Start a gofundme (gofundmycat). You'll be surprised how generous people can be.

If it's about finances, then say so. Don't pretend the cat's quality of life is bad enough to warrant being euthanized. If the OP had the money, no doubt she would continue buying the expensive food.

Anonymous wrote:I sincerely feel bad for OP. But pretending it is in the cat's interest to be put down is some extreme rationalization.

The cat is not the only member of the family, and not even a human member of the family. Why does the cat's interest trump the family's financial well-being? $1200 a year *is* a lot of money and *is* a big deal if the family doesn't have this money to spend. What happens if the OP or her spouse loses his/her job? Would you seriously suggest that keeping this incredibly old cat alive by artificial means via an expensive diet is the OP's moral obligation even if it potentially risks a catastrophic financial situation leading to bad credit, debt, inability to pay bills, and even homelessness?

OP, you and your family have to make the decision that works for you. I find that some people on this board, no matter how well-meaning and compassionate they may be, have an absolutist moral stance that keeping an animal alive is an at-all-costs endeavor no matter what hardships or sacrifices that may entail. Quantity of life for the animal is what matters to them, not quality of life and certainly not quality of life or hardship for the human owners of the animal.

Please make a decision that works for you and your family. Whatever that decision is, whether to euthanize now or not, is your decision and no one else on this board has the right to criticize you or judge you for it. You are not a bad and evil person if you decide to euthanize now. You are also not a bad and evil person if you decide not to euthanize now but you revisit that decision in a month. You're a good person no matter what, and whatever hard decision you choose to make will be the right one for you and your family.

The only decision you cannot make is to keep your cat alive forever because that's not an option (no matter how much some people might engage in wishful thinking otherwise).

Anonymous wrote:

Putting down a happy cat that sleeps a lot (and by the way, normal cats sleep 18-20 hours, so 22 is not actually insane) is not caring for it. Your "perfectly healthy" option is silly. By your logic, anyone with a food allergy is "medically unstable."

I sincerely feel bad for OP. But pretending it is in the cat's interest to be put down is some extreme rationalization.

Senior cats sleep 20 hours a day, so 22 hours a day is more than the usual amount. It means that the cat's quality of life is arguably very poor. Keeping a cat around is doing the cat no favors either.

When pets are ill, the advice I've heard and given (and learned from when not followed) is that it's better to let an animal go earlier than later. Don't keep them too long.

ThatBetch wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am all for letting pets go when it's time; if they are sick and in pain, or need an expensive surgery that won't really fix things. But here you sound like you have a perfectly healthy cat that is just a finicky eater. Sorry, but I can't see any justification for not caring for it.

Putting a 21 year old animal down humanely is "caring for it" PP.

And if your "finicky" cat is going to make your life financially unstable, humanely putting it down is the sane option.

If the cat were perfectly healthy, it could eat normal food like a normal cat. It's not. It's medically unstable without expensive food.

OP, good luck finding the food for less somehow. I agree it may be time to do a bit of vet shopping, as well. But if you're not able to reduce the cost of the food, and Finicky really can't adapt to anything else, then it may be time for Finicky to go.

Unless, of course, your budget has other frivolities you could cut to help cover the cost of cat food. If you've got a coffee habit, or expensive taste in shoes, perhaps there's some money to be found there?

Putting down a happy cat that sleeps a lot (and by the way, normal cats sleep 18-20 hours, so 22 is not actually insane) is not caring for it. Your "perfectly healthy" option is silly. By your logic, anyone with a food allergy is "medically unstable."

I sincerely feel bad for OP. But pretending it is in the cat's interest to be put down is some extreme rationalization.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am all for letting pets go when it's time; if they are sick and in pain, or need an expensive surgery that won't really fix things. But here you sound like you have a perfectly healthy cat that is just a finicky eater. Sorry, but I can't see any justification for not caring for it.

Putting a 21 year old animal down humanely is "caring for it" PP.

And if your "finicky" cat is going to make your life financially unstable, humanely putting it down is the sane option.

If the cat were perfectly healthy, it could eat normal food like a normal cat. It's not. It's medically unstable without expensive food.

OP, good luck finding the food for less somehow. I agree it may be time to do a bit of vet shopping, as well. But if you're not able to reduce the cost of the food, and Finicky really can't adapt to anything else, then it may be time for Finicky to go.

Unless, of course, your budget has other frivolities you could cut to help cover the cost of cat food. If you've got a coffee habit, or expensive taste in shoes, perhaps there's some money to be found there?

All cats sleep at least 18 hours a day.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Well, the cat is 21, so -- not much longer. Just keep doing the stellar job you're doing. Then when she passes away, you'll be relieved instead of guilty. Sounds like her quality of life is fine if she's willingly eating etc.

Congrats on having a 21 year old cat. You did a great job.

OP, I am all for letting pets go when it's time; if they are sick and in pain, or need an expensive surgery that won't really fix things. But here you sound like you have a perfectly healthy cat that is just a finicky eater. Sorry, but I can't see any justification for not caring for it.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Perhaps you can find a more sympathetic vet! My vet loves animals and does anything he can to keep them healthy. She's the one selling you the food for $100 a month. She could sell it to you at cost. My vet would do that. He's that kind of person.

Look online for coupons and for deals. I can usually find things cheaper online if I shop around.

Your cat may not have much longer to live, OP, if she's sleeping 22 hours a day. You might feel very badly about euthanizing her once your financial situation turns around. She may only live a few more months. Try to find the food cheaper and hang on. As long as she's happy, $100 a month is not that much to spend on her.

Hugs to you, OP. And to you cat!

....I had no idea cats live that long

Chewy's online is also cheaper than PetSmart

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Pet Smart can run high. Try online vendors like Pet Meds or the like.

What is the food? I am happy to deal hunt.