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17 years old, deaf as a doornail, fur and bones; without any body fat. This beautiful lady still lives to be petted while curling up on my heated blanket with me. (imgur.com)

submitted ago by viralcode

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[–]ThomasHiscock 10 points11 points ago

17 years still being a cuddly kitten. And people say cats don't love their owners.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

People who say that don't have cats or alternatively haven't had their cat(s) for very long. I remember my cats being complete bastards when they were kittens, but three years later I recognize it was totally worth it.

[–]ThomasHiscock 2 points3 points ago

I love both my cats. I'm a huge animal person, but anyone that thinks all cats are assholes should see my lap after two seconds of sitting down when I get home.

[–]fmdoll 10 points11 points ago

17? Wow.. I guess that's a sure sign of a good home.

[–]ThissGuyy67 5 points6 points ago

I've heard that too, we recently put down my cat who was 19 and the vet gave us an applause. Its weird cause I can't remember not having that cat. RIP Norm.

[–]Chugalug-house 17 points18 points ago

One of my cats is of a similar age and has lost a lot of his body fat. Turns out he's suffering from hyperthyroidism. Apparently it's quite common in older cats. He just has to take a pill each day now, might be worth getting your cat checked by a vet?

[–]VgPcLife 1 point2 points ago

My cats 13 and I'm wondering if he may have this. He had gotten sick a number of months ago and lost a lot of weight from it (got down to 7lbs). Since then he's had trouble putting on weight. From some of the other symptoms a quick google search showed, he also has an unkempt coat and 'hershey squirts'. What symptoms did your cat show that made you take him in? Do you remember how much the blood test cost? I love my kitty, but I don't have lots of money either. Thanks!

[–]mechagrue 1 point2 points ago

The three main causes of weight loss in older cats are: thyroid, kidneys, diabetes. They are all treatable, and will make a huge improvement in your cat's health and happiness!

It's okay to call the vet and ask how much the test costs, and whether they will let you make payments. I took my cat in for a senior blood panel about a month ago and it cost $65.

[–]VgPcLife 0 points1 point ago

Just an update: I took him in Sat morning for a blood test. Everything came back negative. However, due to "thickened loops of intestines" and "enlarged lymphoids" along with the weight loss, the doc believes its lymphoma with a possibility of an intestinal infection (he peed almost straight blood while at the vet). Unfortunately the cost involved in determining if it is lymphoma is way too high; ranging 500-1500 (higher end if they need a specialist for a different kind of doc). Plus on top of that, its thousands more for chemo. So I'm going to have to opt for an inflammation antibiotic along with Prednisone.

[–]mechagrue 0 points1 point ago

I'm so sorry to hear that. I had to put my 17 year-old cat to sleep last month due to liver cancer.

Regarding chemo being too expensive... I have a friend who actually did put her cat through chemo. It was a miserable experience for the cat, who obviously couldn't understand what was going on. All he knew was the nausea, fur loss, pain, sleeplessness, etc.

I would never second-guess someone else's pet health care decisions. But I can tell you that having seen what he went through, I would never put one of my own cats through chemo, even if I had all the money in the world.

[–]Chugalug-house 0 points1 point ago

Mine got cut in a fight with another cat which got quite infected, he lost quite a lot of weight while recovering. I don't live at home any more so I didn't see him for a months but the next time I saw him he was still very skinny. What troubled me was that, while he was always a greedy cat, any time I stood up he would beg for food. It didn't seem to matter how much I gave him, he was always hungry. Given how much he ate I was surprised he wasn't getting back to his usual chubby self.

That was it really, he was just super hungry all the time. The vet checked the nodes in his neck, found one to be enlarged and decided blood tests would be best. I don't think they cost more than £100, probably less but I'm not sure of the exact figure I'm afraid as my dad took him in.

It's definitely worth getting it checked out, the extra food your cats gonna need to eat probably negates the vet cost pretty quickly. We were given three options for treatment: Surgical removal of the thyroid glands, use of a radioactive isotope and drugs.

The surgical removal apparently isn't great as cat's can have extra glands hidden about their body which may be missed. The isotope is apparently quite good but my worry is that as it will eliminate all the thyroid glands there's a strong case for the development of hypothyroidism. It also costs about £1000. The drugs aren't ideal as they have to be taken every day and as you probably know, cats aren't big fans of pills!

Were your cat to have hyperthyroidism (which isn't for certain, your cat isn't that old) I'd probably go with the pills, both from a well being and a financial point of view.

Hope that helps, hopefully theres nothing wrong with him!

[–]viralcode[S] 0 points1 point ago

I shall recommend this info to the vet, thank you :) she eats wet foods better and more often than she did dry food. I believe its her wet food diet that is sustaining her. And the loves.

[–]Chugalug-house 0 points1 point ago

That's quite alright! Most definitely the loves :) A quick google seems to suggest those are the standard treatments. Best of luck!

[–]Lor_was_taken 9 points10 points ago

Treasure her while you can. I said goodbye to my sidekick of 16 years a few weeks ago and it still wrenches me to think about him. Miss you Sam.

