My Old Cat

[lampard10]

Our cat, that we bought from England is 15 years old. He is losing weight and is just a bag of bones now. Just lately he has been wetting and pooing all over the furniture. This is the only thing that is wrong with him really, but although it's going to break our hearts when we lose him, should we let him die a natural death, or is it kinder to put cats to sleep when they reach such an age?

[BambinA]

common disease ..in old pet ..especially cat =Kidney Disease ..(coz cat eat hign protien food) ..

when 70% of kidneys re damanged .. animal will present signs as dehidrate ,weight lost, vomit,pale mucous memb,anorexia,lethagy

for diag ..

- sign

-history

-blood chemistry / hematology (found high level of BUN , Cr and sometime SGPT)

and u are a great owner.. u feed him for 15 yrs..good job ( the oldest cat i saw =20 yo)

i dont know .. u'd lets he goes by natural or put too sleep ..maybe u have to see how worse of katty's sign..

[udon]

Shady.....If your cat is in a lot of pain, I think I know what you would have to do.

My ex-wife had a dropleaf table with long hair (afghan hound) it had lukemia and similar symtoms to your cat.

We had to put it to sleep. No more pain.

[Firefan]

Have a similar issue with an 8 year old (indoor) cat. Bambina - is there any treatment if caught in resonable time? He still eats an membrans still look pinkish to me, but have gotten rather pickey and lost some weight too (but he was overweight before coming here). Cheers!

[sbk]

If the animal isn't in any pain I say let him be. My cat is now 15 (Thai born, raised here) and doing quite well. She is starting to look a little oldish and has a cataract over one eye but is otherwise doing quite well (oldest cat on the island, I am sure!).

We had a dog that had cancer and died in April--she was definitely uncomfortable (big lump under her right front leg) but in no serious pain, ate well (she liked her food ) until the day she died. She went and laid down under a bungalow and never got up. I was glad that she didn't have the stress of going to the vet (like most animals she hated it) as her last moments and that she could die peacefully and in her home.

[BambinA]

Have a similar issue with an 8 year old (indoor) cat. Bambina - is there any treatment if caught in resonable time? He still eats an membrans still look pinkish to me, but have gotten rather pickey and lost some weight too (but he was overweight before coming here). Cheers!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1 u'd pick the cat for do blood chemistry -hematology

if the cat has renal disease .. no specific TX , just support tive as

-Fluid Therapy

-antibiotic

-vitamin supplement

- if vomit > antacid + antiemetic

[sbk]

Here they are:

Lizzie (about 2 years ago)

And Donut (also about 2 years ago)

I guess I have either been here a long time and adopted some ideas of the locals but I just can't see putting an animal down because it is having problems. Yes, if the animal is in a lot of pain obviously but otherwise? I couldn't do it. I love my animals too much to expose them to the stress and fear their last moments would be by going to the vet to be put down.

[Sheryl]

Here they are:

Lizzie (about 2 years ago)

And Donut (also about 2 years ago)

I guess I have either been here a long time and adopted some ideas of the locals but I just can't see putting an animal down because it is having problems. Yes, if the animal is in a lot of pain obviously but otherwise? I couldn't do it. I love my animals too much to expose them to the stress and fear their last moments would be by going to the vet to be put down.

I'm with you. Often what is supposedly done to prevent the animal from suffering is actually done to ease the owner's discomfort at seeing the animal ill and aging.

Even if the animal is in pain, this can be managed with proper medication in the west, although don't know about over here.

Likewise, in the west cats with renal disease can be kept alive for years with peritoneal dialysis -- which the owner can learn to do at home. I have a friend who had 2 elderly cats with renal disease, she kept them going for years with dialysis and occasional IVs, all of which she learned to do herself with help from the vet. She even took the cats to Indonesia and back with her. And the cats seemed both comfortable and happy...and adjusted to the dialysis and IVs ect. Eventually they died peacefully at home with their loving owner.

