My cat Slyvester is 22 years old. He is not able to walk any more & when he does he loses his balance. His eat

Answer 1

How to handle the situation has so much to do with your belief systems that I would not presume to give you "advice".

Last Friday the vet and I decided it would be best to euthanize my 22 and 1/2 yr old Cameo. Complications from renal failure (severe constipation, dehyration, sores in her mouth, etc) were really taking their toll. She had not eaten well for about five days - she would eat a little from my finger for a few days, tasted a little baby food and then did not eat at all. She could not keep good control of her legs and stumbled a lot. The end came pretty fast for her as she was eating well and moving around up until the last week. I could have had her get fluids, an enema and maybe have her feed through a tube to see if the mouth sores could heal till she ate normally again and I feel that any life (and I have had many humans in my life go through such procedures) is not worth having when such measures are the only choice left. For me, euthanasia was a final gift of love to her. She was released to the spirit world which we can never know. At the very least she no longer has to cope with her increasing disabilities and the fact that she would never again be her old feisty and wonderful self.

I miss her terribly - the space she had on my bed every night is SO empty without her. She is not outside soaking up the warm morning sun, nor gobbling her meals up in the kitchen. I only had her the last seven years of her life and she was a great blessing to me and was admired by all who knew her for her indomitable spirit and beauty.

So whatever you decide about Sylvester I know your heartbreak at seeing your great guy fail so much and if you do decide to give him the "beautiful death" it will be a wrenching decision and you will have a heavy heart for some time. Cats don't often have the love and care necessary to reach the great age of Sylvester and Cameo and a time does come to move on from this physical life to whatever might be out there in the world of the spirit.

Answer 2

Have your vet do a thorough examination of your cat to see what is causing his problems. There are several things that can cause the problems you describe, some of which can be helped. For example, if the cat has developed a systemic infection caused by bad teeth and gum problems (common in old cats), appropriate antibiotics may help. If the cat hasn't been eating well because of dental problems and pain, and the cat is strong enough to undergo dental work to remove bad teeth, the removal of the bad teeth may make a huge difference in the cats overall condition. A cat can get weak and have balance problems from malnutrition, and that malnutrition may easily be caused by a cat not eating due to pain.

That is just one example of a problem that may be easily treatable, that can possibly be the root of much bigger symptoms. The only way to know for sure what the problem is and what options you have for your cat, is with thorough veterinary examination.

Answer 3

WOW!! 22 years. I hope I get to keep my cat that long. I have one that is 12 who has been handicapped all his life, but he is doing good and I never think about he is getting old. At one time he was very ill and the vets were not very helpful and were more interested in what all they could convince me to pay for that he didn't need, so I became my on cats vet and now he is doing great. I am sure they are not all that way and there are hollistic and vegetarian vetenarians now as well. Some suggestions you might try if you are wanting to prolong his life without pain, if you haven't already tried them is to switch him over to a vegetarian diet with herbal supplements. Don't use any canned foods at all. They have metal poisening and shortens lifespan, even in humans. I wouldn't use any flea collars or manmade items on your pet for they are toxic. You can control fleas with the herb pennyroyal as well as other plants. Just sprinkel some in his food IF he gets fleas, for a few days. No fleas means no worms. (not pennyroyal oil, but the fresh or dried herb) . I have been raising vegetarian cats for a while now and they will live longer and are more beautiful and healthier than other cats. There is alot of information on the internet about vegetarian animals now, which I believe is what god told us anyway before adam and eve sinned, right? We are the ones that changed it and it is not working so many of us are changing it back. GOOD LUCK !! if you need more information please let me know ( you can also control pregnancy in animals with herbs instead of the mutilation of their sex organs, but I guess we don't think of it that way since we do it to our own selves, and people wonder why they call us the infedel, hahaha If you need more help [e-mail] I can send you a list of foods you can feed your cat and keep him healthy. (taurine is found in plants as well, you can research this too)

Answer 4

gee are you sure that isn't a world's record. 22 yrs. well you got your goodie and as hard as it is its time to be saying good bye. dogs and cats are only meant to live so long not as long as us they are a big part of our livies and there for us but we have to know when they are suffering and need to do what we have to do. slyvester would not want to live like this i am sure. but hey if you think he is still has a good life prolong it.

Answer 5

You must be a very good friend to Sylvester for him to have lived for so long.

M heart is breaking for you because I know what you must be going through. Whatever you do, do it with love. May God be with you and Slyvester.

Answer 6

I think Debra is giving you the best advice. Just keep loving him and seek out the best nutrional foods for him. I don't agree with putting any animal to sleep. The procedure itself causes pain and it's just not natural. Be thankful for the time you've had with him and with good care, you may be surprised at how much longer he holds out! He could break the world record for oldest cat.

Answer 7

How sweet! Your question got cut off with "His eat..." Anyhow, if he's not in obvious pain, just keep a bed, litter box, and food and water all close to each other for him, in a nice warm spot.

What a good kitty-parent you are! You and Sylvester are both blessed.

Answer 8

I think it's time to let him go. It's an extremely hard decision, but it sounds like it's the right thing to do. I'm sorry you're faced with this. I've had to make the decision several times for my pets and I've always wondered if I waited too long and made them suffer needlessly.
You have an obligation to Sylvester. He can't speak for himself.

Answer 9

Wow!! you cat should be in the book of world records. Cats life expectancy is just 12 years, yours exceeded by 10 more.
Sylvester is just too old already... you cant do anything about it anymore. unless you've got a hundred thousand dollars to burn & insane adoration, Cloning is not at all a bad option.

Answer 10

Part of being a responsible pet owner is knowing when the animal is in misery and to end the misery for him. It is time to put the cat down. You chose to have a pet, now take responsibility for it.