Petfinder.com forums :: View topic - Senior Cat Adoption And Care w/Jonathan Rosenberg Nov 16th! [ ]

In honor of Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month, we are excited to be able to bring you the second half of our two part discussion on senior pet adoption and care!

We are thrilled to have Jonathan Rosenberg from Tabby's Place: A Cat Sanctuary with us to answer all of your questions on senior cat adoption and care.

Jonathan Rosenberg is the Founder and Executive Director of “Tabby’s Place: a Cat Sanctuary,” a cage-free sanctuary that provides refuge to cats from hopeless situations. Jonathan graduated with a BS in Computer Science (Summa --I have a Potty Mouth-- Laude, with High Honors) from the University of Maryland in 1977, followed by a PhD in Computer Science in 1983 from Carnegie Mellon. He was an early employee of a successful internet startup. After losing his beloved cat Tabby to cancer, Jonathan quit this job and his real life's work began. He and his wife opened Tabby’s Place in Ringoes, NJ in 2003 and since have devoted their lives to saving homeless cats. Since its inception, Tabby’s Place has adopted over 450 cats, many aging, sick, diseased or handicapped.

Welcome Jonathan!!

Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:28 pm Post subject:

Welcome and thanks for coming to forum!

I lost my 17 year old cat a couple months ago and am thinking I would like to honor his memory by adopting a senior. I currently have two cats (4 and 7 years old) along with a ferret. What would you suggest in terms of making the transition to a new home as comfortable and as least stressful as possible? Is there any special considerations for seniors?

Jonathan's Answer:

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your 17 year old boy. I k now how
hard it is to lose a furry loved one. It is very kind of you to honor him
by adopting a senior citizen. They are often overlooked at shelters.

The biggest concerns for the comfort of an older cat involve the fact that
seniors typically are not as active as younger animals and need more "down
time." Given your mix of species and their ages, I suspect you have a
high-energy household, so you should look for an older cat that still has a
lot of energy and few physical limitations.

This shouldn’t limit you much, as even quite old cats can still be very
spry. For example, our 20 year-old Hillary still romps around like a
kitten:

http://www.tabbysplace.org/cat-desc.php?id=100

Once you find the appropriate senior citizen, you'll want to a slow, proper
introduction so that all of the animals become comfortable to each other. I
can't over-stress the importance of this step. If you need help on this, we
have information on the process here:

http://www.tabbysplace.org/Resources/introduction.html

Good luck & please send us photos of your new family member.

thank you so much, I certainly will!

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:56 am Post subject:

Hi Jonathan thanks for being here.

I have an 17 year old cat that in the past week has started sitting in a room by himself crying loudly. He will do this for several mins then be fine for a couple hours, then the crying starts again. Other than that he is still acting normally, (eating, grooming, interacting with my other cats). Do you have any insight into what the crying might mean?

Jonathan's Answer:

CT Kenny,

If you haven't already done so, please make an appointment to have your old guy seen by his vet soon. You don't want to be taking any chances with a 17 year old.

With that out of the way, two things immediately come to mind:

1) Hyperthyroidism: this disease, which is caused by a benign tumor on the thyroid gland, is very common in older cats. The benign tumor leads to heightened thyroid activity and, therefore, increased metabolism. A common symptom is intermittent howling or crying.

Hyperthyroidism is easily diagnosed with a blood test and easily treated with medication (there are some other treatment options). If left untreated, however, it can lead to heart disease.

2) Deafness: Like people, elderly cats can lose their hearing. And, like hard-of-hearing people who often talk loudly, cats can do likewise. It's not uncommon for cats who are going deaf to howl in empty rooms or hallways, presumably because the echo amplifies their voice.

Please let us know what you learn from the vet.

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:24 pm Post subject:

I have senior cat that I adopted a couple years ago. Salem is a great guy and has always been snuggly and affectionate with me. I recently took in another (Boo) and since then Salem won’t cuddle with me anymore. I think he is really jealous and mad at me for bringing in another cat. My question is will things with Salem go back to normal? Is there anything I can do to make him feel better?

