elderly cat misbehavior

Question
My cat, age 16 years, insists on urinating on the carpet. How can I get him to stop?

Answer
Pat,

At age 16 your cat is approximately 80 years old in human years. Things start to give out. You should take him to a vet that specializes in geriatric cat care and conditions (not all vets do) and an older cat checkup done. He needs the function of his kidneys, thyroid, and liver checked, and his overall condition evaluated.

A lot of times cats that old get arthritis which makes it painful for them to get in and out of the litterbox. They also can get a form of kitty Alzheimers and they forget where the litterbox is!

You need to make concessions to his age related behaviors. Try using puppy pee-pads. That is a lot easier for them. He probably can't hold it like he used to and it is frustrating for him. Give him lots of love and reassurances while you can. Don't ever get angry at him for getting old. Someday you may wish he were still here peeing on your carpet!

I am including my two favorite links for geriatric cat information. The more you know and understand about geriatric cats the more you can help your precious kitty.
(copy and paste, or type the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

And if you do need to put poor kitty to sleep at some point, or he passes away, here is an EXCELLENT site for emotional support and a beautiful tribute site for people who have lost their beloved pets:

http://rainbowsbridge.com/hello.htm

I hope this is helpful for you.

Tabbi