Anyhow, I would consider putting my cat "to sleep" (talk about euphemisms) only if she was clearly in pain and I had exhausted all other options for relieving it... and even then I'd look for a vet willing to make a house call to spare her at least the upsetting trip. And I'd still agonioze over whether I had done the right thing. After all, we have no way of asking them what they want...

BambinA, which is the most advanmced animal hospital in Thailand in terms of equipment, drugs, services offered? Happily my little angel is healthy now but it's good to know for future reference....

[BambinA]

BambinA, which is the most advanmced animal hospital in Thailand in terms of equipment, drugs, services offered? Happily my little angel is healthy now but it's good to know for future reference....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gov. animal's hospital as u can find in University

-Chulalongkorn Uni

-Kasetsart Uni

Private animal's hospital (around Sukhumvit ..but bloody expensive.. sometime care more biz than ethic)

-Thonglor ani hosp.

-Chareonsuk ani hosp.

etc..

[sbk]

Bambi, do you know anything about vet hospitals in the South?

[BambinA]

Bambi, do you know anything about vet hospitals in the South?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

dear sbk , i dont know ..but i can check it for you tomorrow .. which province you want? (Surathani?)

[sbk]

Or anything in the area: I heard there was one in Surat Thani but have never found it myself. Nakhon wold be acceptable as well. Not that I need one now, but the info is always good to have (esp with 4 young dogs, and an old dog and cat!)

[lampard10]

I think we had a false alarm on our hands. He was just a bit under the weather. 'Bag of Bones' as I affactionately call Tim now has made a recovery. Maybe it was because before going to work on Sunday I burst into tears seeing him lying in the cupboard,not eating and seemingly on the way out. When I returned in the evening He was waiting for me as usual by the door,and when I fed the Dogs he mucked in trying to get his share before they ate it all. I had rung the vet for an appointment on monday morning, but no need now. Probably a case of cat flu. As I write this he's sitting beside me waiting for a titbit. Still looking out for him gets me away from work early evening now. Shall I tell the missus he's better?

[Pattaya_Fox]

I think we had a false alarm on our hands. He was just a bit under the weather. 'Bag of Bones' as I affactionately call Tim now has made a recovery. Maybe it was because before going to work on Sunday I burst into tears seeing him lying in the cupboard,not eating and seemingly on the way out. When I returned in the  evening He was waiting for me as usual by the door,and when I fed the Dogs he mucked in trying to get his share before they ate it all. I had rung the vet for an appointment on monday morning, but no need now. Probably a case of cat flu. As I write this he's sitting beside me waiting for a titbit. Still looking out for him gets me away from work early evening now. Shall I tell the missus he's better?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Glad to hear that he has come round mate

[udon]

I think we had a false alarm on our hands. He was just a bit under the weather. 'Bag of Bones' as I affactionately call Tim now has made a recovery. Maybe it was because before going to work on Sunday I burst into tears seeing him lying in the cupboard,not eating and seemingly on the way out. When I returned in the  evening He was waiting for me as usual by the door,and when I fed the Dogs he mucked in trying to get his share before they ate it all. I had rung the vet for an appointment on monday morning, but no need now. Probably a case of cat flu. As I write this he's sitting beside me waiting for a titbit. Still looking out for him gets me away from work early evening now. Shall I tell the missus he's better?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was a very close call for "Bagabones"

[sbk]

I'd still take him in, could be an underlying cause of trouble that you don't know about.

Our old cat (Lizzie) has been coughing, first day I thought 'hair ball' as she is an obssessive cleaner. But we are starting day 3 and I think I'll take her into the local clinic (PAC--Phangan Animal Care) to have them listen to her lungs. Old cats are prone to respiratory illnesses and kidney problems. Better safe than sorry.

[Sheryl]

I think we had a false alarm on our hands. He was just a bit under the weather. 'Bag of Bones' as I affactionately call Tim now has made a recovery. Maybe it was because before going to work on Sunday I burst into tears seeing him lying in the cupboard,not eating and seemingly on the way out. When I returned in the  evening He was waiting for me as usual by the door,and when I fed the Dogs he mucked in trying to get his share before they ate it all. I had rung the vet for an appointment on monday morning, but no need now. Probably a case of cat flu. As I write this he's sitting beside me waiting for a titbit. Still looking out for him gets me away from work early evening now. Shall I tell the missus he's better?

