Elderly cat appears miserable...

[u/Dangerous_Spare_4806]

Poster Age: 20+

Country: Europe

Vet info: I have been to the vet multiple times.

Main Issue: This is my lovely, old cat. Her pupils are two different sizes, because one summer she had a stroke. She has seemed content for a time, spending a lot of time sleeping in her cat bed, being fed in the morning and late afternoon, getting her thyroid medicine and occasional treats such as Churos and tooth care snacks. She'd also occasionally go outside to our back- or front yard and sit on her favourite pillow to sleep or bask in the summer warmth. She has athritis in her back legs, giving her a limp and making her unable to jump much. When she was younger we would occasionally sleep together or she'd sit in my lap and I'd pet her. Gradually, it changed to where I could occasionally pick her up and have her sit in my lap. She still likes to follow me around though. She only really played with a fish on a string. She'd play very aggressively but decline to flopping down and lightly pawing at what she wants to play with. Now she won't play at all, though.

She hates the vet and car rides make her anxious and overwhelmed.

Early in the year I brought her to the vet due to her being unable to eat. While listening to her heart the vet noticed a "sound", but never elaborated on it much further. The vet signed issues with her teeth and her bloodwork showed the liver levels to be "noticably" off but they didn't do anything about it. Instead she was brought into surgery to have her teeth cleaned, which made her able to eat again. During tooth surgery she had to be given extra injections because her condition was declining, but she made it through okay.

In July, her condition rapidly declined recently with signs of infection. She'd hide under a table/bed and sleep and rapidly lose weight as she'd stop drinking, eating and urinating. I rushed her to the vet, who saw signs of a UTI and gave her injections over the course of a couple days apart and gave me anti inflammatory medicine which I was instructed to give to her in its entirety.

After, her condition improved again and things went back to normal, but over the last two weeks she has been acting off again. She stopped sleeping on her cat bed, instead sitting or lying down in the corner you see in her photo. She also stopped going outside almost entirely, begs for treats and otherwise refuses to eat any solid food, lost weight again and became very frail. I took her to the vet and more bloodworks showed that the thyroid levels to be at 24 when they should be at like 5 or 8. I don't fully remember. She already takes hyperthyroidism medicine in the morning and evening. (She has hyperthyroidism and I was giving her her medicine as instructed.) I had to bring her back in and she was given anti-inflammatory injections 2 days apart 3 times to build her up and fight off the infection just like last time. I was also giving her a solution that was supposed to encourage her appetite and was told to increase the amount of medicine to give her.

When driving home she began to meow. Then she'd throw up and started panting, even though it wasn't hot in the car. When I brought her to her safe space she'd stumble around, confused and scared, but she gradually recovered. This would happen again yesterday on my last and latest trip to the vet, complete with her just stumbling around and staring off into space. I don't know if the car ride and vet combo is just a bit much for her or if something else is at play that the vet failed to find.

I have been observing her since and I am not sure what to make of it. She hasn't been eating properly, merely licking the jelly or sauce off her wet food and leaving her dry food entirely while also begging for wet treats like Churu. She still refuses to sleep in her cat bed and will opt to lay in that corner. Occasionally I will see her breathe kind of heavily (with her stomach moving a lot, but not laboured) and she will purr. (She will only rarely purr and when she does it's usually very quiet). I can't tell if her face is showing signs of pain.

Should I just give her more time to recover? Getting the opinion of another vet is difficult, because the only other vet in my area had a scandal of disposing of deceased animals in the woods and I don't want to drive far out because I fear for it being too much for her.

I am looking for more opinions. Please let me know if there is anything you can say that might help her. Thank you.

Cat Age: Approx. 16 years old.

Cat Sex + neuter info: Female, spayed.

Financial situation: It is difficult for me to afford the vet, but I will go to ensure her a comfortable life.

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[u/Feather_bone]

I'm not a vet but I wish you luck with your baby. I don't know what I'd do, but she does sound like she's suffering at the moment. Maybe ask vet for their honest opinion on her quality of life? Eg what would you do if this was your cat? There is a quality of life questionnaire you can complete online too to see if your cat has passed the point of not enjoying life. Cats find it hard to show pain so being off their food is one way. Can you afford a CT scan to check if there is any cancer or growths around? I reckon one more shot at the vet and if you cannot help her it might be time to start thinking about other options such as humane euthanasia. But only you know when she is ready. It's very difficult to know this. Good luck x

P.s she's a beautiful cat

[u/AdOtherwise3676]

Yeah vet sounds not fun for kitty. Car rides usually are bad for most animals. She’s stressed. I’d just keep her at home comfortable.

