15 year old kitty
Hello, we have been traveling with our kitty in motorhome for most of her 15 years. The last 6 years have been full-time. She has begun to start walking stiffly ( my hubby calls it the mummy walk) she...
Forum Discussion
Free Range Human wrote:
Hi,
So sorry to hear about all this!
Here are my thoughts based on what you have presented here:
(1) Generally cats get urinary tract infections from dry foods. Even though she's old and may resist, I, personally, would put her on a low/no-grain canned food.
(2) She's likely arthritic. This may actually be causing more issues than you think. Please try this product as soon as you can. It made a HUGE difference for us with our 15 year old.
This pain she is in not only would cause the stiffness in walking, but may be the cause of urinating outside the box. Think about it: if every movement caused you pain, you'd move as little as possible, right? So this means: no grooming, no making the effort to get to the litter box.
(3) I would also get a probiotic supplement for cats or cats/dogs (should be available at a large health food store or well-stocked pet store--their intestinal flora is not the same as a human's, so human probiotics aren't a good choice for them). ANY time any creature gets treated with antibiotics, a round of probiotic supplementation should immediately follow, as antibiotics kills all the beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract.
(4) So here's the last thought: the behavior you describe sounds like the picture of all old cats in decline. They don't groom as often, if at all; they may not use the litter box as well as they did before; they have trouble moving around. So in truth, it may be close to the end. Or it may not be. But you won't know for sure until you try the Cosequin.
If you don't see any change with the Cosequin within about 3 weeks (given twice a day in her food), then you might decide it's time to let her go.
In the meantime, it would be kind to her to keep her warm. Do you have a heating pad she can sleep on?
All of this is interesting but leaves out one very important component. Take your cat to a veterinarian for a complete evaluation. If you were that sick, would you just take advice from an internet forum? Dr. Doug's advice above is the best.