Given the cat's age, unless he has had a recent complete check up it's probably still a good idea to bring him in...assuming you have a vet with capacity to do basic lab tests (I find that some vets, especially in rural areas, do no more in the way of an examination than you or I could). Also - has be been dewormed recently? In this part of the world need to deworm routinely every three months. As I recall you recently brought him here from UK, in which case even if he had been dewormed there it would be a good idea to do it again here. He may have picked up a parasite his body wasn't used to. In which case deworming will do wonders.

[BambinA]

Or anything in the area: I heard there was one in Surat Thani but have never found it myself. Nakhon wold be acceptable as well. Not that I need one now, but the info is always good to have (esp with 4 young dogs, and an old dog and cat!)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

vet clinic in Surath Thani

click !! (Thai Language)

[kat]

Here they are:

Lizzie (about 2 years ago)

And Donut (also about 2 years ago)

I guess I have either been here a long time and adopted some ideas of the locals but I just can't see putting an animal down because it is having problems. Yes, if the animal is in a lot of pain obviously but otherwise? I couldn't do it. I love my animals too much to expose them to the stress and fear their last moments would be by going to the vet to be put down.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm with 'ya on that one, SBK.

I think we had a false alarm on our hands. He was just a bit under the weather. 'Bag of Bones' as I affactionately call Tim now has made a recovery. Maybe it was because before going to work on Sunday I burst into tears seeing him lying in the cupboard,not eating and seemingly on the way out. When I returned in the  evening He was waiting for me as usual by the door,and when I fed the Dogs he mucked in trying to get his share before they ate it all. I had rung the vet for an appointment on monday morning, but no need now. Probably a case of cat flu. As I write this he's sitting beside me waiting for a titbit. Still looking out for him gets me away from work early evening now. Shall I tell the missus he's better?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I like the name Tim for a cat , as if he is your son. My brother had a cat named Jason, and he used to say it was his son.

[sbk]

Or anything in the area: I heard there was one in Surat Thani but have never found it myself. Nakhon wold be acceptable as well. Not that I need one now, but the info is always good to have (esp with 4 young dogs, and an old dog and cat!)

vet clinic in Surath Thani

click !! (Thai Language)

Thanks for that Bambi! Like Sheryl says, our local vet is usually good (its a volunteer clinic run by farangs so the vets change periodically-- hey bambi, if you are ever down this way I am sure they'd love for you to pop in.) but they have no real lab facilities. We had Lizzie dewormed recently (didn't know about every 3 months tho--even for a cat that never goes anywhere?) and she did perk right up.

[BambinA]

dear..sbk ... i'd love to work as a volunteer if i have a chance.

im sorry that the database of vet clinic at Nakhon . is down

when it works i will PM / or post here ja

you take care

time for my clinic closed

[lampard10]

Latest news:

Pictures taken just after he had finished the cat food!

The second cat is our Thai cat called Puss. We found her as a blind newly born wandering around in front of the pub, two years ago.

Why do the dogs get all the good food? Give us a bit

Right! Now's my chance

Delicious. You lot are on cat food tomorrow.

Is that all you've woke me up for? To tellme about that old bag of bones

[steveromagnino]

very cute indeed!

My cocker spaniel in NZ lived until 18 years, and my cat here seems pretty strong although young.

In both cases, I think the dietary thing is fairly important...varied diet and not too much dry biscuit/aharn med stuff... 'cause even though the big MNE companies selling the stuff claim it has lots of protein, much of the protein is often from vegetable sources, and I think that the animal digestive tract is different, so they cannot absorb this so easily.

That's also why with the cheap stuff, the animal does huge amounts of stuff sometimes....

So.....

