Well, our cat is still going strong enough. Takes his pills. Most of the time. Sometimes we find them later, however....
Likes his treats, eats, sleeps, purrs, likes being brushed, likes sleeping in the sun cooking himself. Loves sprawling out on the Temperpedic. Life is good.

Uses his litter box-----but sometimes uses the scatter rug in front of the box and urinates on it. Can't understand why this is as he uses the litter box regularly. Just once in a while we see Plan B for P.
Any comments, similar experiences with an elderly cat? Help

Trees - I have two elderly cats (18 & 16 1/2). Mine don't urinate outside of the litter box (that I am aware anyway); however occasionally one of them (don't know which one) will poop outside of the litter box

Have you had him tested for a UTI? That's a possibility. What ailment does he have that he needs pills? My older girl has quite a few issues - kidneys, thyroid, heart murmur, liver enzymes elevated. The other girl has kidney issues.

I had a cat that made it to the ripe old age of nineteen. She did miss the litter box a lot. It was partly UTI, but also seemed that she just was too stiff to climb in and out. We tried a shallower box (I think we used a big cookie tray or a garbage can lid, something like that) and it helped. Fortunately, her litter box was in the basement and so it wasn't a huge problem if she did miss - I just ended up also keeping a bucket with heavy duty cleaner and a mop nearby, and dabbed each day.

Mine lived to 18.5 and 20. I agree with Del - try a shallower or larger box, and clean more often than you have normally done. Mine had intermittent trouble with not being able to climb into their usual box, and were more likely to object if it wasn't clean enough by their standards.

In both cases, they started having a lot of trouble in the weeks just prior to their deaths as well.

Thanks all for your quick responses. My marmalade guy is 17.5.
He has hyperthyroidism and a bit of heart trouble(murmur) but nothing that the vet recommends we address at this point. Could be the height of the box. Never thought of that and will look for a shallow alternative. What's UTI?

Trees - my cat also has hyperthyroidism and since I've doubled up on her medication (twice a day instead of once) she seems to be eating better - and feeling better.

We doubled up recently from 2.5 to 5.0 per day. Feeling better but very naughty and tricky. We have to almost stick our finger down his throat to get the pill in so he won't keep it in his mouth and then spit it out much later, when we are not looking.

UTI = urinary tract infection

You're probably already doing this, but in case you haven't tried it yet...immediately after getting the pill in the back of his mouth, firmly stroke his throat, to encourage swallowing.

Trees - I don't give mine her pill this way - and this has worked for us. I give her a small amount of canned food (they have dry all of the time) and crush the pill up in that - tiny. She eats the wet food and gets the pill. Had to 'upgrade' from Friskies pate food to Sheba. She stopped eating the Friskies.

My guy, (gray tabby) isn't even 2 and I already dread him getting old (went through old age with a golden retriever 15 years ago). I hope all of you can continue to have your furry friends for a long time

I have several cats, my 'old girls' are 12, they are sisters. Then I have another who is about 10, one 8. Two outside girls (mom and daughter, daughter is 8, not sure about mom, they were strays that have called our house their home). My 'old girls' are showing sign of age, it makes me sad, it seems like one day they were just 'old' and I don't know how that happened. But they will all live the lives of luxury to the best of my ability until their time comes. Love all of my furbabys.

Trees, you said the older cat is using the rug outside the box occasionally? It may just be smelling the spot and re marking it. Have you tried replacing the rug?

We had a maine coon that started going outside her box (the bean bag chair and the rug in front of the back door.) Turns out the bean bag we bought at a garage sale and the previous owners had a cat. And the back door rug, turns out we had a neighbor cat who was marking our back door, and when we came inside that scent was being wiped on the rug. She was just trying to cover up the other cats scents with hers.

Our current cat, an egyptian mau mix is turning 13 this year and is finally showing signs of aging.

Has anyone ever used Feliway? My 8 year old cat has decided he wants to spray my dining room rug. We have taken him to the vet once for this and it stopped for awhile but now he is back at it.

Good feedback, everyone. We tried stroking his throat and still do it. Sometimes he swallows the pill, sometimes we find them in obscure corners of the house. Very tricky. We are running out of rugs.He did this with new ones as well.
Interestingly, he hates wet food, even the deluxe versions. That surprised us but also made it hard to hide the pills. Same for those tasty pill pockets. Hates them....

I have always found the cheaper the canned cat food, the more my kitties liked it. Or even straight up tuna fish out of the can.

I had forgotten about tuna. When my girls were first diagnosed with their issues and needed medication I would get a cheap can of tuna and run it through a blender with water to make 'tuna gruel'. They would eat that for awhile. It's been 2 1/2 years since their initial diagnosis (one with thyroid - the other with kidney issues). Their tastes have changed.

I've had luck with cheese, butter, and (in desperation) a Pill Popper for giving meds to cats. The popper requires assistance from someone who is adept at performing the Kitty Burrito with a large towel.

My girl started missing the box last year. At her annual check up I mentioned it to the vet and she suggested a lower box (she is getting arthritic). The vet said she just used those sterlite (?) storage boxes for a litter box. The 'under the bed' storage ones can be quite large and since they fit under the bed, they are shallow. I did switch but she still misses the box quite often. I keep puppy training pads around the box - easier to clean up than washing the rugs. . .

Hmmmmm. Some creative cat lovers out there.
My cat does like cooked chicken. I would have to have some around every day, though. I would still like to find a treat that he would take along with the pill.
hadn't thought of puppy training pads. May work. My first attempt, however, will be the shallow box.

Thanks again, folks. He has been such a loveable velco boy since day one. Starts purring even if you say hello. We want to make him happy and comfortable as much as possible.

My cat (9) was recently diagnosed with elevated thyroid levels but the vet isn’t starting her on pills yet. He did say that studies have shown that canned cat food containers – the ones with the pop off lids – contain a certain chemical that leeches into the food and could be causing the thyroid issues. Cat’s bodies are so small that even small amounts of the chemicals affect them whereas it might not affect us. Has anyone else heard of this? My cats get a little canned food (usually Friskies) at night for dinner. I can’t find canned food that you need to use a can opener on – only the pop lids. I found plastic pouches with food but the cats won’t touch it. (And then they walk around dejected like they’ve been deprived and are starving!!)

Just found out my relatively young (4 yrs) cat has crystals in her urine. Explains why she suddenly started going outside the box. Cats will do that to call attention to themselves. I was given cat food with a pop top lid but no mention of thyroid issues was made.

Normally we feed our dogs and cats the home made equivalent of canned food, namely table scraps and broth mixed with the dry food they get. Maybe you could try that, Tarhe? I process the scraps down to a puree for the cats. I've also found they prefer chicken and fish to beef. Once my cat gets stable, I'll go back to giving her scraps with the special dry food she'll have to be on for the rest of her life.