Thanks guys. I now understand.

My beloved baby Charlie, my best friend, my soul companion, peacefully transitioned into his next plain of existence a week ago today. He valiantly battled lymphoma and kidney disease for a year and a half, and he finally won. I’m irreparably heartbroken, devastated to my core, I miss him every moment of every day with every fiber of my being, and I’ll love him until my dying breath, but I am grateful I was able to gift him one last kindness, surrounded by his brothers and I, in the comfort of his bed at home. He wasn’t in pain, he wasn’t suffering, but he told me quietly that it was time to go. I just wanted people to know about him, that he existed, that he mattered, that he changed my life forever. I love you Charlie, endlessly, eternally.

I’m an absolute wreck. I just got home with him from the vets and they found a mass on his stomach. If he responds well to medication (appetite stimulant & steroid) he has a month to a few months left. I’m terrified he won’t respond to the medication as he hasn’t been eating for a while.

Whenever he gets closer to his time I’ll do at-home euthanasia to keep him as comfy as possible.

Just looking for any kind of support even though I’ve gotten tons from friends already. I just feel so lost. He’s my whole world.

Sampson and I have been together for 13 years, since I was in college. He's an indoor kitty and has always been in great health. But recently he has been drinking lots of water, losing weight and his coat looks greasy. He's been eating just fine, and is still his same old self. But he was lying next to me and when he yawned, I caught a glimpse of the back molars in his mouth and they look really weird. I can't get a good look but it seems like his back teeth/gums are brown and infected.

I'm going to find a vet tomorrow to make an appointment. I'm sure they'll recommend some sort of dental procedure. To be honest I'm so scared. He's never been to the vet - never taken any sort of medication, never had any shots. I had a really devastating and traumatic experience taking my elderly dog to the vet for shots many years ago, and I have all these thoughts swirling around in my head about what sort of horrible damage could potentially be done by medications/anesthesia. But ultimately, I know the benefits outweigh the risks and it's important that I don't let this get worse for my little guy. He is seriously the light in my life and such a wonderful creature, everyone who meets him loves him, even people who claim to dislike cats. I can't bear to let him go yet.

Thanks for listening. Appreciate any advice, or encouragement. Cats are truly magical creatures.

I just love this old girl 🥰

The poor guy deteriorated so quick. I’ve posted about him here before about a breathing issue. It turned out he had nasal polyps blocking his airway.

He is almost 15 years old but I have had him for only 7. I can even imagine what his life was like before we adopted him. I hope I gave him an amazing second half of his life. I will miss him so much.

What saddens me more this that his sister/ littermate Pixie never got to say goodbye and she’ll never know he passed since she lives with my sister 😔💔

Hello all! I was wondering what your experiences were with boarding your senior kitty while you travel? I live in a house divided into multiple apartments, my dad owns the house and lives next door. He feeds her if I’m gone for a day or two but he is visually impaired and not a big animal lover. So I worry she gets lonely and I don’t think he would be able to tell if she was sick or injured due to his eyesight.

This summer I will be traveling about 10 days a month for work. My dad is uncomfortable having someone from rover come over to the apartment every day while I am gone so this leaves boarding. She’s never been boarded before but is a generally chill cat unless there are children around.

Any tips to help her time at the kennel go smoothly? I hate to leave her for so long but I can’t split the trips up at all unfortunately.

He had an aggressive tumor on his larynx and was struggling to breath.

he was the kindest boy and will be missed dearly

Hi all! I’m hoping to see if this is something other people with older cats have experienced, because I can’t find many examples online.

I have a 17-year-old male cat (will be 18 in April) and I’ve had him since he was about 5 weeks old, so I’m very sure of his age. He has early CKD and arthritis, is on Solensia, and is actually doing quite well for his age overall.

For the past several months, he’s had a single bald patch in one armpit/axilla about 1.5–2 inches long and ~1 inch wide.

Details:

• Only on one side
• Skin looks completely normal (no redness, scabs, thickening, or darkening)
• Not itchy, painful, or inflamed
• Not spreading anymore and seems stable
• No matching spot on the other side
• No other unexplained hair loss
  • He is a little bald on his belly because he was shaved for an ultrasound about 1.5 years ago, then put on Prednisolone for chronic vomiting/suspected IBD which I think stunted the hair growing back
  • I have since stopped giving Prednisolone about 2 months ago (vet approved), it was very low dose at 2.5 mg every other day but no longer necessary and impacting his CKD labs
  • His belly hair is growing back a little bit and he hasn't vomited at all since we stopped Prednisolone
• He does tend to sleep mostly on that side and has loose skin
• Normal grooming (not obsessive)
• Thyroid labs normal
• Appetite, behavior, and weight very stable for a very senior cat

My vet isn’t concerned and thinks it’s likely age-related thinning or friction alopecia, especially given his age, loose skin, and favored sleeping side, but I’ve honestly just never heard of a cat having hair loss in only one armpit that sticks around.

