Nearing the end

TomTom

Our cat at home is about 17years old and has always been very healthy. apart from a bit of old age slowing her down over the last year.

The thing is in the last week she has gone partially blind. Her hearing is almost gone (it has been going for a while). Now we have to touch food off her nose before she eats it. I think her sense of smell is going also. She has been living in doors for aprox the last year due to her age.

She is not in any pain but its horrible to see her going so badly so quick and its only a matter of time beofre other things start to give out.
We were wondering today weather it would be better to get her put down than have her detoriate slowly over the next few weeks.

Also what is the average age for cats and dogs? One of our dogs died just a couple of days past his 19th birthday and i figure this is pretty old. Unfortunatly me own dog got knocked down and killed at 10 years old.

Nala

Average age for cats: 14-18 years.

Average age for dogs: As a general rule, the smaller the dog, the longer it will live. Small dogs like Yorkies and Jack Russells usually live 15-18 years, whereas giant breeds like Irish Wolfhounds and Great Danes generally live 6-10 years, with medium dogs like Labradors and Collies falling somewhere in the middle (12-15 years). This is a general rule and there are exceptions (for example, the Cavalier King Charles, a toy breed, has an average lifespan of 10 years). Mixed-breed dogs are reputed to live longer, as are neutered dogs.

Alun

17 is a pretty good age for a cat, although if they're still healthy enough at this age, and haven't succombed to kidney failure which is the main killer of older cats, they can go on to 21 or beyond.

Why don't you just take her to the vets, and see what they have to say?

TomTom

The Cat died last night in her basket.

Brought her to the vet 2 weeks ago and her kidneys and most vitals were starting to fail.

She died a peacefull death in her basket, she was purring up until an hour before she went.

hadook

Poor kitty.

17 is a good age and it sounds like she had a great life.

It's heartbreaking when you lose a pet that has been a part of your life for so long.

OfflerCrocGod

God, that's horrible, at least she wan't in pain. Sorry to hear the bad news TomTom, condolences.

Nala

Condolences from me too. At least she had a peaceful death.

Caked Karen

sorry tomtom

Just went through the same thing a couple of weeks ago tom tom. its heartbreaking but at least you know that she didnt suffer. i was and am still in bits about my cat. she was 18 when she died. we got her when i was 4 and it is wo weird around the house with her. but i think when they get to that age its a good sign to show just how much love they got all their life. without that they wont last long at all. thats just my opinion but my "little one" was practically human and she knew me alot more than i thought. sounds silly but ....just my opinion.

it gets easier.hard to say. unfortunatly i dont have a choice as i have a physco 1 year old tabby running round the house aswell!!!!!

morgana

Condolences. A lot of people don't realise how heartbreaking the loss of a beloved animal can be. I lost my first cat about 5 years ago an, although I now have felines around the house again, it took a long time to get over his loss. And he's still with me, in myt heart.
Yuk, I'm ususally not that sentimental at all, but this is different.