My cat has dementia...what to do?

jungle_jane

Hi guys

Thought I would update you all on my cat. He carried on yowling for most of the summer. In September or so I bought a gorgeous Habitat furry throw (I'd been saving pennies for AGES for it) for my sofa and he took one look at it immediately moved onto it, purring loudly as he snuggled deeply into it day and night. Immediately the yowling stopped - a comfort blanket perhaps? He just loves it - you can see him wriggling into it blissfully...I didn't have the heart to tell him off.

Sadly he's had a major system shutdown this week and I think that Monday is going to be the day we say goodbye - his legs are giving in, he's not eating and he keeps falling over. He was in the vets for 2 nights on a drip and although he's now come home I think that it's not for very long...so very very sad for us

scaredy_cat

aww... it's a hard decision to make, i tried to gear myself up for it for about a year with my old girl, and when it came to it, i knew what i had to do, but it was heartbreaking!

you made his last few months more comfy for him, and he'll always be with you in your heart!

Llamedos1

Lots of cuddles needed to reassure your baby. Hope he's ok.

izzywizzy66

i too am in the same position floyde is 22 i think blind been deaf for years falls over a bit but snuggles for cuddles and eats well i know time is drawing near but i am struggling to let him go and so want him to just fall asleep with us near its hard loving them

Crocswearer

Hugs and understanding to anyone needing to "make the decision".

An update on my poor old dear: since my last update in July, I have "made the decision" at least twice, and taken her to the vet as she has been very poorly. She is still with us!

The second time I "made the decision" she had had a stroke and was very poorly indeed; couldn't walk without falling over, couldn't jump off her usual spot on the sofa without falling over, couldn't climb the stairs. I didn't think I'd be bringing her home again, but the vet said even elderly cats can recover from a stroke really quickly. And indeed she did, within a couple of days.

She's had another stroke since then, but recovered from that before we even got to the vet.

I'm pleased that we haven't had to PTS, but the ups and downs of decision making and then bringing her home are exhausting. I wish she would drift away peacefully while asleep, but feel guilty for thinking along those lines.

She seems reasonably happy - but still yowls, still toilets in the wrong place occasionally, and still seems confused.

jungle_jane

Decision time came for us today - we had the old fella PTS this morning after a month of sharply declining health. His kidneys started failing and we had to accept that he wasn't getting better and he wasn't enjoying his life anymore. I could see it in his eyes, poor old thing.

We're absolutely gutted but there is also a wave of relief that it's over - it's not nice to watch your furry buddy deteriorate and not be able to fix it.
Looking back, i think we did it at the right time - not too soon but most importantly not a day too late.

Sending good vibes for 2013 out to all you fellow furball owners faced with a similar choice:(

sophieschoice

I'm so sorry.

jungle_jane

Thanks sophieschoice - i feel so forlorn and lost. I've had him for 20 years - can't quite believe he's gone:(

Scrapaholic

Aah, how sad , it's an awful feeling isn't it ? Hope it's some comfort to know you gave him a good life . Best wishes .