cat conundrum...

[xerxes]

i have quite a large decision on my hands and i need some advise. (I'm usually against sharing problems online, but I don't know where to turn on this one...) i posted this a little while ago stating a problem with my cat having fleas. we poured some stuff on the back of her neck, gave her a few baths (which she hated) vacuumed the entire house several times, but the fleas are still here. so my parents called the pest control people and they sprayed the house today. so now my dilemma. Tiger has been with our family for twelve years and I'm by far the most attached to her. but over the last few years she's started urinating where she shouldn't, and puking quite often throughout the house. my parents have decided that we have to get rid of her. they don't want her bringing fleas back into the house (she's in the garage now). so since i like her the most i have to decide where she goes. my options are...

a) putting her under (don't worry, its not going to happen)
b)bring her to the animal shelter
c)bring her to some friends of ours where she'll live outside with other cats
(I'm not sure how well an indoor cat will do outside)
so i guess I'm just hoping for some input as to what you all would think would be the best choice for me to make. this is the nearest to tears I've been in years.

 

[fu1bar3]

That is a really hard decision to make. Could you eliminate the fleas and then keep her as an indoor only cat. that way she cant bring them in again. Does Tiger eat senior food, or have you tried hairball paste to help with the uke01: ... As cats get older they can get uti's easier.. maybe thats the pee problem?? It might be worth the checking these out before you make the choice.

 

[xerxes]

she's an indoor only cat so we really don't know how she got fleas. the parents don't want her back into the house because she still has fleas and she has nowhere to go until they disappear. I'll try look more into it and see if i can convince my parents to keep her, but right now its not looking good

 

[ghosthousecorns]

I'm not trying to be mean here but this seems so unfair - getting old is a fact of life. It's not the cat's fault. It's not going to have much of a chance at a shelter because people usually look for kittens and younger adult cats. And if it has been a single indoor cat all it's life suddenly being put outside with other cats isn't great either. Once a month advantage should work on the fleas, if they keep reinfesting there must be something around where she keeps getting them back. And older cats sometimes do need a change of diet (they do make specialty kibble for senior cats) and regular vet visits. Good luck and I really hope you won't get rid of her after she has been your pet for this long.
I would never even consider getting rid of mine (9 years old and slowing down a bit) because having a pet is a lifetime commitment.

 

[sallydog77]

Rule out any health problems before getting rid of your cat. A lot of time, when a cat urinates in inappropriate places (ESPECIALLY if they are older), it is an underlying health condition. Your cat is hitting the geriatric mark, and the urinating and vomiting might be signs of renal failure. I would run a blood panel checking for kidney and liver values, and also run a urinanalysis before you make any major decisions. Inappropriate urination could also be signs of a urinary tract infection, but the chances of your cat having kidney disease are highly likely, given the age and the added symptom of vomiting.

Even if a cat is indoors, they can still get fleas. If the animal isn't on prevention, people will drag them into the house where they will feed on the unprotected cat. People usually aren't bitten because we aren't a flea's natural host. Monthly prevention is a ton cheaper in the long run then having your entire home constantly treated. You need to get the Advantage or Frontline from the vet, not the store bought stuff. It can also take a while for the fleas to totally disappear from the house. You need to eliminate the source of their life cycle that provides them with shelter, food, and their preferred reproductive conditions- which is your cat, and not the carpet or furniture. Once your cat has been on preventative for a while, the fleas will die off without a host to live on.

Again, I highly suggest ruling out any health issues before making a drastic decision. The majority of the time these types of problems can be solved if the underlying cause is determined. If your parents are in charge of the veterinary care, have them read this post. This is a solveable issue, especially the fleas.

 

[diamondlil]

Frontline should take care of the fleas on the cat, and there are sprays that you can use in the house that both kill the adult fleas and stop new ones developing.
As for the urinating, I'd also suspect a kidney problem that needs checking out.

 

[v_various]

let us know how it turns out, I hope your cat is OK. I second what everyone else has said, and I'll stress the fact that a 12 year old cat will have a zero percent chance of getting adopted. No one wants older cats - especially the vomiting pee-everywhere kind. She is your family's cat, she has given you years of unconditional love and your parents owe it to her to keep her safe and loved her whole life. I hope you break through to them.

Most older cats will sit in shelter for a really long time, until they start getting frustrated and lashing out. And then they get put down because they are 'unadoptable', or having 'behavioral issues', or at worst they'll just take any curable medical issue as an excuse,

 

[Cegninedorf]

If a cat is peeing outside the box, it's either behavioral (the cat's not happy with something & is showing attitude, or is marking territory) or it's got an infection. Your cat should be taken to the vet right away because animals are very good at masking disease & hurt. My cat started to urinate outside the box a lot -- and I didn't know which cat because I have 3 -- but I caught him one day & lo and behold, his blood glucose level was 350 (normal for a cat is about 70)! No wonder! (He's now on insulin for feline diabetes.) Urinary tract infections are common in older kitties, especially males.

