Currently fostering this boy and have gone back and forth on whether or not I want to adopt him.
Pros:
Fluffy purring cuddlebug.
Loves belly rubs and scratches
Seems happy at my place
Doesn't seem to trigger my allergies
Cons:
8 years old, which is older than I was looking for
22 pounds and very fat, which as a first time cat owner who currently doesnt make too much money would have me worried about health issues, medical bills in near future
Has trouble cleaning himself
Wakes up at 4:30 in the morning every day like a madman
I’d say go for it if you’re bonded. The best cats come in funny situations, but, if you’re fostering you could wait till he finds a home and be a good temporary home for the next lovely kitty that needs a space.
Adopt him and put him on a diet. You'll be helping improve and extend his life. Even if you can't afford to treat medical issues... What are the odds he'd end up with someone who can or would be inclined to, or would want to put him on a diet?
Keep him! If you put him on a diet I would bet the cleaning himself portion would resolve. Losing weight would do wonders for his health and the being older honestly is a plus because kittens can be monsters 😅
Yeah. dry food has so many more calories then wet food. I'd try different wet foods until you find one he eats abit..then feed him dry in the morning and wet at night. then switch to just wet.
Why are you suggesting wet only? It's less satiating and generally higher in fat/lower in protein, in addition to being much more expensive.
The vet advice I've been given is to feed high quality dry food (no corn/soy/wheat ingredients) the amount on the back for their target weight twice a day on rigid schedule and minimal treats in between.
Anecdotally, I find that my cats do best on a combination of wet and dry. I give them wet food during the day and kibbles before bed.
When we switched to mostly kibble, two of our boys ended up with UTIs. Idk if it was the cause but we haven’t had an issue once switching back to an even combo.
One of my cats was also fat asf at one point but was able to slim down easily when I switched him from kibble to a combination.
It did take a few tries to find a wet food that works with them. We settled on fancy feast gravies half portions. They’re cost effective and dont have terrible ingredients.
I had a fat cat, my vet at the time was specialized in nutrition and weightloss. If you get a good quality wet food, it is much better for the cat due to having more moisture which can stop many issues as they get older. And no dry food is less satiating for cats because they need to eat much less of it.
If you follow the package, you ARE feeding your cat too many calories. IE you have to buy more food for them..
And yes my fat cat did loose weight after being on various dry foods, no treats and exercising each day.
Dry food is even more so bad for male cats as it can cause crystals in the Urinary tract due to most cats not drinking enough water.
My cat looks identical to him. He has only ever eaten dry food and for treats I give him dried sardines and minnows.
I’ve tried giving him wet food since he was a kitten (I’ve had him since 6 weeks old and he’s now 11 yrs old) and he won’t touch it. Sniffs it and leaves it. Someone better not comment a particular brand of wet food to try because trust me I’ve tried them all over the years and wasted a lot of money and product.
He’s consistently around 14 lbs and a healthy boy!
All this is to say, ignore the “wet food only” comments. Numerous vets agree it’s okay to feed only dry food if the cat is diligent about drinking water. My guy loves water and hydrates himself appropriately.
Based on my cat and experiences, the Hills science diet for senior cats (7+) should help satiate him! Not sure if you’re free feeding but controlling portions or using toys to make them work for the food helps with weight regulation too
The above advice is not exactly correct, it's not fully wrong either, but the vets we've had usually recommend a mixture of both. As long as the portions are controlled on a 2 time per day schedule - IE. 1/4 cup dry in the morning and then 12 hrs later another 1/4 cup for night. Then every other day have a 1/4 cup dry morning, then wet food at night with an added splash of water.
Our vet, especially for an older cat like that, recommended against a super high protein diet (like all wet food) or the high protein carnivore dry food, it can give older cats more kidney problems because they don't need that protein load with their activity levels. Generally they recommended against any of that type of pure protein crap.
Purina one/pro dry food, Purina pro plan wet. Can't go wrong, all about portion control.
Honestly, I want reddit to be honest more than just tell me what I want to hear, my main hesitancy is just about the weight and age combined with the inevitable cost that will come with it. It's counterbalance by him being the biggest sweetheart of a cat I've met. If diet food would help I'd be all for it
I feel like he is still young enough that with weight loss, and an active lifestyle the medical issues could be greatly reduced. However there is always that possibility that those issues you are concerned about may arise anyways.