Varied diet is important; for cat some proper fish (fresh) and pick out bones sometimes, or let them eat (as they get older the bones can be tough on their stomact); sometimes tuna or canned fish, sometimes aharn med. but mostly my cat won't eat canned cat food, and it looks like really low grade fish.

Actually, one of the other business units here at work is dog and fish food; the margins are so big mostly because the ingredients are all the junk bits, topped up with corn stuff.... and we are making it for the top companies, so that;s even more reason not to buy (except that then my boss will not be as rich!).

Actually my cocker was internally bleeding at age 13, and my mum wanted to put her down. But with some change in diet (not letting her chew bones too much and also giving her some more vegetable and rice) it stopped the bleeding and improved her digestion. Cocker spaniels are prone to cysts, but she had them removed at age 8 and again at 15. Then she was going blind, and also was deaf, but she still was happy in life until age 18, when she went very thin, could not eat anymore, and couldn't walk or control bladder....so my mum put her down...still sad for that day.....

[Wes Turner]

Our cat, that we bought from England is 15 years old. He is losing weight and is just a bag of bones now. Just lately he has been wetting and pooing all over the furniture. This is the only thing that is wrong with him really, but although it's going to break our hearts when we lose him, should we let him die a natural death, or is it kinder to put cats to sleep when they reach such an age?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A difficult dilemma.

15 is a good innings for a cat and I sympathize with what you're going through, pets unfortunately break hearts.

[BambinA]

very cute indeed!

Thank you !!

awwwwwww......i thought you mean me

Varied diet is important; for cat some proper fish (fresh) and pick out bones sometimes,

dont you mean RAW fish ,right? in raw fish has enzyme Thiaminase that destroys Vit B1 (thiamin) cause Thaimin Deficiency

sometimes tuna or canned fish,

you guys can feed can fish for animal, from time to time..but dont feed it just can fish oly..coz in canned fish it has low of Vit E and hight anounts of unsaturated fatty acid..make animal get "Pansteatitis (yellow fat disease)

sign - high fever , pain around body/skin/muscle

Tx - add Vit E supplement

but feed canned tuna some days / week is recommended ..for Omega3

sometimes aharn med.

haha i like you THaiglish

Actually my cocker was internally bleeding at age 13, and my mum wanted to put her down.  But with some change in diet (not letting her chew bones too much and also giving her some more vegetable and rice) it stopped the bleeding and improved her digestion.  Cocker spaniels are prone to cysts, but she had them removed at age 8 and again at 15.  Then she was going blind, and also was deaf, but she still was happy in life until age 18, when she went very thin, could not eat anymore, and couldn't walk or control bladder....so my mum put her down...still sad for that day.....

 

Im sorry about your dgggie ..but its common in old animal ..

[Patsycat]

Is Tim the cat with the black nose??? Cuteeee! My cat's name is Jimmy and he has a black bottom lip.

[lampard10]

Is Tim the cat with the black nose???  Cuteeee!  My cat's name is Jimmy and he has a black bottom lip.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No; that's fatty Puss...................................Bag 'o Bones Tim's the all black one.

[Scott]

Be aware that it is hard to have an animal put down here. I had a very, very sick cat and in extreme discomfort. I finally made the decision to put it down and could not find any vet who would do it. Got some really strong lectures on the subject as well.

The cat spent a lot of time in intensive care and cost many, many thousands of baht to keep it going. It's doing fairly well, but has to have medicine twice a day.

Believe me, I love my cat and the last thing I will ever do is put it to sleep, but it is so heartbreaking to see an animal in terrible pain.

Where by the way can you find a vet who will put them down?

[steveromagnino]

correction

fresh fish, steam cooked then pick out the bones...

bplah tu

bplah chon

bplah lomah

ok, not the last one then.

not fresh uncooked, as cat doesn't like it....

[lampard10]

correction

not fresh uncooked, as cat doesn't like it....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So if your cat catches a mouse, it brings it to you and says " Grill that please"

Edited December 15, 2005 by lampard10