And...maybe put it to your parents this way: so, when they get older, you're just going to farm them out to a shelter because you can't stand having them around any longer because they're incontinent & getting older? Or should you just put your older parents "to sleep" when they've become a pain in the rear? So why do that to the cat? Just because it's a *cat* doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve the same respect, especially now that it's no longer a cute kitten.

 

[snakemom1961]

I hope your parents change their minds. It's not fair to your cat and to send her to an "outdoor" only life would be sentencing her to death. Maybe not literally but certainly figuratively, in that she would not be living a life she had known for 12 years.

Please know fleas CAN be combated. years ago, we came back from vacation and the house was totally INFESTED, to the point we could see them CRAWLING on the bedroom floors. We got stuff from the local Lowe's and within days the fleas were abated and we just kept spraying once a month for about 6 months and no mor problem.
We used advantage on both our cat's (who were indoor/outdoor cats, and our dog and that took care of the hosts for the fleas.

Good luck in getting your parents to see that this animal is a life long partner and she depends on you all for her well being.

 

[xerxes]

okay so i relayed what some of you said to my dad about getting her checked at the vet. and he's worried about cost and how much we're gonna spend on "it" (he's never liked the cat) i don't think i have a choice anymore, dad just told me that mom is coming home from work at noon then going straight to Knoxville to the humane society.

 

[strawberry_bunny]

With the drops you cannot give them a bath for i think around a couple of weeks maybe even one week after. If you gave her a bath too soon the drops do not work as well as they should. Over here theres a combi drop that stops the fleas from breeding in the house, thats the one we use on our dogs. I hope you find a solution soon

 

[ghosthousecorns]

okay so i relayed what some of you said to my dad about getting her checked at the vet. and he's worried about cost and how much we're gonna spend on "it" (he's never liked the cat) i don't think i have a choice anymore, dad just told me that mom is coming home from work at noon then going straight to Knoxville to the humane society.

How awful! I know it's your parents decision and not much you can do... If you have any money of your own and offer to pay for the vet would they reconsider? I'm sorry but your dad doesn't sound like a very nice person if he considers the family pet something that can just be disposed of - just the fact your dad refers to it as 'it' well I just pray to God you guys don't get another one.

 

[snakemom1961]

I'm so sorry to hear they won't listen to the great advice put forth by all the other members here. I feel your dad had it in his mind from the get go to get rid of the cat. Maybe you could try contacting a cat rescue instead of the Humane Society? Beg for a few more days(since it is the holiday weekend). I"m sure there is a rescue near you who would take her.

 

[sallydog77]

okay so i relayed what some of you said to my dad about getting her checked at the vet. and he's worried about cost and how much we're gonna spend on "it" (he's never liked the cat) i don't think i have a choice anymore, dad just told me that mom is coming home from work at noon then going straight to Knoxville to the humane society.

This is a shame. This is one of the main reasons I could not work in the veterinary field any more. I've seen tons and tons of cases like this where the cat is urinating wherever and when we provide options to solve the problem, the owner's solution is always the same. They don't want to treat the cat or find out whats wrong. They want us to get rid of it or kill it. It really breaks my heart to see that this is also the route your family is taking. Your parents let you have this cat for 12 years and they took it into their home. Now, when it's older and having problems they want to pawn it off on a shelter, which will take care of "dirty" work. I don't know how many times I have assisted in euthanasia for cats with these sorts of problems, and its always the person who loves the animal most (the kids) that suffer the most because their parents won't own up to the responsibility that animals take money to care for. I know money is an issue, I've had money issues myself, but that never stopped me from working out a plan when my animal needed it. There are always options available. Maybe you can take the cat to the vet yourself and offer to work for the clinic to pay for their services.

This is going to sound really harsh, and maybe sick, but don't send your cat to a shelter where she will be scared and alone and euthanised by people she doesn't know. If you send her to the humane society, she will be euthanized. Its the middle of summer, and its peak season for healthy, adoptable kittens and a 12 year old cat that is peeing in the house doesn't stand a chance. If your parents don't want the cat any longer, you need to be there in her final moments to send her off in comfort. We've had countless "drop off" euthanasias and they are never very nice because the animal doesn't know why its owner left them with a bunch of strange people. It's horrible to leave this world without the people you love, and I wouldn't wish such a fate on my worst enemy. Yet, countless animals face it every day.

I'm very passionate about animals and I hate seeing this over and over and over again. I'm sorry if I sound mean, but once you deal with this so many times in the workplace where you can't say anything (or you will lose your job) it really gets to you.

 

[kathylove]

I have to agree with everyone here. I am a real cat person, and have had some until they had to be euthanized at 16 - 18 years old. I now have a 17 year old that poops outside the box - it is hard for him to get into it. But he will be with me until his life is too difficult for him to continue comfortably.

