sure that your kitty is getting water because sick kitties get dehydrated very easily. I am so sorry that your cat is sick right now. My heart goes out to your and your cat.

 

My cat definitely gets all the water she needs. Although, lately they've been going for the toilet water, which I personally think is gross, but cats will be cats. I just don't understand why she is throwing up and if it's ever going to stop. It's been going on for quite a long time.

 

If she is only eating soft food it is probably down to her teeth and maybe her sense of smell has deteriorated so perhaps try some tuna. Scrambled egg is good too and perhaps some other white fish poached in milk? My cats love rice pudding too

 

All of those are great suggestions. She can't have milk though. She loves milk, but she seems like she's lactose intolerant. I didn't know that cats could have scrambled eggs. I know that one of my cats likes cheese a lot.

 

So when you took her to the vet and they said she was perfectly healthy, what'd they have to say about the puking? Did they have a reason or explanation for it?

And changing brands of cat food might help, or feeding her more frequently instead of just once or twice a day.

 

I'm not sure if the vet said anything about the vomiting. My mom was the one that took her into the vet. We do feed her frequently. She will come into the kitchen and start yowling away for some of the wet can food and we always give it to her. She seems to be a pretty picky eater though. After eating a little bit, she'll turn and just stare at me as if she's expecting me to open a new can even though she didn't even eat a quarter of the first one.

 

You could try cat milk which doesn't have the lactose in it and is tolerated by their systems. Scrambled egg is a great source of protein, i literally just whisk up an egg or two and stir it in the frying pan with a tiny drop of oil until it's scrambled, then let it cool a little. My cats go crazy for it.

You could try sardines too, the ones in spring water would probably be best.

 

Cats naturally stop eating toward the end of their lives . If you can't get her to eat, then it just might be nature taking over (20 is old for a cat). Once a cat stops eating for too long, his or her liver will begin to fail, which is miserable. I'm sorry, I know how hard it is - I just had to put my cat down a few months ago, and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I didn't want him to suffer. If you suspect she's in pain, euthanasia is the kindest thing. Hugs.