I need some advise pleeaase- geriatric cat

[susiewaits]

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So im really excited that I am going to vet school! YAY OSU CVM 2013! But now I am stressing about something other than my applications. I have a 19 year old cat Patrick. Iv had him since I was 5, so he is obviously really important to me, and I want to do whats best for him. Currently he lives with my roomie and I in a condo (I moved him there from my parents place a year ago, and he adjusted easily, even though he was an outdoor cat before).

Now a year later, I have had the discussion of bringing my cat back to my parents' place when I leave for school to limit the stress. Unfortunately we did a trial, and my younger siblings are SUPER allergic now (no longer desensitized). He is also on a lot of meds (he is hyperthyroid, hyper tensive, and has an inflammatory response problem) which my parents struggle to give him. So they are somewhat unwilling to take him back.

The other option is to bring him to school. Ive never had any other pets so I dont know how he reacts to other animals (though he was an outdoor cat for the first 18years of his life). And it seems most vet students have pets, so it seems inevitable that I will have a roomie with a pet. Im scared the move in combination with a new place AND another animal will kill him.

What do you guys think? I duno how much longer he has to live, but as of right now he is running around for attention, purring up a storm, licking his bowls clean, using the litter box, waking me up in the middle of the night for attention aka normal Patrick. I dont know what to doo...helppppp

 

[sumstorm]

You can always limit his exposure to other pets by keeping him in your room only.

 

[Beanjamime]

I think you might be able to find a roommate who doesn't have a pet. From the posts on SDN it seems like not all people are bringing their pets to vet school. From my experiences with my cats I think your cat should have no problem adjusting to a new environment even at that age and with all those health issues. My only concern would be the fact that you cat has not lived with any other animals, which makes me think that you might want to look for someone without a pet. Good luck to you and your cat! 🙂

 

[jglovicz]

Do you already have an apartment/roomate figured out? I'm sure you are Patrick's favorite person. Take him with you. You don't even know if your roomate will have a pet. I know it's tough and you don't want to stress your cat out but I think stress will be minimized to Patrick if he gets to keep living with you, the way he has his whole life. Good luck!

 

[CatVet2Be]

I would take him with you. You'll be the best person to continue to monitor his health and properly give him his meds and you can either find someone who doesn't have a pet or like sumstorm rec'd you could confine him to certain areas of the house/apartment.

 

[r00]

I know this doesn't answer your questions, but 18 years as an outdoor cat?!?! holy cow!

 

[1Vista1Grey]

If he was an outdoor cat for 18 years you probably shouldnt be excessively worried about your roomates animals. I am sure he has had to defend himself before and would know how to handle himself in a situation that could be threatening. Just as long as the roomates animal doesnt have a prey drive. I have a dobe who loves cats... the worst thing she would do is try to cuddle with him..(from experience... had a roomate with a 15 y/o ex barn cat). Most dogs know to keep their distance too after one warning. Like I said.. as long as the roomates dog doesnt have a prey drive you should be ok.

 

[susiewaits]

Thank you guys for the advice! I feel a lot less stressed about this. I love this cat of mine. I am going to load a picture so I can show you my lil muffin haha (i know thats awful). Ill put it up this weekend, I amb arely able to get to a computer this week

 

[eventualeventer]

To add one more voice to the crowd: Susiewaits, I agree, take him with you where you know that he'll get the care he needs (not knocking your parents, just reflecting what you said about his meds) and you won't worry about the stress put on your family. Here's my (somewhat similar) story:

Last year, while I was living an hour away from home in an apartment with another cat that adopted me, one of my cats at home developed late/end stage renal failure. The vet suggested that she might be maintained for a while on subQ fluids at home, and she was a perfect patient for it (although a terror at the vet, sweet and tolerant at home). I had some misgivings about moving her -- she was horrible in the car, blasting my eardrums out every 10 seconds for every trip, she had never lived anywhere other than at my parents' house, and I felt bad about making such a big change for such an old, set in her ways sort of cat.

However, I didn't see any alternative except putting her to sleep right away, so she came out to the country with me. The car ride was every bit as bad as anticipated, but she adjusted to life in the new place with the new cat within a week and seemed to enjoy being in a quieter place and being with me again (she was a dog-like cat that would follow me around from room to room and lie next to me). She improved greatly after two and a half weeks on twice-daily fluids, but she started to fade when I backed the fluids down. I euthanized her a month after bringing her out to live with me, but I wouldn't trade that month for anything. It meant the world to me to be able to give her one more chance, give her some quality of life, spend time with her, and then put her to sleep before things got bad. If I had to live that month over, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[ShelterGirl]

Another thing to consider - if you took him with you, your kitty would be closer to the teaching hospital if something were to happen.
That's why I decided to bring my 18-year-old and 15-year-old cats and leave the younger 2 behind for the time being. If they have a fixable problem they're close to a world-class hospital, and if not they're close to a 24-hour hospital that can do the euthanasia.