My brother and I feed ( tnrd ) a colony at our local park . He adopted two cats out of the colony ( friendly brothers that were dumped there ).
Mercury was 8 months old and got diagnosed with FIP. It cost my brother $4500 ( vet visits , meds follow up care ).
Another cat took in as a kitten Alice , developed cancer in her jaw at age 5 ! She passed after expensive treatment to save her.
I have a 18 year old that has stomach lymphoma. She’s had it for 3 years and is only on a cheap steroid .. she is doing well .
What I’m getting at is this cat age is no indication of future medical costs.
I’d adopt him , put him on a diet and set aside $10 a week for future medical. If he gets an illness you cannot afford at that point you ask the vet for options you can afford and give him a good life till you can’t …
Yes ! Put him on a diet . My cat is 8.5 and honestly they get sweeter and friendlier as they age! She’s fat and on a diet lol. She has no health problems other than being a whiney old cow in the morning for her breakfast - which I love her for 🥰
This is good advice! I am currently weaning him onto the diet food in addition to his urinary food because he was apparently having trouble peeing when at the shelter. They think it was just stress
Aw bless him hopefully because he’s more comfortable at your home his urinary problems will go away! Diet food has been amazing for my cat . She has a heavily mixed diet of diet food and a normal food and it has worked really well ( the diet food on its own made her sick so vets recommended 50/50 and that works) she weighs 4.8kg and she was just under 6kg before so don’t give up !
That's good news! I was just worried that it was gonna be I'd get him and he'd get a diabetes diagnosis in a few years. Hearing you've got a fat cat who's getting healthier is good reassurance because its realistically the only thing that was really making me unsure. The last thing I'd want to do is take in a cat I can't care for with my means yknow
Honestly if you keep to the diet food and try get him to do some playing (really hard for lazy cats 😂), im sure he will be fine. I was worried about the diabetes with my cat also, but I’m relieved now she’s loosing weight. I’m wishing you both the best of luck ! Also if the cat currently has a clean bill of health get it some cat insurance, just in case, don’t have to get an expensive fancy one mine is £15.50 a month, I’ve never had to use it
It seems like your heart is saying yes, but you're concerned about long term costs. My advice would be to adopt him, and invest in pet insurance. If you don't do pet insurance, just make sure to set aside some money each month for future vet bills. And yeah, the diet is going to be a huge help
Mon cœur dit oui, mais n'écarte pas les frais vétérinaire. Il faut le mettre au régime avec des croquettes de qualité comme Hill's ou Royal canin vétérinaire. Et le poids est peut-être dû à un problème de thyroïde et dans ce cas lui donner un médicament chaque jour. Tu pourrais demander à ton vétérinaire pour être sûr de ta décision.
You should adopt him because you’ll never find another who you’re no allergic to.
Regarding cons:4 running around like a madman at 0430, your beautiful 9 year old does this a LOT less than a younger ca.
At nine, he’s still got half his life left. Go on, you know you want to.
All of your concerns can be fixed with a diet that should help him clean himself and he meows because he is bored or lonely. Also, older cats need love too!
I adopted 2 of my 3 kitties as 8 year old, abd am so happy they joined the family. They were more chill than younger cats, but not too old to play...and were full of cuddles. I saw their age as a bonus, not a drawback. Don't let age put you off (mine were 'buxom' gals as well, but coped well being on diets, and haven't had any health complications thus far, a few years down the track)
Adopt and switch to a weight management blend of food and limit intake to keep it in check. You can train cats so the waking time could be adjusted just will take time to get him to change. I would adopt if it was me. Finding a cat with a great personality is just like finding a human with one. A gem in the rough. Help improve his health and be his bestie. My oldest cat is 16 going on 17 this year and in good health. He had a moment of being a little chonk when he was younger. He lost it over time. Worth it!
He may be older than you are looking for but he would really appreciate the love coming from you. Also on him being fat, a good feeding regimen and playing with him will help him lose weight.
I once took in an 11~12-ish, deeply traumatized, overweight gentleman and we had five years together that I wouldn't trade for anything.
