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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2006Our old cat has disapeared
We have (had) 2 cats one 17 years old and one 20 years in May. The 17 year old became ill about 4 weeks ago,got thinner and thinner. She disappeared last Tuesday night, we thought maybe an urban fox got her as she was able to get out of the cat flap but used to wait on the step to be let in and being very weak may have been easy prey. Anyway, she surprised us by turning up Wednesday, don't know where she had been, very weak so not far but why stay away? Anyway she died Wednesday night in her sleep.To add to the mystery the other one, the 20 year old, disappeared. Last seen 0930 Thursday morning asleep on our bed and no sign of her since. She is quite frail, sleeps mostly and goes out into back garden but is past climbing fences and hasn't gone out of the garden for a long time. We have searched the house many times and the garden, no sign. She did have a sort of fit on Monday night, 0230, and a couple of lesser fits since. We are at a loss to know why she left, we presume she has had a more serious fit and died but cann't find her body. Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks Mark Cats often disappear to die. Gail > We have (had) 2 cats one 17 years old and one 20 years in May. The 17 > year old became ill about 4 weeks ago,got thinner and thinner. She [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > body. Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks > Mark On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:08:12 -0800, shedman wrote: > We have (had) 2 cats one 17 years old and one 20 years in May. The 17 > year old became ill about 4 weeks ago,got thinner and thinner. She [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > body. Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks > Mark I am curious to know if they had any care from a veterinarian? Cats tend to want to hide when they are ill and she probably hid somewhere to die.MLB Sorry to hear about the cat that has passed. You can take solace in that both have lived long lives and you've provided a good home for them. One question though. Why are you letting old animals out of the house? shedman@uboot.com wrote in news:1142010492.441926.181470 @p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com: > We have (had) 2 cats one 17 years old and one 20 years in May. The 17 > year old became ill about 4 weeks ago,got thinner and thinner. She [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > body. Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks > Mark <shedman@uboot.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > We have (had) 2 cats one 17 years old and one 20 years in May. The > 17 year old became ill about 4 weeks ago,got thinner and thinner. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > cann't find her body. Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks > Mark Cats grieve. She just lost her friend, she's elderly, and now apparently sick. I would have taken her to the vet to find out what was wrong, but it's entirely likely she went away to die. My parents had a cat that disappeared for several days and came back in agony. They took him to the vet and he apparently had bladder cancer and was completely blocked. They put him down. He apparently went away to die, but death didn't come before so much pain, so he came back for some help.  SignatureMargarita Salt "...practically no one in the world is entirely bad or entirely good... motives are often more important than actions." -- Eleanore Roosevelt > Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks I don't mean to sound cold, but that's what happens when you let your cats out to roam free. >> Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks > I don't mean to sound cold, but that's what happens when you let your cats > out to roam free. The older cat may well have found a peaceful, quiet spot to die in. You may find her remains eventually. Keep the one' you still have inside the house if you want to protect her. She's probably way beyond strongly objecting. > We have (had) 2 cats one 17 years old and one 20 years in May. The 17 > year old became ill about 4 weeks ago,got thinner and thinner. She [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > body. Any ideas as to this behaviour? Thanks > Mark Older cats' hearing and vision are often impaired and their reflexes aren't as quick as when the cats were younger. This means they might not see or hear a potential danger or be able to escape or avoid it fast enough. I hope you'll keep your next cat indoors or in a protected outdoor exclosure. > > We have (had) 2 cats one 17 years old and one 20 years in May. The 17 > > year old became ill about 4 weeks ago,got thinner and thinner. She [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > I hope you'll keep your next cat indoors or in a protected outdoor > exclosure. Thanks for the replies, some more use than others. Just to clear a few things up: We cared for our cats well during their lives and would never have dreamed of confining them to the house, ill or not. A cat is a free spirit and ours enjoyed life indoors and out, I would consider it somewhat namby pamby to keep them indoors or in an enclosure. The older cat (almost 20) probably isn't greiving since she did not get on too well with the other (now dead) one, they tolerated each other. She was frail so never went far from the house laterly hence we are mystfied as to where she might be, if she has died I guess we might find her remains eventually but we live in hope until then. > We cared for our cats well during their lives and would never have > dreamed of confining them to the house, ill or not. A cat is a free > spirit and ours enjoyed life indoors and out, I would consider it > somewhat namby pamby to keep them indoors or in an enclosure. Domestic cats are not much different from domestic dogs when it comes to being "carefree." To have an indoor cat does not mean the cat never goes outdoors. Buy a harness and a leash and take the cat out for a half hour. My cat loves the outdoors, but I take her out on a harness and a leash. I'm fortunate to have a large backyard, so she can go almost anywhere she wants; I just tag along. In the last 18 months, I have encountered the bloody body of a cat in the street and rushed another cat to a vet hospital after someone saw a car run over it. If these cats had been kept indoors and taken outdoors on a leash, they wouldn't have died. No matter how smart you think your cat is, your cat is no match for a motor vehicle and no match for sadistic people or wild animals, such as the fisher. >Thanks for the replies, some more use than others. Just to clear a few >things up: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >to where she might be, if she has died I guess we might find her >remains eventually but we live in hope until then. If she comes home, please keep her inside from now on or go out with her; at 20, old, frail and most likely hard of hearing, she is no match for an aggressive dog(s) or a speeding car and neither would be a nice ending for her at all. It is not "namby pamby" to keep a 20 year old safe inside or you accompanying her outside; it is a very caring thing to do. Although I'm not sure you'll listen to this as you stated that your 17 year old was "ill" and "very weak" but you let her go out anyway. Since you didn't say what she was diagnosed with, I assume she wasn't taken to the vet when she started getting "thinner and thinner" a month ago. Now you say the 20 year old had a "fit" on Monday. Did you take her to the vet? Taking good care of a pet includes vet visits. > >Thanks for the replies, some more use than others. Just to clear a few > >things up: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > If she comes home, please keep her inside from now on It's no use. It's one of those idiots with the "Be Free Wild Thing" mindset. Stupid people should try not to breathe. > > Older cats' hearing and vision are often impaired and their reflexes aren't > > as [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > dreamed of confining them to the house, ill or not. A cat is a free > spirit and ours enjoyed life indoors and out, Do you realize that the "free spirit" mentality results in the painful death and serious injuries to thousands of cats every year? The same "free spirit" mentality also believes that cats have the 'right' to reproduce freely- which also results the killing of thousands if not millions of unwanted cats every year. I would consider it > somewhat namby pamby to keep them indoors or in an enclosure. I consider allowing 17 and 20 year cats to roam free reckless endangerment and gross negligence. The older > cat (almost 20) probably isn't greiving since she did not get on too > well with the other (now dead) one, they tolerated each other. She was > frail so never went far from the house laterly hence we are mystfied as > to where she might be, if she has died I guess we might find her > remains eventually but we live in hope until then. Have you considered the probability that she died a violent and painful death as a result of your stupid, idealistic mentality? |
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