My cat is sabotaging my health page 2

[Unicorn]

Cats have been found to have grief reactions after loss of a sibling/friend with whom they lived. As stated before, perhaps a trial of 'kitty prozac' may be in order. Also have your vet check for medical issues.

[Daemonized]

When pets get incontinent is the deal breaker for me. I can't live with the smell of a pet peeing and pooping where they're not meant to.

[JackieKessler]

Thanks, everyone.

When her sister died, I watched Officekitty carefully. Actually, she **flourished** once she was the solo cat in the place. I think it's added years to her life. Her kidney has been failing for...oh, six-plus years now. (I mentioned that she'll be turning 19 in a few weeks, right?)

The big thing I'm concerned about is whether she's in a lot of pain. It's difficult to tell, because cats cope, and they act well when humans are around/watching. She's very arthritic, and she's senile, and...well. The list goes on.

Daemonized, I hear you. I really do. It really bothers me when she has accidents. But I love her. She's been with me longer than I've been married to my loving husband. I love her, which is why I've been putting up with the accidents and demands and, well, everything.

And, if I'm to be perfectly honest, I do tell myself, "This is just temporary." And then I get sad.

[noodletoy]

my siamese lived to be 19. he got very creaky and mostly laid around his last few months. he would no longer climb the stairs.

he was 19, i wasn't going to spend money on meds or treatments, sorry.

his last few days, he did not want to be touched. that's when i knew the end was near. he stopped using the litterbox, but then stopped eating so it became almost moot.

he was awesome -- never destroyed anything, was not a drape or furniture shredder and very social. he ruled my dog, lol.

sigh. miss them both.

good luck.

[JackieKessler]

Thanks, noodletoy. Sounds like your Siamese was a delight, until the very end. I had a Siamese when I was a child -- he lived to be 18. While I'm all for applying a drop of pain med to my cat's food once every few days to help her with her arthritis, I won't do any invasive procedures or tests at this point. I want her to be comfortable and have a good quality of life.

[Gravyboat]

My cats are young, but I also have one that meows constantly at night and wakes me up whenever she wants attention (which is always). She also likes to body-slam the closet door and howl if she can't get in.

All I can suggest is to try and wear her out during the day (balls, strings, and laserpointers) so she sleeps at night. If I let my cats sleep all day, they run around like fucking ponies all night.

Also, if it gets really bad, earplugs.

[Crabbcakes]

I am a cat person. Not the kind who has way too many to care for so the house smells like piss, but a troop, nevertheless.

I completely understand. My first four I got in the first year of my marriage. Two years ago, my oldest feline went through the same thing. He yowled nightly and destroyed my bathroom, too. We had to put him in there because he got arthritic and slow, and we didn't want the younger ones to jump him while we were out. We put fresh, soft, cat-sized pet beds in there, a cool easy-access litter box, water, food snack, everything. By morning, it looked like a frat house party morning-after and the whole thing had to be washed and replaced. That got old quick.

But, you know, I had had that cat all my life and I wasn't going to ditch him because it got messy. What I did do, though, is keep in close touch with the vet. At 16, he was up there. And it became apparent that he wasn't going to make it several more years. When the time was right, we put him to sleep (because we couldn't hack waiting and watching for the cat version of the Grim Reaper after the vet said that he was a hurting puppy) and cried buckets.

I agree with others - please have the vet check. Just as a thought - perhaps you could make it a routine to have lap time before bed each evening? This helps my current old man, who is 18. He settles down for the night, and I get a huge warming of the heart schmoozing with him because I know he won't be here forever, either (sniff). I take turns with my daughters and husband so it isn't all me - but they love him like I do, too.

[Crabbcakes]

If I let my cats sleep all day, they run around like fucking ponies all night.

ROFL! Sounds like my crew when they all were young! We used to (past tense) have the kind of door handles that were handles, not knobs. My crew would stand on hind legs and open doors at will. Then they figured out how to body-slam folding doors... the "new cat initiation" at our house was always finding the newbie stuck in some closet because the older ones had opened the folding doors by pushing in the middle where the two doors meet and when the new one then entered, being stupidly curious and all, the older ones would run out and body slam the bend of both doors, which would snap them shut.

My advice is to enjoy playing with them now. I miss those days. They will eventually settle down - I promise. Your crew sounds just like I like 'em - rambunctious!

[jammies]

I have a good friend who had the same experience - eventually she had to euthanize her cat. Dementia is not that uncommon in older cats and it does seem to cause them a great deal of distress.

Sometimes I think it is a blessing that they become so damned annoying when they get old - it makes it a bit easier is some ways to let them go. The last dog I had to put down was an insane amount of work to take care of in his last year. His quality of life (and mine!) just got lower and lower until it was clear to me that it was time to say goodbye.

Good luck - I hope the vet can provide some answers.

[Gravyboat]

ROFL! Sounds like my crew when they all were young! We used to (past tense) have the kind of door handles that were handles, not knobs. My crew would stand on hind legs and open doors at will. Then they figured out how to body-slam folding doors... the "new cat initiation" at our house was always finding the newbie stuck in some closet because the older ones had opened the folding doors by pushing in the middle where the two doors meet and when the new one then entered, being stupidly curious and all, the older ones would run out and body slam the bend of both doors, which would snap them shut.

Haha! Oh, cats.