I feel bad just posting this...

[Anonymous]

My cat is nearing 21 years old. She is basically in good health, so long as she gets her prescription cat food which costs $100/month. If we take her off of it, she is noticeably ill within two to three days. She doesn't do anything more than sleep, potty and eat. She doesn't cuddle very often anymore.

We've always provided her with great care which ideas part of why she had lived so long but our circumstances have drastically changed over the past year and now $100 is a significant chunk of money for us each month even after cutting expenses to the bone (i.e. No cable, no eating out ever, no anything extra and bargain shop for everything.) We have a child now to think about too.

Friends have said it's time to put her down but I just don't know. She seems to be still having a happy existence and does not look her age at all. She loo looks remarkably healthy.

What to do?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'm wondering how long she will go on like this. It's been six years that she has been on this food.

[Anonymous]

I would contact the cat food company and explain the situation, and ask if they can send you coupons. If she gets enjoyment out of life, then it's not time to put her down.

[Anonymous]

Ask around about deals. Look for coupons. Ask your vet about buying at cost. Look on ebay.

[Anonymous]

21 years old? Thats like 100 in cat years. Her quality of life probably is not great ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21 years old? Thats like 100 in cat years. Her quality of life probably is not great ...

I have posted before about my 24-y.o. cat who was rescued from a farmer who was going to drown a sack of kittens. For almost all of those 24 years she ran like a kitten. When she got sick that's when we put her down (though we did do the sub-epidermal water injections for a few months, because she was still very active.)

If your cat is acting in the way you know she is happy, it is not time.

I know your expenses can be outrageous. I agree with the other posters about getting coupons for the prescription cat food.

[Anonymous]

OP, you said she eats, potties and sleeps. Did you mean when she is not eating the expensive food, or all the time? If it's all the time, then her quality of life is not high, and it may well be her time.

[Anonymous]

Can you mix the fancy food with cheaper food?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My cat is nearing 21 years old. She is basically in good health, so long as she gets her prescription cat food which costs $100/month. If we take her off of it, she is noticeably ill within two to three days. She doesn't do anything more than sleep, potty and eat. She doesn't cuddle very often anymore.

We've always provided her with great care which ideas part of why she had lived so long but our circumstances have drastically changed over the past year and now $100 is a significant chunk of money for us each month even after cutting expenses to the bone (i.e. No cable, no eating out ever, no anything extra and bargain shop for everything.) We have a child now to think about too.

Friends have said it's time to put her down but I just don't know. She seems to be still having a happy existence and does not look her age at all. She loo looks remarkably healthy.

What to do?

What does your vet think? Your vet might also have resources to help with the food cost.

[Anonymous]

If you've exhausted the options that PPs have suggested (talking to your vet, seeing if you can get coupons) and it's still costing you more than you can afford per month, then IMO it's time to euthanize your cat if she is affecting your financial stability.

Just to be hard-nosed about it -- do you have an emergency fund? Do you have any credit card debt? How secure are your jobs? Do you struggle to make rent/mortgage or pay utilities? Have you started saving for college? It is one thing to cut luxuries like eating out, but if you have debt, struggle to pay bills, and/or don't have an emergency fund in savings, then you really can't afford $1200 to $1300 a year for cat food.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the suggestions to talk to your vet. You could also ask around at the humane society and other rescues to see if they could look for ways to help with food. I know some rescues have "sponsor" programs for their kittens, maybe they could try to find a sponsor for your kitty who could provide a portion of the cost (but not all).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My cat is nearing 21 years old. She is basically in good health, so long as she gets her prescription cat food which costs $100/month. If we take her off of it, she is noticeably ill within two to three days. She doesn't do anything more than sleep, potty and eat. She doesn't cuddle very often anymore.

We've always provided her with great care which ideas part of why she had lived so long but our circumstances have drastically changed over the past year and now $100 is a significant chunk of money for us each month even after cutting expenses to the bone (i.e. No cable, no eating out ever, no anything extra and bargain shop for everything.) We have a child now to think about too.

Friends have said it's time to put her down but I just don't know. She seems to be still having a happy existence and does not look her age at all. She loo looks remarkably healthy.

What to do?

What does your vet think? Your vet might also have resources to help with the food cost.

I opened up to the vet about this twice and her response was just like "well, them's the breaks..."

Thanks for the tips from other PP's about coupons. I didn't know prescription food could have coupons. We recently started buying the food at Pets Mart instead of from the vet. Maybe PM has promotions I should look for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the suggestions to talk to your vet. You could also ask around at the humane society and other rescues to see if they could look for ways to help with food. I know some rescues have "sponsor" programs for their kittens, maybe they could try to find a sponsor for your kitty who could provide a portion of the cost (but not all).

That would be really helpful if someone could do that.

[Anonymous]

I think that contacting the pet food company, maybe sending them a picture of your 21 year old cat along with request for coupons or samples is a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you've exhausted the options that PPs have suggested (talking to your vet, seeing if you can get coupons) and it's still costing you more than you can afford per month, then IMO it's time to euthanize your cat if she is affecting your financial stability.

Just to be hard-nosed about it -- do you have an emergency fund? Do you have any credit card debt? How secure are your jobs? Do you struggle to make rent/mortgage or pay utilities? Have you started saving for college? It is one thing to cut luxuries like eating out, but if you have debt, struggle to pay bills, and/or don't have an emergency fund in savings, then you really can't afford $1200 to $1300 a year for cat food.

That's the problem. We no longer have an emergency fund and things are so tight that I have too scrimp and save to keep us out of credit card debt. I got out of it ten years ago and I am trying my hardest not to go there again. We are stuck in this situation for two more years most likely.

On the prescription food the cat stays healthy but spends probably 22 hours a day asleep. She likes to eat a lot and frequently. I've recently noticed another uptick in her urine output. It had increased years ago but stayed stable until recently. Every month I think she's going to rapidly decline and it will be "time." But she keeps on going. I admire her and she's a great cat but I feel like this has become a hardship. We really had our lives turned upside down financially and are doing what we need to do but it's going to take time to fix our situation.