[–]a51hq 5 points6 points ago

Upvote for you little old kitty :)

[–]funny_original_name 5 points6 points ago

Awww.... reminds me of my buddy Petey. She is beautiful :)

[–]Minoni 4 points5 points ago

My 10-year-old, Shaiina has begun to show signs of age, but she's as sweet as she was as a kitten. :}

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

Gorgeous (:

[–]stanhhh 2 points3 points ago

<3

[–]KiwiStamp 3 points4 points ago

What a sweet girl you have! She is just like my old lady Sasha! I have to take her to the vet Saturday :( hopefully she's going to live a few more years. I wish you and your girl the best!

[–]viralcode[S] 0 points1 point ago

Same with you.

[–]LadyKillDrive 2 points3 points ago

Beautiful. What a wonderful friend you have.

[–]dawnnieee 2 points3 points ago

keep a heating pad on the couch for my "babies" during winter.

[–]jalisama 2 points3 points ago

My cat is 15 and pretty skinny as well. But the vet says he's healthy so I guess all's good.

Your little gal looks like a sweetheart. I love her fur pattern!

[–]blizzard_of_flames 2 points3 points ago

Just like my friends cat Princess. The saying goes that she will live forever like Ozzy.

Hope your cat does too.

[–]Monkaloptapus 2 points3 points ago

Love.

[–]HelenAngel 2 points3 points ago

Awwww, what a sweet girl! =)

[–]rchase5 2 points3 points ago

OMG I LOVE HER ALREADY

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

hey..how do you know when a cat becomes deaf?

[–]soaringrooster 1 point2 points ago

They meow very loudly to the point you can hardly stand close to them.

[–]viralcode[S] 1 point2 points ago

And what soaring rooster said.

[–]viralcode[S] 0 points1 point ago

She hates guns, she no longer freaks out when I shoot around her, yell, or meow. No ear twitches at loud sounds nothing. Shot a .308 ten feet from her. (NOTE: NOT AT HER, she was sitting near us on the lawn as brother and I were shooting cans) Not a single reaction. This from a cat who would wake up from a nap if you walked payst her at ten feet, really sneaky-like. Stone deaf.

[–]hhockett45983 2 points3 points ago

I had tears come to my eyes :D she's gorgeous

[–]coolstorybrosky 2 points3 points ago*

wtf i also have a cat who is identical and she is so fuckin skinny but seemingly healthy the past 2 years. I figure she has some disorder but I dono.

pic

[–]Thorax123 2 points3 points ago

I read that as dead as a doornail and I was really creeped out.

[–]knobbysideup 2 points3 points ago

All bones could be hyperthyroidism. My old man kitty has that and needs to be medicated twice a day. Take her to a vet and get some bloodwork done if you haven't already.

[–]Albatoonoe 1 point2 points ago

Upvote, but aww is getting into a depressing phase again...

[–]soaringrooster 0 points1 point ago

Sweet baby love.

[–]meadoweravine 0 points1 point ago

Aww, she's lovely! What a good home she must have :)

[–]foxymoron 0 points1 point ago

I had a nice old gal like that, a tortie named Pink Toe. Thanks for giving her a beautiful life.

[–]viralcode[S] 0 points1 point ago

Love.

[–]orthag 0 points1 point ago

We had a cat like that. Not quite as old, but she was awesome.

[–]NinjaNorris110 0 points1 point ago

You take care of that cat, mine was taken at the age of 8 by liver disease.

[–]Christophilies 0 points1 point ago

Is its name Turnip?

[–]Myndsync 0 points1 point ago

reminds me of my cat checkers... lived to the age of 20, best friend i ever had

[–]mykidisonhere 1 point2 points ago

It's DEAD as a doornail! For a minute I thought you were posting pics of a dead cat.

ಠ_ಠ

[–]viralcode[S] 0 points1 point ago

Nnononono hehehe. She's very much alive. :)

[–]montanasucks 0 points1 point ago

This picture made me think of how much I am going to hate when my cat eventually goes to the great Catnip garden in the sky. He never leaves my side and will come running the second he's called. I really wish he could live with me forever, but I know it won't happen. My only hope is that when he gets to be near the end I want to make sure he's as happy as can be :)

[–]digitaldan1 1 point2 points ago

We've had three older cats end up with hyperthyroidism. Weight loss and hyperactivity are two symptoms of this problem. I'm afraid treatment isn't cheap.

We had the first two treated via radiation treatment which pretty much cured it (one died a few years ago, the other is 18 years old and was treated about five years ago). The third we're treating via a pill that gets crushed and mixed in her food once a day. It also seems to be working, but the pill is a daily thing for the rest of her life. It costs about $1 a pill (maybe a few cents more).

Cats who've had it untreated for a long period of time can become very mean and ill tempered. Treated cats return to their normal personalities.

Yours is a beauty and it's great that you're giving her so much love.

[–]moonovertokyo 0 points1 point ago

My lovely old kitty Chika was like this before she passed in July 2011, and her kitten Woolly that passed November 2010. They both just got so skinny at the end, no matter how much they ate. Chika LIVED for the space heaters we have, and I always worried she was going to cook her skinny little backside in front of them. :P We got Chika when I was five, and Woolly was born within a year. I'm 24 now, so they lived to be good old kitties, and I hardly remember a time when we didn't have them. I...really miss them...

We took in a younger stray a few years ago and named her Baby, and I'm so very glad we have her. The house would seem to quiet and empty without her.

[–]1000milestare 2 points3 points ago

I'm pretty sure the saying goes, "dead as a doornail".

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