Senior Moments

This is Black Cat.  He is somewhere between 17 years old and the grave.  He came into our lives 15 years ago by breaking through our locked cat door, eating our cats’ food and liberally spraying his scent.  We trapped him, had him neutered (showed him didn’t we?) and started to look for a permanent home for him.  We didn’t want to get too attached so we called him simply “the black cat.”   Since he was either feral, or a long time stray it was difficult to find a home that was suitable for him.  It took a year for him to approach us at all and then only if we fed him.  It took another year before he would sniff our fingers and tentatively rub his cheek against them.  By the third year he was acting like a normal cat, somewhat.  And sometime, between then and now, he became the loviest, snuggliest, bestest kitty you can imagine.  We tried to find another name for him when it was obvious he was our cat, or rather, we were his people.  By then, Black Cat was the only name that fit.

He has brought us so much joy in the past 15 years.  It is important to us to give him an old age that is filled with as much comfort as possible.  Besides taking him to the vet as required and needed, here are some additional steps we take to keep our old cat comfortable.

·         We feed him smaller meals more often.  He has kidney and thyroid issues.  Feeding him small amounts 3 to 5 times a day helps his digestion and keeps him satisfied.

·         We provide warm, snuggly beds for him which are easy to access.  As he has aged he has lost body mass and fat.  He needs a little extra help staying warm.

·         We have placed stepping stools by his favorite chairs so that he can still get to his favorite places despite his arthritic joints.

So far, he still seems to be getting around and enjoying himself.  One of the last steps we will have to consider is when it will be the right time to let him go.  We won’t want him to suffer unnecessarily just because it is hard to say goodbye.  Until then, we plan to enjoy every moment of our time together.  Thanks, Black Cat.