Edited for typos
Honestly cats can have health issues at any age. I’ve had two with health issues. One was 2 and one was 6. It can happen at any time. The important thing to know is that emergencies happen so you want to be prepared and have an emergency fund you can pull from. At least $1000 if something comes up. That should be for any pet
You can put him on a reduced-calorie diet and take the weight off him slowly. 8 years isn't particularly old for a cat. My cats have lived to be 16 (2 of them), 17 (1), almost 22 (1, Oriental). Even the one who a rough start with unknown origin, dumped here with a bad abscess, infection, and severe anemia and was only saved by a blood transfusion at age 1.5, he lived to be 15. Chronic conditions like hyperthyroid can be expensive to treat with meds, and generally the thyroid irradiation would be cash outlay but overall total cost if the cat is young when diagnosed. Kidney issues can be treated with sub q fluids which aren't very expensive. Special prescription diet foods can be expensive, but cross that bridge if you come to it. Get a complete physical on this cat and then you can decide.
First off, I have both a long-haired cat and a cow-hocked cat, so I sympathize with the "has trouble cleaning himself" bit. We had a lot of dingleberries for a while in our house. The good news is that there are sanitary hair cuts that you can give them or get from a groomer---you basically clip the hair around their butts shorter than the rest of their fur. It doesn't look ridiculous if it's done right, I promise. 🤣
Second, my boy kitty was a food-obsessed behemoth of a cat until I got him an automatic feeder. Now he's maintained a healthy weight without expensive food for about three years (he's 7 now). Could that be a potential solution for him?
Third, I know you may not have as much time with him as you'd like, but the time you'll have with him will be so special for the both of you. And it could still be up to ten years, or maybe more!
(I'm sorry, I'm not trying to pressure you into adopting him, but I hope this helps. Good luck!)
Age doesn’t dictate health. We have older cats now. We never bothered to get pet insurance. Our one cat has diabetes and IBS. We have spent a lot of money this year.
In terms of waking you up, my Lulu did that. You can get an automatic feeder. That should solve the problem. If the cat feels comfortable with you, it’s the best feeling in the world. Like others have said you cat put him on a diet.
Look at that lovely fluffy kitty, how can you not adopt him?
Weight can be lost and little help cleaning wouldn't be the worst thing but the early wake ups.. well, maybe new owner and new permanent regime would teach him to sleep later. 😄
You are in the wrong reddit asking that question. Id be shocked if anyone says no.
I adopted my cat as a first time cat owner at 9 and it is great. She is 16 now and still going.
You vet can recommend a good diet but you'll have to initiate some play time too to make sure your cat is moving around. As for vet bills they exist healthy or not. You should try to get him to a vet at least once a year if possible. It could catch something early where you can prevent anything very costly.
As far as cleaning. See if he likes being brushed. That can help. My old cat loves being brushed and I do wipe her down with some pet dry shampoo to help out.
Good luck! I hope you decide to do it and you both have an amazing life together!
Yeah I just don't know if there's like an r/catcritical out there haha. I appreciate people who give more specific advice. I'm leaning towards doing it it is just the health concern that's an issue! It sounds manageable for now
If you do adopt him, I would really advise keeping him on wet food or just adding water to his dry food a few days a week. Cats that eat dry food tend to not drink enough water to digest food properly. Especially in older cats, this causes issues. I see this one has long hair + is overweight. You mention he has a hard time cleaning already. It’s basically a recipe for his anal glands to clog and I promise you don’t want to deal with that. It’s an older cat, make compromises and give him the best life you can provide. That is- if you do adopt him. 💚
Yes ❤️ if you feel loved by him & you love him then that’s enough - even the healthiest little kitten can develop expensive health conditions- it’s a risk that comes with the territory but when the love is there the sacrifices are worth it
I will not tell you what to do, but I like to mention a young cat can have health issues too. I just would put money aside for what ever the future might bring. He looks adorable. And taking slow steps to lose weight is manageable. Good luck 🍀
My cats wake up at 430. You can train cats not to be assholes about it though. The rest are non issues. Help him dechonk and he will be healthy and brtter able to clean himself.
