Cat behaviour change with old age

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > Cat behaviour change with old age

Onkel Hedwig: Jun 27, 2007

I have two cats. Sadly one of them is very sick. He is 10 years old, has FIV and a tumor in his stomach. He has lost lost a lot of weight and I fear that he is not gonna make it for much longer.

His behaviour also changed. He stays mostly in the kitchen now. He does not even go to the living room to drink from the water fountain, which he loved to do.

The most annoying change is that he seems to avoid the cat toilet, which is in the living room. He does not seem to want to leave the kitchen to go to the toilet, and instead he does his business on the kitchen floor.

I tried to make the cat toilet less scary for him by removing the hood and cleaning it even more than usual but so far no success. He seems to be set to spend the rest of his days in the kitchen.

Any advice is welcome.

# ? May 23, 2021 10:17

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 00:22

Khizan: Jul 30, 2013

At his age with his health conditions I'd just focus on comfort care. If he wants to live in the kitchen, let him live in the kitchen imo.

Put a litter tray in the kitchen for him, near where he goes on the floor. A low one would be better so it's less work for him to get in and out of it. Buy a cheap cat fountain and put that in the kitchen for him, maybe.

# ? May 24, 2021 03:01

nunsexmonkrock: Apr 13, 2008

Edit: ^^^ ugh I should read replys before I do. I agree with everything you said.
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Behavior changes as they get older. Our porch kitty (he is an indoor cat the name just stuck because he claimed my husband's porch as his domain) 10 years ago would chase us around to bite our leg when he wasn't in the mood to get petted. Now all he wants is pets and to sleep ontop of us.

If the cat won't leave the kitchen find a decent out of the way spot in there and put a litter box. I know litter box in kitchen sounds disgusting but it's better than a cat just pissing and making GBS threads on the floor.

nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 12:06 on May 24, 2021

# ? May 24, 2021 11:59

Onkel Hedwig: Jun 27, 2007

Thanks for the advice. Here are a few pictures of the patient:

I did relent and put a cat toilet in the kitchen so he doesnt have to leave the room if he does not want to. He stills goes out on the balcony, because it is right next to the kitchen.

Also I have cut him some slack on what is allowed in the kitchen. I used to give my cats the water bottle if they jumped on the kitchen table or drank from the sink. I still do that to the other cat (the black one) but the patient is allowed to to as he pleases.

# ? May 25, 2021 14:36