Pet Lovers

[GoneButNotForgotten]

I have a 17-year-old Himalayan cat and I'd like to compare notes with other people who have elderly cats....does your tend to sleep a lot? and yet, when she's awake, she talks quite a lot. One of her funniest quirks is that, after eating, she starting meowing loudly to let us know....what? that she's finished her meal? that it was satisfactory? I can't figure it out.

She's quite clingy too; since she's been with us for only 14 months we don't know if this is sometihing she's done all her life or if it's part of getting old. We try to make sure she has everything she wants, including taking up a large part of my queen-size bed with me. 

She came to us having been DECLAWED by her previous..."family", which infuriates me. I guess they didn't want to be bothered taking care of an old cat so they dropped her off at a no-kill shelter. The people there were afraid Missy would never get adopted--mostly because of her age and lack of socability--and we adopted her, a couple of people cried, they were so happy for her.

They could have cried tears of happiness for us too, her new family, because she's just about the best kitty in the world, and we were lucky enough to find and adopt her.

[NickNack]

@GoneButNotForgotten   Thank you for adopting an older kitty.  That's wonderful for her to have a loving end of her life.  The oldest cat I've ever had lived to be 15 years old.  She died of chronic kidney failure.  

[char1976]

We have three. Had from birth.  A 17,16 & a 15 year old. They have all been fixed. The 17 year old male doesn;t sleep any more than usual. Sleeps most of the day on our bed and goes out at night. But he has become more vocal. He starts at 5 in the morning howling wanting in to be fed., Very pickey about his food. The 16 & 15 year olds are females and outside cats. The 16 female has been wanting to come in and sleep our bed alot. I don't think she will be around much longer. She has lost a lot of weight and eats constantly.The 15 year old has always been a strang cat, She would dissapear for about 2 months and come back for about a month. And she would act like she had never left.

[JuJu in NC]

My cat Kit was an orange tabby and lived to be 19.  He lived his last 9 months with renal failure.  he was the smartest and best cat ever and I miss him.

[alliswell]

---

@GoneButNotForgotten wrote:

I have a 17-year-old Himalayan cat and I'd like to compare notes with other people who have elderly cats....does your tend to sleep a lot? and yet, when she's awake, she talks quite a lot. One of her funniest quirks is that, after eating, she starting meowing loudly to let us know....what? that she's finished her meal? that it was satisfactory? I can't figure it out.

She's quite clingy too; since she's been with us for only 14 months we don't know if this is sometihing she's done all her life or if it's part of getting old. We try to make sure she has everything she wants, including taking up a large part of my queen-size bed with me. 

She came to us having been DECLAWED by her previous..."family", which infuriates me. I guess they didn't want to be bothered taking care of an old cat so they dropped her off at a no-kill shelter. The people there were afraid Missy would never get adopted--mostly because of her age and lack of socability--and we adopted her, a couple of people cried, they were so happy for her.

They could have cried tears of happiness for us too, her new family, because she's just about the best kitty in the world, and we were lucky enough to find and adopt her.

---

@GoneButNotForgotten   She might just be saying, "thanks, that was scrumptious!" or, "hey, I want some more!".  Does she talk often at other times?  Is this meowing new behaviour?  If she isn't running to the loo straight after, or in obvious pain while eating, it's probably just her way of communicating her positive feelings towards you (and her food) for feeding her.   

My cats are about 11-years old and they have always slept or napped a lot.  And they love to be cuddled.  I read somewhere that "purring" is good for their health.  And lthough mine are sisters, they each have their own very distinctive personality and habits - just like people. 

[Xivambala]

Thank you for adopting an olderster!!! Does she appear to want more food? Although a different size cat, Nikita lioness at Big Cat Rescue, age 19, roars after meals and snacks. I have always thought she is letting everyone know she's had her food. She also roars when the keepers are late with her food. She knows the schedule. Maybe Missy is just letting you know the same. She might be clingy feeling abandoned by the prior owner.

We had a very old Siamese when I was growing up. I think he was with us for 19 years. He slept all the time. He also needed more warmth than usual, sleeping in the sun or by the heat registers.

[violann]

From the theoretical research point of view cats sleep an average of 23 hours a day. I personally thought that was nonsense until I actually OBSERVED what the owners of this house do in THEIR spare time, and yes, that would be sleep.

And what makes them SEEM perpetually manic? Because in their one waking hour a day, they ARE perpetually manic. 

Then exhausted. 

That's cats for yuh.

[gunnergab]

Several years ago my husband and I adopted a 19 year old ,one eyed, one tooth cat. The truth be told it was either us or he was going to heaven. He had not been well cared for all his life by an elderly woman who believed that cats could basically care for themselves. From what I was told he was kept outside in all kinds of weather without any type of shelter except what he managed to find, and ate what he found available. We took JacksonPollack as ours. Immediately he went to the vet and he was given a physical and needed meds to be a "house cat".. Then to the groomers. He was a long haired cat . He loved going to the groomers,this became a regular routine for him. He became our pure joy! He never attempted to go outside ,even on our patio, but would lie in front of our glass windows and doors. He was very  vocal. After eating he would always find us wherever we were to tell us that he had finished and get on our laps for a kiss and a rub to thanks us. At night he slept between us,curled up as much as his arthritic body would let him --and always covered with his bankey. in the middle of the night he would sometimes jump off the bed and roam or go to his kitty box, but he always told us when he was leaving and when he returned. Often I would hear my husband say to him " come on son , over we go , here's your bankey." JacksonPollack lived with us a little over 2 years. He was a wonderful addition to our family. We like to refer to him as a "strange " old uncle..please enjoy your new member of your family. We loved ours. Older pets deserve to be wanted ,loved and adopted ,and they give back all their love to their new families. 

[Peaches McPhee]

My kitties are 18 and 16, plus  a previous kitty was 18 when she passed. Everything you mentioned is true. They sleep almost constantly, and do get very  clingy and talkative.  They might get arthritis and unsteady on their feet. Also deafness seems to be common, which is why I think they get so loud when meowing.  

[zanna]

My beautiful male Himalayan lived to be 20.  I think of him often and miss those beautiful blue eyes!   He was never clingy but always wanted to be near me. The only behavior problem I had with him was when my son left for college.  Out of the blue,  Jasper started peeing on my bed.  When I finally figured out  that he was missing my son, I started just lavishing him with attention and that did the trick.  He did sleep a lot as he got older and he groomed himself less and less.  Be on the lookout for that because it can lead to matting that can be painful to the cat and will require shaving.  If you're not already combing him, try to make a habit of daily combing to pull out the underlayer of hair. 

I have 2 wonderful Persian cats now and they both will allow combing only when they're on my lap with some relaxing music playing.  They like the music on the New Age Instrumental, Classical for the Soul and Classical Relaxation stations on Pandora.  My Himmy obviously enjoyed Vivaldi.  Whenever I played a Vivaldi cd, he would really stretch out for a good snooze.  

The loud meowing after eating could be a sign of stomach or disgestive problems.  You might want to speak to your vet about that. Then again, you kind of get to know what your own cat's sounds mean.

Enjoy your beautiful baby!  And thank you for opening your heart and home to a senior cat!