Jonathan's Answer:

FurMom,

I’m sorry to hear that Salem (great name, btw) has stopped cuddling with you. I have to tell you that, in my experience, changes induced by introducing new animals are sometimes permanent.

That being said, it is certainly worth trying to restore your guy’s behavior. You didn’t mention how long the new cat has been with you. If it has only been a month or two, I wouldn’t worry just yet. See the items below for ideas as to how to proceed.

Regardless of the length of time , I would want to know how you introduced the cats to each other. A careful introduction is crucial to long-term success. Take a look at this page for a nice description:

http://www.tabbysplace.org/Resources/introduction.html

If you didn’t do the introduction in this manner, you might want to consider starting all over again, as if you were just bring the new cat into your home.

Assuming a proper introduction has been done, please make sure that Salem is getting the private he needs, both alone, as well as with you. If you have to, lock the newcomer out of a room and spend time alone with Salem. Make sure that Salem has a “safe place” to go where he is not bothered by the new cat. You don’t want Salem to feel that “his” house has been taken over by a “squatter.” This is one the reasons that the introduction is so important.

Good luck and give it time.

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:34 pm Post subject:

Hi there – I have adopted several senior cats over the years and they have been great companions. Two months ago I decided to try adopting senior dog named Sadie. Sadie is really sweet and does not bother my cat 11 year old cat Thomas, but Thomas does not return the favor. Sadie can just be laying on the family room floor and for no discernible reason, Thomas will run by her and swipe at her face. Sometimes when she is walking around, he will jump up and put his paws around her neck. He goes in for regular check ups and is healthy… Any ideas?

Jonathan's Answer:

Valentine,

Bless you for adopting senior cats. One of the best things my wife & I ever did was to adopt a cat that our vet would only describe as “ancient.” Lynx was at least 18 years old and quite a character. He was only with us for 8 months, but they were a wonderful 8 months. We would do it again in a heartbeat.

Given that it’s only been two months since you have adopted Sadie, I don’t think you have a problem. I think Thomas is just being, well, Thomas. If you really think he’s being too aggressive, then you can use a deterrence method. A good choice is a squirt gun or a coffee can filled with pennies (shake it vigorously to make an annoying noise). Remember that you need to use the deterrent immediately after the “infraction,” or it will not be effective.

Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 7:45 pm Post subject:

Hi Jonathon, thank you for being here.

Recently I lost my 17 year old Cuddles. While at the vet they had a 10 year old female boarding and needing a home with early signs of Kidney problems. I told the vet we would take Jade home with us. We also have a 5ish year old male feral cat. He is still very scared of people but seems to enjoy my senior dogs and fosters that come into the house. Jade has lived with other cats. Romeo (my feral) and Cuddles never were together and the each claimed separate floors of the house since Cuddles really didn't like other cats - only dogs and would chase Romeo away.

So it has been a couple of months and I have been going extremely slow with the introductions. I still don't leave them overnight or when we are not home unattended. However other than some minor spitting on her part - they still seem frightened of each other. They will sniff through the doors and both cry. He likes to explore her room, however she shows no interest in leaving her room. They are both very playful and active cats and I notice Romeo is coming to me more often for petting and love. They both have their own rooms, dishes, water and litter boxes.

My question seems silly - Am I being over cautious at this point? Would they have gotten into a fight by now if it was going to happen? They were both loose today all day and they still stayed in their separate rooms after Romeo's inital forage into Jade's room. The doors were open for them to interact, but neither seemed interested. I'm not necessarily looking for them to be close housemates (although that would be nice) but just that they can live safely together.

Thanks for easing my mind.

Jonathan's Answer:

Dear Nvrgn,

I am so sorry to hear about Cuddles. Bless you for adopting an older special needs cat. You have a special heart do that.

I do think that it’s time to start trusting the “kids” to be alone without supervision. Maybe you should try them overnight for awhile, since you will still be in the house in case anything bad goes down.

Remember, they ARE cats and they get into it once in a while. As long as things don’t get out of control and no one gets injured you need to let them work things out.

It sounds like thing will be fine. Please keep us informed.

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