26 year old cat!

Question
Hello,

My eldely neighbor has a 26 year old male American Shorthair. Oddly, it has NEVER seen a vet! Anyway, I just met him (Wiskers) and he is all skine and bone.He appears relatively hydrated and she claims he still eats, drinks, urinates and defacates OK. She feeds him Fancy Feast and/or baby food. The cat has developed a sneeze in the last week. She says he sneezes only once a day and thinks it's related to the dust in the cat box. Anyway, she can't afford a Vet and will not accept my offer to pay for a vet visit. She is afraid the vet will just recomend the cat be put to sleep. She wants him to die "peacefully." The cat does walk, but appears to be in some pain while doing so, especially in the hips. It has no nasal or eye discharge. He may have a fever as his nose is dry.He is responsive and seems OK. I did notice a slight episode of what looked like a seizure, just a bteif second, I don't think the owner noticed it, but I did. I don't want to go against this woman's wishes but I worry that the cat is in pain. It doesn't cry out though. What do you suggest I do for this animal if I can't convince her to let me take it to the vet? Is there anything it can be given for pain? She's been trying to give it crushed diluted vitamin C with a syringe for the sneezing, but I don't know if that's a good idea...

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Lisa  

Answer
Hi Lisa.  What a difficult situation.

Cats can manufacture their own Vitamin C, so supplementation is not usually needed.  However, in times of illness, supplementing can be helpful.  It's important not to overdo it, as with all supplements.  The typical dose that cats will benefit from and tolerate well ranges from 100-400mg.  Some cats can take up to 1000mg a day, but this is the absolute highest that any cat should ever receive.  Vitamin C in high doses such as this may be helpful with an upper respiratory infection called calici virus.

A great supplement for the most common respiratory infection in cats, the feline herpes virus, is l-lysine.  The effective dose for adult cats is 500mg a day (preferably split into two doses).  You can use lysine available at any pharmacy, or you can order lysine supplements made especially for cats.  Lysine at pharmacies is generally 1000mg, so the tablet would need to be split in half.  This is still too large to give as a pill, so it should be ground up and mixed into canned food.  Ideally, split the food mixture up into two meals and feed one in the morning and one at night.  If you wanted to look for a cat-specific product, search for Viralys or Enisyl-F products.  They come in oral pastes, gels, powders or cat treats.

I really have a strong suspicion that this kitty could have hyperthyroidism.  This is now the most common disease which causes weight loss in older cats.  The good news is that it's completely manageable with a pill given twice daily, or a cream that gets rubbed into the tip of the ear (called a transdermal gel).  The medication is pretty inexpensive.  It's important to control hyperthyroidism because allowing it to go untreated can lead to heart failure, blood clots and of course, starvation.  

Diabetes is also common and causes weight loss as well.  This can be managed with diet in some cats but usually requires insulin injections.  I have three diabetic cats, and none realize they're getting their shots.  The unfortunate part is that insulin can be costly.  Complications of diabetes can include organ failure, blindness, permanent hind leg weakness, exhaustion, and starvation if left untreated.

I firmly believe that no vet would recommend to put a cat to sleep based on some weight loss as long as the kitty is still eating and drinking normally.  I certainly never would, and I've never heard of a vet who has.  Of course, the money issue is a separate problem.  It's wonderful of you to offer to help.  I hope that if your neighbor knows there's plenty of hope for treating the kitty, she will accept some help graciously.

Best wishes to all.

Jessica