senile cat

I'd make my vet the first port of call for advice. He/she should have some sensible suggestions - might be something like a urine infection that could be treated.

One of my cats started doing that, and seemed disorientated, it turned out to be kidney disease. I agree, take her to the Vet.

Or diabetes!

Vet, definitely. Kidney and thyroid problems can cause significant behaviour changes in older cats.

We have a senile dog blackbird! He starts to bark and then forgets to stop, stands in the garden by the back door with a vacant expression on his face then comes in and wees and poos on the kitchen floor (not too bad!) or dining room carpet (very bad!!!) He also has intermittent seizures where he appears to have died. The vet puts those down to trapping a nerve in his back. Isn't life difficult when they have been such faithful friends and then it becomes difficult to know then is the best time to let go.

senile cat has been checked by vet basically healthy but senile so really its a case of forgetting house training yes kittylester it is a problem she is healthy but old and senile and I don't think its time to let go even though it makes life difficult

Isn't it hard? I lost my last cat when she was about 24, deaf, fragile but noisy and quite content. I decided to let her body decide when it was time, and sure enough it did - on a Sunday afternoon! But she died in my arms and that was so right. RIP Rosie.

Lady Fishpaste, my mother cat, has definitely hit senile dementia, which does involve a fair amount of puddles round the house. Bless her heart, she follows the brush when I am sweeping up the cat biscuits or, surprisingly, the vacuum cleaner when I'm cleaning the carpet (having previously hated the noise it made). She sits in a room and can't remember why she's there and howls for someone to come and get her. She's not in pain, just terribly confused. The fonts – her offspring, especially the two girls – mostly look after her. (Her elder son is naughty and every now and again shakes by her her ears until I shout and threaten to do the same to him. Wouldn't you know it?) She's clearly not got long left, but if we can make the last few months okay, then fine. If necessary I shall ask the vet to give her steroid injections which do make confused old cats feel better (done that one before).

Lady Fishpaste sounds just like my cat Domino she has seen me through lots of traumas including my husbands sudden death and I just want to make what time she has left as comfortable as possible

I'm sorry, but I think the time when a cat starts to dirty the house in a really unhygeinic way, is the time for the final visit to the vet.

It's no way to live.

An incontinent cat is a lot easier to deal with and far less messy than an incontinent old person, JO4. I'll just invest in more bottles of Zoflora and jumbo rolls of kitchen paper.

I think there might be a little more point in keeping an old person going absent.

Cat's wee all over your carpets. Eughhh! And it wouldn't only be wee.

The cat pees or sh*ts on a horrid (choice of previous owners') laminate floor (easily disinfected) or sh*ts on the newspaper around the litter trays . My ma sh*t on her bed, on herself (up into her hairline) and clothes and on the carpet in her room – it looked as if she had been spinning on the electric fan while doing it. Bless her; it wasn't her fault and I never even thought about taking her to the vet. Ditto Lady Fishpaste. While I can cope and deal with unhygienic to make it hygienic, I shall.

I think a visit to the vet is a responsible way to go. The cat may be in discomfort..my vet told me that cats in pain often do not show it in obvious 'human' ways. Always best to check out.. if you are happy to clean up or limit area she lives in then that's OK.

absent - what an absolutely horrible state to be in at the end of your life! I do agree there's far much more work involved in looking after an incontinent and incapable older person than an elderly pet, and I do seriously hope that the equivalent of Dignitas is available in this country when/if I get to that stage.

absent Tbh absent I was replying to the original poster.

I totally agree JO4- I think we owe it to our pets to let them 'go' when their quality of life (and ours) becomes so poor, and when they are suffering.

If only it was possible with people- well, I am very fortunate to live in a country where this option is opened to me, as a member of Exit.