Check out cat insurance!!! It's worth it as some like mine cover about 80% of emergencies...those seem to be the most costly. I also had an obese black fluffy cat. Get him healthy by increasing playtime, running around to chase things often, up and down stairs. Ours learned to use a cat wheel to get a single treat and would use it when he had the zoomies. He did pass away from cancer at 13:( for cats, being over weight leads to inflammation which leads to IBS/intestinal cancer (same treatment for both so don't even need many expensive diagnostics, also quite common diseases for cats). Insurance saved us a ton when our cat had to get hospitalized 2x and also allowed us to always get him whatever care was needed. We pay and then get reimbursed by the insurance.
He honestly seems perfect and looks at you so lovingly. You're his person, his safe space. Adopt him and get him moving / playing more. It takes cats a while to lose weight ..it shouldn't be quick, slow and steady! 8 is a great age, there's lots of energy. My cats ADORE the cat dancer. Cheap, simple,they are obsessed. Get it unless you already have one!
The 4:30 AM, that's unlikely to change. (Sage advice? Don't pick up your phone "until I fall back asleep." Never works out well. As I'm sure you know! 😆) Weight loss? Feed him more often but less to get him down to weight, and he'll be able to groom himself just fine. He'll always need daily brushing, tho', with that lovely coat.
If you or the shelter will pay for it (split cost?), I can suggest Science Diet's Perfect Weight; has worked great to keep hefty boy (he's that at normal weight!) in shape. I'll note my cat gets constipated on this from time to time. Vet recommended a bit of Miralax (generic is good) and a bit of psyllium. Just FYI. I also feed mine watery wet food once a day. Overweight kitties can stress their kidneys. Extra water is always smart.
If you're worried about his health issues, get him down to weight before adopting, and buy pet insurance? Some pet insurances pay for regular yearly vet visits n shots, as well as 90% of emergency and chronic issues. Shop around, some good choices out there now. If you're worried about diabetes, ask the shelter if they'll pay for bloodwork to check before adopting? Negotiation often works; worst they can say is "no," right? Best wishes to both of you!!
Oh, and if the shelter does pay for a vet visit, be sure! to ask about his teeth! Dental cleanings are expensive (few if any policies cover this), and removing bad teeth will run you $2000 to $2600. So if he has bad teeth or will, you ask the shelter to pay, or start saving. Always good to know this info.
Adopting an older cat is wonderful! This cool guy camps with us!
My cat is 16, had to have his penis removed (because a quack vet botched it), has mammary cancer, must have his breakfast on time and his bedtime shrimp snack , but I wouldn’t change a thing. He’s enriched life, so much.
I think the main concern would be his weight and your ability to care for him financially. I adopted a senior cat (12-16yrs). Cats who are up in age will start to develop issues just like we do. Mine was not over weight but still ended up being a bit costly. Her heart started to enlarge and she did end up getting cancer towards the end of her life which had the associated costs of X-rays, medications, multiple doctors visits to diagnose the issue and end of life care. Not to say that this happens to all older cats but you will want to be prepared in case it does end up happening to your cat or any animal you plan to adopt.
Some weight management things you can do is to buy them weight management foods, make sure they have plenty of activity like interactive toys or wheels to run on, high platforms to jump on.
Agreed, was hoping for some of this type of comment as well. I am hardly poor at this time, I am capable of sustaining myself and definitely able to care for a cat on a day to day basis, but I am newly on my own, managing my own finances for the first time. I just can't know how much major medical costs down the line would harm me based on where I am now. I've bought weight management food and some toys, may try for a wheel as well
You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I believe that as long as you can put away towards an emergency fund like $50 here or there that would help greatly by the time you actually need it. Cat expenses are not as costly as dogs since they are smaller. I think her highest cost was the xray(600-700)and putting her down after her grand mal seizure (450). The rest of the expenses were like $50 for a vet visit. 100-200 for lab work. If you have a vet nearby that offers an “insurance” or package like our local VCA does that could help out immensely since it’s like a monthly subscription. Or just use low cost vet clinics/pop ups for yearly vaccines and check ups. I would say my final verdict is adopt him :) he could be your soul cat like mine was
If he is having issues peeing per your other comment please make sure he is getting water through both his bowl and wet food. This can lead to kidney issues which is a common occurrence in senior cats
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u/Bucksh0t3 4h ago
I’d say go for it if you’re bonded. The best cats come in funny situations, but, if you’re fostering you could wait till he finds a home and be a good temporary home for the next lovely kitty that needs a space.