Fleas can be handled pretty easily with Advantage or Frontline (not the supermarket knock off brands). If the vet can't fix the urine problem, maybe the cat could be kept in one area with tile or cleanable floors, except when supervised.

What are your parents modeling for you in disposing of a family member when it is no longer convenient? I don't think I could ever quite forgive a parent for doing this if I was of an age to understand the motivation when it happened. There would always be a small part of me that would remember it, even years and years later. I would have less respect for them once I knew they are willing to take the easy way out with a family member.

Taking an older, problematical cat to the Humane Society is just a way of alleviating their guilt. As stated, you might as well just put her down. It will be kinder to her, and will allow your parents to feel the full weight of what they are doing, instead of allowing them to delude themselves that the cat will find a good home. I am sorry, but I have to say that I find their attitude to be an excellent example of what I find wrong with our disposable society.

Good luck in changing their minds. It isn't your fault. But take notice and try to never emulate their bad behavior when you are an adult and make your own decisions. Try to get them to read this thread - maybe it will make them rethink their decision. Not because of the cat - they obviously couldn't care less - but because of the bad example they are setting for their children.

 

[Paranoika]

As has been pointed out previously, urinary incontinence is a frequent symptom in older cats. But it is manageable. Your parents should have been aware of this fact prior to getting the cat, but not all people think that far ahead. It's not the cat's fault, and she shouldn't be the one to suffer. Many people also suffer from the same ailment, but you don't see their family members quick to "put them down".
Giving her away to a shelter is also not an acceptable solution, because it is just unrealistic to believe that at her age and with her history she will be able to find another forever home. She already has one, with at least one person who loves her very much, and I believe that is the best place for her.
I've had to put down two cats in my lifetime, one at 17 and the other at only 1 yr. But they were terminal diseases (cancer and red cell aplasia{sp}). As my parents are both vets, they were the ones to administer it, and made sure it was being done for the good of our pets. They held my hand through the whole process and made sure the cats were calm and comfortable. (Beanny was even purring... ) It was the most difficult thing I've ever done, but I had the satisfaction of knowing it was the best we could do for them. I can't even imagine how it would feel to go through that knowing it was only being done b/c it's convenient!
We now have a 19 yr old cat who will no longer use a litter box. Yes, it's a hassle. But we deal with it b/c she is a part of our family. I know you feel that your cat is also a member of your family, but maybe your parents need reminding.
I wish you all the best in this endeavor, and pray your parents will see your commitment to this cat and change their views.
Good luck!

 

[v_various]

okay so i relayed what some of you said to my dad about getting her checked at the vet. and he's worried about cost and how much we're gonna spend on "it" (he's never liked the cat) i don't think i have a choice anymore, dad just told me that mom is coming home from work at noon then going straight to Knoxville to the humane society.

I'm so sorry to hear that.

I hope they know what heel's they're being, but I doubt it. My mom is much the same way with animals, I love her, but I would be super pissed if she ever got herself another pet.

 

[xerxes]

okay so after talking to my parents, presenting several of the arguments you provided, they've decided that we aren't going to get rid of her today. so its time for me to hijack my own thread....how feasible would it be to turn an indoor cat, into a garage/outdoor cat. she's living in the garage now and seems to be doing fine, she's very comfortable in there. i was thinking that if we keep her in there for a few weeks, then leave the back door open she'll eventually get used to being outside. we would keep food, water, and a litter box in the garage.
does this sound like it might work???

 

[starsevol]

Xerxes, I think that it might be the only solution for her that isn't a death sentence. Other than your parents bucking up and showing some responsibility towards an animal that has loved them unconditionally for 12 years. By that I mean flea control and vet care. If your parents hate the fleas, imagine what the cat feels like with them biting her and crawling all over her body. I'm sorry to sound harsh, really I am. I am one of those people who grew up with animals as my best friends. You can't put a price on that, and I can't understand anyone who thinks living creatures are disposable.

My sister and her wife have a 16 year old cat, that is the scariest cat I've ever known. I love animals and I'm terrified of her. The VET is afraid of her! She started going outside the box, and was diagnosed with a bladder infection. She was treated and she's fine.
In my family, when you take in an animal, you are responsible for it its whole life. Til death do us part. I don't include snakes because they don't attach to their owners, but when I do rehome a snake, I make sure its going to a good home. It's the least I can do.

 

[ghosthousecorns]

I'm glad you were able to get them to agree to the garage thing. I feel bad if I was harsh with you earlier, I just really feel animals like cats and dogs are like family. I grew up with parents like yours too, my first cat was given away and I was told she ran away. I didn't find out until years later it wasn't true. Then we moved and got rid of our doberman - since I was only like 12 there wasn't much I could do except make a vow that when I grew up if I had any animals I would keep them forever no matter what. (I've moved with my cat 4 times since I got her in 2000.)
I'm glad you will get to keep her even if it's in garage. Good job and I'm sure it took some convincing to get them to agree. Please try to get a vet visit lined up for your kitty if you can!