Alfie can't see in the dark any more.

[Jaded]

This morning very early, dark, when Mrs J went to work she let him into the bedroom (something that normally happens, albeit a bit later). I half woke up to hear him rustling into things under the bed, and mewing plaintively. As he is deaf, I had to get the torch out and rescue him.

He has a path whenever he is let into the room, he goes right round the bed, jumps onto Mrs J's side, then clambers over her to get under the covers with me. Quite unlike him to go under the bed and get lost.

When I got up he was same as always, finding his way about. So my current diagnosis is he has lost night vision. His weak kidneys mean blindness is always a possibility through high blood pressure, so he is on tablets. We know that the kidneys will gradually get worse, he is 17 next week.

I think he needs a vet check-up next week.

[Pingu]

Poor old geezer*  Hope he adjusts OK.

Ours are 17 this year, too. I saw a chart in the vet's when they were getting their moggy MOT which equated 17 with ~90 in human years.




*And his cat

[Mrs Pingu]

Poor Alfie.
Is he on special food or anything for his kidleys?

I suspect Mojo's kidneys are probably getting a bit shot (gallons of pee), but have hesistated to mention it to the vet because I don't see the point in spending the last x of his life in a constant battle trying to get him to eat unpalatable food for little reward - given he'll just bugger off and eat the slop on offer in the flat next door anyway.

[Jaded]

He loves the special food. It looks very bland, but on a good day he'll eat 5 or 6 meals of it.

This is where we get Alfie's. Way cheaper than the vets. It might be worth trying a box? In fact if you PM me I'll send you one of our sachets for MoJo to try.

[Mrs Pingu]

Mmm thanks for the offer but I might pass at the moment - when Pippin eats wet food she gets the shits, I'll keep a look out for samples of the dry stuff on my travels, but he'll still eat next doors so I don't know how much benefit he would get. I suppose that's the problem with multicat households.
They have both been eating the dry food to keep away Mojo's bladderstones for year & years. That was a revelation going onto that after bog std cat food, Pippin's propensity for poopy trousers disappeared almost overnight.

[border-rider]

That was a revelation going onto that after bog std cat food, Pippin's propensity for poopy trousers disappeared almost overnight.

+1.  Our old Amy was handed over to us with the comment "You know she has chronic and catastrophic squits ? She'll fill 2 or 3 litter trays a day"

2 days of decent (dry) food and she was fine.  Unless we changed the flavour...

[Baggy]

Also hope Alfie adjusts ok - a friend's cat went blind and deaf and adjusted brilliantly (although they didn't move the furniture round much after it happened...).

Is Mojo Fortekor or similar for his kidneys? Our ancient Dinah was a very fussy eater, we let her eat whatever she wanted, which naturally didn't include renal food, but after showing early signs of renal failure at 17 had a daily tablet which held things in check for nearly 3 years.

[Jaded]

Mrs P, that website also does dry renal food, might be worth asking if they do samples?

[Mrs Pingu]

Mojo's not on anything at the moment as I've not said anything to the vet yet. I don't know if his kidneys are getting knackered, I just wondered if that was the cause of the enormous amounts of pee. But he's not losing weight or condition so it might be nothing to do with it.

[Jaded]

Ah, that makes sense. It might be worth getting a blood test though?