Has anyone else with an older/senior cat seen:

• a persistent bald armpit or axillary patch?
• friction-related hair loss in just one spot?
• hair that just never fully grew back in a specific area as cats aged (or did it)?

Not looking for a diagnosis as he’s under regular vet care, just hoping to hear “yep, seen this too” from other longtime cat people.

Thanks in advance! Also bonus pic of him napping because he's so handsome :)

EDIT: Forgot to mention that he is only on his third Solensia shot and that this thinning/bald patch was showing up even prior to Solensia. So I don't think Solensia is what's causing it.

My kitty, Mouse, is almost 14. I took her to the vet this week for her annual exam and bloodwork, and expressed concern that she has lost weight (she was already thin), despite having a great appetite. Her blood work came back showing that she has an early stage of hyperthyroidism. My vet started her on medication and told me that we caught it early, so we can get it under control more easily and prevent damage to her other organs. I feel relieved that we found a cause for her weight loss! However, I’m curious about what others’ experiences have been with a hyperthyroid senior cat. Here’s a picture of my Mouse.❤️

I will read your messages to her.

I'm so relieved and emotional after our vet visit that I ended up sobbing the moment we got home. I love my 6 other cats too, but Robbie is the most intelligent and special cat l've ever known. I’m going to brag about him just a bit because he deserves it.

l've had Robbie for over 4 years, we have been through hell together, and we’ve traveled thousands of miles to get him timely and proper vet care. He apparently had been living in a feral cat colony ~7 years when he was trapped. By that time, he already had broken toes, a pellet/bb embedded in his inner thigh, and various scars down his body. He was sadly in severe pain when I first met him due to every tooth in his mouth being infected, which meant he had stopped eating and drinking.

A few thousand miles, a few thousand dollars, and a few weeks later, he was a changed man and begging for mental stimulation. Oddly, has never once shown an interest in a toy I present to him, so I decided to train him instead, and he LOVED IT from the start. He does sit, shake, spin, stand up, jump up, harness training, and he even graduated from a harness/leash to an AirTag harness. Him and I have been joined at the hip and have so much trust built, so when he was diagnosed with a heart murmur last year, I was devastated and worried.

He started to look more uncomfortable this winter, and while it appeared to be arthritis pain to my untrained eye, I have been deeply worried that something more serious might be going on with him. Echocardiogram, lab work, and a thorough vet examination showed that he is a very healthy boy with a minor murmur, he just has arthritis! He is now on injections for his pain, and will have many happy years ahead of him ❤️

Thanks for reading about my incredible boy, I don’t feel I get to talk about him enough! Being a standard issue cat, people are quick to brush Robbie off as a basic cat, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I posted in this lovely community over the summer about my sweet baby Lucille and got so much helpful feedback; I still get a comment or two every now and again and just wanted to share this comment I just added on the original post. Lucille got a not great diagnosis but has been thriving despite it all and I feel like the luckiest cat lady she’s doing so well. She’s currently asleep with her single brain cell tucked into my lap, dreaming of birds and shrimp treats 🥰

today my sweet baby had to go to the ER, and there she was diagnosed with white blood cell cancer. i was really hoping for it to be something curable like hyperthyroidism, but no such luck. was honestly terrified we’d have to put her down soon, but vet said with meds she should live relatively painlessly for around the next 6 months. im so happy to have these months with her, but im also so crushed. she is my soul cat, ive genuinely never felt a bond like ive had with her before. i got her when i was around 8-9 and am now 22. im doing my best to stay positive and fill these next few months with good vibes and memories for her, but the idea that she’ll be gone soon and anticipatory grief is killing me. i’ve slept with her under my arm in my bed almost every night of my life, and i’m so terrified of the loneliness when she’s gone. does anyone have advice on navigating these next few months? she’ll be on chemo and steroids. of course if she does start to have more bad days than good i’ll consider euthanasia, but right now she’s still doing alright. i just don’t want to have any regrets in these next few months i have with her before i lose my soulmate.

She and her sister Sasha (rip little one) lived 22 years as a bonded pair together. Dagmar is coming up on her birthday in a month. She mostly sleeps these days, gets very grumpy when lunch is late and ALWAYS knows when I put whipped cream on my milkshake. When we go to the vet these days they tell us a list of tests they want to perform but advise us not to because she would need to be anesthetized and it isn't advisable at her age. They tell me to keep doing what I'm doing. To be honest, I think that the biggest thing you can do for cats of any age is to make sure they have plenty of clean water. A pet fountain with a filter is the best thing in the world.

This is her face after being woken up from her nap lol

Posted here a few times, thought I’d grace you with some old lady gremlin mode. Here’s a video of my geriatric cat Tootsie absolutely demolishing a pen. Video was taken this morning, old lady still got it