Help with Cat

sham58107

Evening folks need some advice.
Have cat who is 17 yrs old at least she strayed in 17 yrs ago and stayed,not friendly at all.Anyway she was not eating for few days about 2 weeks ago took her to vet thought it was chest infection kept her for 4 days and she seemed better but before she came home she was x rayed and vet discovered something on lung probably tumor.any was got tablets and drops again was ok but last 3-4 days she is again off food,went to vet and she said not to annoy her (cat) she seems to be just lying there dying but is not in pain and very calm.
What should I do?

Sorry for length of post.

Pumpkinseeds

I'm sorry to hear about puss. It sounds like you need to see another vet. Your current vet should have given you full information on what they think is wrong with your cat and have made sure the cat isn't suffering in any way.

sham58107

No the vet is very good she knows what's wrong and says cat is not in pain I asked her on 2 different days, originally she did say there was not much hope,but as cat is not in pain do I just let nature take its course ( cat is very old) OH says get her put down but I think every day she in laying out in garden is another day for her.
Cat would not survive operation.She is not in pain just lying there.

Thanks for your reply

Pumpkinseeds

sham58107 wrote: »

No the vet is very good she knows what's wrong and says cat is not in pain I asked her on 2 different days, originally she did say there was not much hope,but as cat is not in pain do I just let nature take its course ( cat is very old) OH says get her put down but I think every day she in laying out in garden is another day for her.
Cat would not survive operation.She is not in pain just lying there.

Thanks for your reply

My only concern would be if she's not eating or drinking. In that case she'd go down hill very fast. We've 4 cats and we love them to bits. We've had to have cats pts over the years and it's heartbreaking. Cats are extremely good at hiding pain until it reaches crisis point, it's a survival thing. I'm sure you know what's best for your cat and will know when the time is right.

DBB

Jayney OP
Cats are not my specialist subject, but how do you know she's not in pain?
Immobility, seeming "calm", and not eating or drinking are symptoms of pain in cats, so be careful about reading too much into that: as Pumpkinseeds says, cats are brilliant at hiding pain and you have to be so, so careful to make sure that you don't mistake that current seemingly content behaviour with it actually being the exact opposite. In which case, giving her another day for the sake of giving her another day is not the right thing to do.
Having seen an elderly dog to the end with lung problems, I would not leave nature to take its course again... if there's a tumour in your cat's lungs, she's going to be finding it difficult to breathe and get enough oxygen, and that is seriously distressing for them in the end.

mymo

I have to agree with DBB, that seemingly calm cat could be not moving due to pain or the inability to get enough oxygen to move around.
Cats do hide pain well, I have seen my own cat with a broken hip, walk in the door and jump on the sofa with his leg hanging like nothing was wrong.
If the cat isn't eating or drinking that's another thing, lack of water alone can be deadly.

It's a terrible thing to have to decide when it's time, but it is something that you will have to do over and over again as a pet owner.

Ask your vet if they would call out, most will, you can sit in the garden and pet your cat while the vet gives the injection.

sham58107

Thanks for you help folks , I honestly did not think she was in pain and the vet said so as well.
I just wanted her to get a few more days, she died quite peacefully this morning on her favourite mat.
Again thanks for your help and comments.
:mad:

SimonTemplar

I'm really sorry to hear that

mymo

So sorry to hear that.

Sam Mac

So sorry to hear that OP, having had two cats die over the years, it can be awfully sad. Best of luck.

sham58107

Evening folks thanks for all help re above. A little happier now. But need a little help.
Was going to get rescue cat and had filled out all forms my wife was not too happy about house visit though is this really necessary.

Any way as you will see from my other posts I cycle a lot and out today in middle of nowhere when thunder started went into hedges to avoid hail and out popped lovely kitten not newborn but not too old. I left after rain after giving it energy bar (I know) it seemed starving.

Went about a mile as it had followed me for a bit I turned and went back and it popped out again.

Went to nearest houses on both sides about 1/2 mile either side and nobody had cats. It was obviously dropped out of car,but in fairness it seems in good health.

