Hi,

It's always difficult to make decisions regarding how much to do for geriatric cats. I think what you have to consider is the quality of life your cat has at this point. Again, this isn't an easy, or clear-cut decision.

If your cat seems content and is eating well and drinking enough water, she is probably doing ok for her age. You may or may not want to have diagnostics done to try to determine the cause of her being lethargic. It depends on what you are willing to put her through. There is no right or wrong answer.

With my 19 year old cat, Esther, I knew she had kidney failure and was giving her fluids at home. Her appetite was decent. I made the decision to stop taking her in for bloodwork because she became very stressed and I didn't want to put her through it.

You can choose to go all out, do nothing, or be conservative in treating your kitty. If her appetite is poor, you can try offering her some strained meat baby food (with no onion added), and you can safely give her 1/4 tablet of a 10 mg Pepcid tablet daily. Pepcid works well in cats with mild nausea. If your cat isn't eating well, she may also have excess acid in her stomach. If dehydration is a problem, you may be able to giver her fluids at home if your vet will prescribe them.

My Esther eventually had a stroke so there was no doubt in my mind that her time had come. Otherwise it would have been a tough one.

Please remember that there is no right or wrong answer as to what you should do. I'm big on going with gut decisions, if that helps at all.

Your baby is beautiful, BTW. I just love calicos.

Regards,
PHKitkat

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