Old, stinky cats are all my fault.

[logansrogue]

So, like, my cat Melma is a total mess, and it's my fault.

She's dying of cancer, I'm pretty sure. For the past eight months or so, she's been losing condition. She's horribly underweight, and I don't know why. I feed her three times a day. I want to take her to the vet but I'm scared she won't make the trip.

She's stopped cleaning herself, to the point that flea dander has been building up in her fur. I've taken to brushing her as much as I can, but she doesn't like it and gets stressed out.

I tried to bath her today. She's normally a black and white cat. The flea dander is so thick in her fur, it melted and now it looks like her back end is covered in blood. I washed her as long as I could but it didn't work.

Now she fucking REEKS. The whole outside area reeks of dirty animal. I know I have to try rinsing her again, but I am really, really scared of giving her a heart attack. She's cleaning herself, which is nice, cause she hasn't been doing that lately. She's still hungry, eats heaps of food. She's just dying of cancer.

I worry so much about her. She's 20. I want to make her comfortable but everything I do seems to make it worse. I wish I'd never wet her. :( She looks terrible!! I am going to try to rinse her off again.

Comments

[3starsinmyeyes.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry hon :( I've had a couple of my cats go, one from kidney issues and the other from a giant tumor around his heart. *giant hugs to you and kitty*

I wonder if instead of trying to bathe her completely, get some warm damp towels and wipe her down as much as possible? You might go through several, but she might be more receptive to that then a full bath.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

She gets tired of me brushing her and wiping her and she tries to run away. This is why I can't do much. I do as much as I can to her every day and it's not enough.

I just feel overwhelmed by the problem.

[minuet1965.livejournal.com]

I don't really know you so I'm not sure I should put this here as some people are against euthanasia but you might want to consider putting the cat down if they are that miserable. It will ease your pain and hers but its not an easy thing to do

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

That's the thing - she's not miserable. She's gross, but she's happy. She eats really happily and she can still run around a bit. She just looks like a total disaster. And stinks.

[minuet1965.livejournal.com]

we have 3 senior cats. Two became very ill 1 1/2 ago. they wouldn't eat, they were sooooooooooo thin. One had a thyroid problem and the other I think was kidney. Hard to say if they were in pain or not, they seemed ok. THen one day one of them died. The neighbor said you could hear them howling that night cause they knew she was gone....so sad....I do hope she is ok. Its always hard to lose pets

[minuet1965.livejournal.com]

sorry let me rephrase that they DID eat, they were never full.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I just don't know what to do with her, I'm so upset right now. She seems to be perfectly happy, if not a little annoyed by being wet. I'm the one freaking out.

[minuet1965.livejournal.com]

I will keep you and your kitty in my thoughts (No matter how old animals get I always refer to them as kitties and puppies...can't help it)

let us know how she does. Whatever happens will happen.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

This is so. And Melma will always be our kitty-mah-nish.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about your cat. I know it might be difficult to get her to the vet (and expensive), but I'd advise you to try. The solution might be simpler than you think, since you already imagine the worst. :-/

[bunny-m.livejournal.com]

It's unspeakably hard to watch a much beloved pet dying of old age and the assorted ravages it brings.

You know what's best for her Nacey, and you have the strength to do it. Have faith in yourself to find the right decision, whatever that may be. And you have plenty of friends who want to help however they can.

We're here for you whenever you need us, for any reason at all, or for no reason.

[shantari.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[countessdeweird.livejournal.com]

I'm really sorry to hear about your cat. I hope you can find a good solution for her and for you.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not reaching for the needle yet. She ran like the clappers when I brought her dinner out. Holy shit she has a *lot* of pep for a cancer-riddled old fleabag.

[angriest.livejournal.com]

Thinking of you and your cat.

How's she going senility-wise? My cat died at 21 and by that age there wasn't a lot going on upstairs.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

She is still okay mentally. Shits in all the wrong places and doesn't clean herself much (which is why this happened), but she loves her pats, she loves her food and she loves her sunshine. She's still behaving normal.

[angriest.livejournal.com]

Sorry, just a thought: weight loss accompanied by huge appetites is usually a strong indication of worms. I'd check that out.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't hurt to worm her, right?

[angriest.livejournal.com]

Absolutely not. If you can afford it, the worming tablets from the vet are a lot, lot better than the ones you buy at the supermarket - but the supermarket ones will still do the job.

[hotclaws.livejournal.com]

They get like that,can't really wash themselves well and everything as starting to shut down so they lose weight.Naturally in the wild,they'd be dead at 7.Have you tried baby wipes to clean her up?
I'd just make sure she's happy and leave it at that.
My Star got like that then one day she just slowly drifted to sleep on my bed.

[leelastarsky.livejournal.com]

Old age is so cruel. :~( Poor Puss.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I managed to wash her some more, so it wasn't *quite* so bad. Now her fur is matted. She hasn't licked herself dry, you see. I brushed her a bit before, but she wasn't having any of it. I'm sure her butt is very cold. I'm going to brush her some more tomorrow with a better comb. Hopefully I can get her back end looking fuzzy again.

I can't do *anything* about the smell. I just can't. She is not Miss Cleanliness anymore. As long as there's no flies or shit, as long as I keep her relatively clean and conditioned, it's the best I can do.

She's still very spritely, though. Running around, getting all up in my grill if I come over to her, wanting pats and food.

:(

[snyde-remark.livejournal.com]

Hugs.

I know the expence of vets can be frightening but they are your friend. I hope she is warm and happy for the rest of her (many many many many x lots) days to come.