Any way long story shorter! I phoned wife and we took it home devoured milk and cat food and seems very friendly.

Was out back and went to toilet.

Anyway am taking to vet Tuesday what should I ask her to look for obviously age sex I know anything else and how do I get it litter trained.

Sorry for long post and thanks in advance.

mymo

Can you post a pic and we can guess the age?

No milk, just water, good quality kitten food.
Ask vet to vaccinate kitten, they will check it's eyes/ears/heart and lungs.
Cat tree or scratching post should probably be on the list, litter tray.
I shut small kittens in the bathroom with food water and litter tray at night or if out, it keeps them safe and is easy to clean.

Put kitten in litter tray and dig with it's paws, confine it at night and it will use tray.
I have two kittens that were feral, they haven't had one accident, used the tray from day one.

sham58107

I don't know how to post pics on here,I am sure vet will be able to age him/her, thanks for your very usefull advice, just why no milk? it did drink milk this evening but I have now checked and it is fast asleep in garage so I swapped milk for water.
Thanks again.

mymo

Most cats aren't able to digest cows milk, it can give some very bad upset stomach, which causes dehydration and can kill (in extreme cases).
I currently have 3adults and 2 kittens here, only one adult cat will even try to drink milk.
Cat milk has lots of sugar in it, not the best either, you can give a teaspoon of natural yogurt with food, it's good after stomach upset, they are fine with that.

Pumpkinseeds

Cats are generally very good at getting the hang of the litter tray, sometimes they don't like the feel of some of the different types of litter though. We use Cats best Oko plus that we buy from Zooplus. I prefer a larger litter tray, 1 that's at least 1 and a half times the length of the cat, again from zooplus for best variety, although I've heard maxizoo are good as well.

You can get lactose free milk in most supermarkets if you want to give milk. A home visit is very important as it gives the Rescue a full picture of the environment that a cat/kitten is going to. No reputable rescue will send an animal into a dangerous environment. It's also a good way of weeding out the dodgy people. There are a lot of people out there looking for pets to use as bait in dog fighting.

We could have rehomed our foster rescue kitten 7 times over if we hadn't given a crap what happened to her. But we waited until we found the perfect home for her, no way I'd have let her go to anyone who refused a home visit. A home check isn't judging what your home looks like, it's just to make sure that it's a safe home.

sham58107

Thanks for help folks the litter tray is big alright seems ok with it(last night anyway).
Yes never thought of it that way,just so easy to get on donedeal and other places.
Got appointment with vet this evening will let you know age/sex and anything else

sham58107

Vet says its a he and 4 months old healthy apart from lice in ears,did his shots and worm tablet and cleaned ears and gave me drops.

Thank a lot everybody.

Pumpkinseeds

Ahh, that's great news. Enjoy him, they're little balls of crazy at that age, like a clueless ever ready bunny.

taytobreath

sham58107 wrote: »

Vet says its a he and 4 months old healthy apart from lice in ears,did his shots and worm tablet and cleaned ears and gave me drops.

Thank a lot everybody.

don't forget to have him neutered, he will be reaching sexual maturity at around 6 month mark or even earlier.

This means behaviours such as marking his territory with his urine which stinks to the high heaven and fighting with other males and probably going missing for days on end or even forever when he goes off looking for females.
good luck with kitty

sham58107

Yes already organised with vet has to go back in 4 week for booster? and she says about 2-3 months for neuter.

Pumpkinseeds

sham58107 wrote: »

Yes already organised with vet has to go back in 4 week for booster? and she says about 2-3 months for neuter.

4 weeks is probably for the second part of the vaccinations, they're usually done a few weeks apart. Just don't let him out until he's been neutered, he wouldn't be able to defend himself until he's at least 6 months old anyway. Our little female foster kitten went on heat at 4 months old, thankfully our male cats are neutered so it wasn't a problem.

Seeing it in such a tiny baby was sickening, when they're that little you wouldn't think it was possible. Plus other Toms have been known to kill kittens. A lot more vets are doing spay/neutering at 4 months but for some reason some insist on sticking to not doing it in cats under 6 months.