My grandmother died last Wednesday and I inherited her cat. He is supposed to be 11 or 12, is missing lots of teeth, and is skinny. I picked him up Monday. He's living in my finished attic with some pillows and towels from my grandmother's apartment, a litter box, a scratch pad, a few cheap toys and his food and water. I hang out with him a few times a day when I feed him.
He is definitely too skinny. My sister had visited last, and said he is actually better looking than he was the last time she saw him, but you can still feel his hip bones, his ribs and most of the bones in his tail. When you pick him up your first though is pointy. He was/is being fed fancy feast, and I bought some more of that just so I would have something I knew he would eat. He doesn't appear picky of flavors, so I'm hoping I can switch him to a food that at least doesn't have meat by-products as an ingredient. I expect to never have him eat dry food with the sucking licking way he eats wet. I haven't chanced looking in his mouth yet, but he is definitely missing at least some of his canines. With the way he eats he might be missing a number of back teeth as well.
I've been feeding him as much as he's willing to eat. He eats very enthusiastically, so I'm hoping his skinniness was just caused by my grandmother's failing health. I'm planning on a vet visit some time next week when he's settled down a bit and I can observe him more. He's due for shots, but at this point in his life I'm not sure they would be a good idea. It is extremely unlikely he will ever be getting outside, and the other cat is vaccinated, as are the dogs. I might see about having a blood panel done.
I have another cat and two dogs so introductions are going to be in at least a week from now to get him settled and vet checked, and I expect introductions to take at least a few more weeks. My current cat has lived with other cats before, so I'm hoping there won't be much of an issue. If for some reason he can't handle living with the others I'll be reorganizing my reptile/critter room for him to live in there. Basically he isn't going anywhere.
So far he doesn't appear confused or needy, so hopefully no dementia. He does have a head tilt from an inner ear problem a few months ago though. He gets around fine, just looks painfully skinny. He absolutely loves people and attention, but just about every time I go upstairs he's napping, or eating. He's also been using the litter box without a problem. He's keeping himself clean, and seems to be grooming fine.
So any opinions about living with a senior cat? The last time I did I was a teenager, and my other cat is just around 7 or 8 in very good if slightly pudgy health.
Any food recommendations? I'll be keeping him on canned, I'm just not that good at picking them.
Any specifics about vet care? How likely is it his skinniness is lack of food related, esp since he eats like crazy?
If anyone is interested his pic can be seen on my blog. Licorice
--Mia
He is definitely too skinny. My sister had visited last, and said he is actually better looking than he was the last time she saw him, but you can still feel his hip bones, his ribs and most of the bones in his tail. When you pick him up your first though is pointy. He was/is being fed fancy feast, and I bought some more of that just so I would have something I knew he would eat. He doesn't appear picky of flavors, so I'm hoping I can switch him to a food that at least doesn't have meat by-products as an ingredient. I expect to never have him eat dry food with the sucking licking way he eats wet. I haven't chanced looking in his mouth yet, but he is definitely missing at least some of his canines. With the way he eats he might be missing a number of back teeth as well.
I've been feeding him as much as he's willing to eat. He eats very enthusiastically, so I'm hoping his skinniness was just caused by my grandmother's failing health. I'm planning on a vet visit some time next week when he's settled down a bit and I can observe him more. He's due for shots, but at this point in his life I'm not sure they would be a good idea. It is extremely unlikely he will ever be getting outside, and the other cat is vaccinated, as are the dogs. I might see about having a blood panel done.
I have another cat and two dogs so introductions are going to be in at least a week from now to get him settled and vet checked, and I expect introductions to take at least a few more weeks. My current cat has lived with other cats before, so I'm hoping there won't be much of an issue. If for some reason he can't handle living with the others I'll be reorganizing my reptile/critter room for him to live in there. Basically he isn't going anywhere.
So far he doesn't appear confused or needy, so hopefully no dementia. He does have a head tilt from an inner ear problem a few months ago though. He gets around fine, just looks painfully skinny. He absolutely loves people and attention, but just about every time I go upstairs he's napping, or eating. He's also been using the litter box without a problem. He's keeping himself clean, and seems to be grooming fine.
So any opinions about living with a senior cat? The last time I did I was a teenager, and my other cat is just around 7 or 8 in very good if slightly pudgy health.
Any food recommendations? I'll be keeping him on canned, I'm just not that good at picking them.
Any specifics about vet care? How likely is it his skinniness is lack of food related, esp since he eats like crazy?
If anyone is interested his pic can be seen on my blog. Licorice
--Mia