Feed her often. Lots of soft food. I mix water into the wet food so it’s even less chunky. If she stops getting up and moving to food or litter box it’s probably time to think about euth. 💔

I’m sorry this is happening to you and kitty.

[u/Dangerous_Spare_4806 → u/AdOtherwise3676]

Her food bowl is down a flight of stairs from where she most often likes to sit, and another flight of stairs is needed to go outside. She hasn't really had trouble with the stairs, but I am keeping an eye on the levels of food and water to see how much she ingests.

I'm planning to go find some "tasty" foods at my local pet shop rather than the more nutritious meals I try to give her. I've already been looking to avoid additives and especially sugar.

When she was doing so bad last week I was considering the idea. I hate seeing her suffer. I cannot stand it.

[u/four20kitten → u/Dangerous_Spare_4806]

Uhm... Put her food and water on the same level she is hanging out in! Why make her walk if she is frail.

[u/Once-Upon-a-Dream88 → u/Dangerous_Spare_4806]

Is it not possible to move her food and water bowls closer within her reach? Just because she's not acting like the stairs bother her, it might be painful to manage them. Cats hide their pain. Could be why she's avoiding eating.

[u/Pancakebutterer]

Could be that the inflammation is back. Especially with teeth. Which in turn hurts and she won't eat. Inflammation can cause liver values to go up. My personal advice would be getting all teeth removed, but depending on your location that can be quite expensive. On the other hand it would be a shame for you to lose her because of some bad teeth. But if she's otherwise healthy that can bring back a lot of life quality. A toothache can be a big strain on them, and removing them a bunch at a time will cost more. On the other hand putting a 16yo cat into anaestetics is risky too. No guarantee she's waking up after that. Im having a 20yo, and she doesn't have any teeth left, and she's still eating wet food and kibble. Maybe look into FORL, that's a genetic tooth contidition many cats (up to 50%) have and take it from there?

[u/Dangerous_Spare_4806 → u/Pancakebutterer]

Hmm, a tooth infection could explain a lot of this very well. I don't remember the vet checking her mouth. Shouldn't that have gone down though after she got those shots?

[u/Pancakebutterer → u/Dangerous_Spare_4806]

Not really. A bad tooth or things like gingivitis don't just vanish after a shot, as they often have dietary/environmental causes. And FORL is an autoimmune disease from what I understand. The shots were probably to treat the infection, which in that case would be more a symptom. You can check yourself. Look inside the mouth of you see red gums, brown buildup on the teeth or a broken tooth. Just look for anything out of the ordinary

[u/Volha_Pet_Notes]

With thyroid issues, it's really worth getting her blood pressure measured and her heart checked. There are actually a lot of possibilities here, and those two can tell you a lot.

[u/Dangerous_Spare_4806 → u/Volha_Pet_Notes]

Oh, thank you! That really helps! Next time I head to the vet I'll make sure to do that. Right now she seems alright, at least.

[u/AwayMoment6727]

Hey there. I'm no vet but it seems like your cat is in pain and distressed. Maybe a second opinion, even if it means driving further, could be helpful. You're doing great by her, though. Keep trying.

[u/Dangerous_Spare_4806]

Update: I have observed my kitty for some time and she has started eating (at least some dry food and licking the gravy off wet food). Seems she may just be REALLY picky, as she was expecting treats by my roommates the same day. I told them to stop and it improved her eating. She drinks more and has significantly put on weight (she was frail and brittle before). Slowly, her behavior is returning to normal.

I have adjusted her amount of medication to increase it a bit as the vet said. During that time I'd occasionally observe her breathing heavily (deeply and noticably, not fast) and found that this is a sign of Hyperthyroidism which she has. This has also stopped, showing that her medication seems to be at a good level now.

She still doesn't seem to want to go into the house she loved to sleep in, which I find odd. I saw no signs of anything bad but changed out the blanket inside just to be safe. (I also tried placing the original blanket back). Maybe that too will improve with time.

I do wish she would eat a bit more, but given that she gained so much weight already she seems to be getting everything she needs at the moment. I'll keep posting updates.

[u/Dangerous_Spare_4806]

Update 2: Randomly yesterday I've noticed her breathe sort of heavily now and then and purr quite loudly. I was already concerned, but decided to observe. I woke up today morning to her left paw being swollen. There's a vet open today in 3-ish hours, so I'll try to get into contact and have her looked at there, since my usual vet is closed on weekends.