[hollylovesbrandon]

Hello. My cat is about 13 years old. She has always been in good health. She has had her regular check-ups and the only time she has ever been sick is when she started having hairballs and throwing up her food. She is still very active and kills birds and squirrels and stuff. The only problem is that her hair is starting to change colors. The top of her head is changing from black to brown. And her hair has become very rough too. My question is, do you think she could be sick? Or is this just a normal thing given her age? I guess I just want to know if I should be worried. How much longer do you think she will live? I don't know how I would handle it if she ever died. I've had her since the day she was born.

[Clough]

I'm not really sure about the hair thing. Although, it does sound like something might be going on adversely health-wise. I'm sure that someone will come along to address that. I have had cats all of my life. My current one that I have is 15 and named Boots. You would not know that he was 15 by his behavior or his looks. I wouldn't worry so much about her dying right now, but just concentrate on enjoying her while she is alive.

[Clough]

hollylovesbrandon agrees: I spend a lot of time with her, she's awesome. Acts like a very young cat. I just worry. Like a mother. Lol

I know exactly what you mean! I am the same way! I'm sure that there will be other cat lovers along here. It just might take them awhile to notice your post.

[bushg]

My cat is around 11. Mine had hairball issues as well, It did effect his fur, but since I have gotten that under control his fur came back out as pretty as it ever was.
My advice is if you have the hairballs under control, you should have seen a change for the better in about a month.If not then maybe call the vet and speak to them about it.
I have seen cats live till 22 years of age with their fur in decent shape.

[hollylovesbrandon]

Thank you guys. I just worry so much. It's actually been about 3 months since the hairballs stopped. And the hair color change just recently happened, didn't happen when she had the issue. She does spend a lot of time outside though and we did have a lot of sun this year, could it have been like, bleached out? Like human hair?

[Emland]

My grandmother had a cat that lived to the ripe old age of 23. Usually the cat's diet will have a lot to do with the quality of the fur. If she was having hairball issues, it may have affected her fur, but should come back slowly as her nutrition comes back to normal.

[Clough]

I knew that the cat lovers would come along! :) I had forgotten about diet playing a part in the quality of a cat's fur. :o

[froggy7]

It could be a thyroid issue, what with the change in color and texture. If it is, you can treat it (relatively) easily by supplementing the missing hormone. How easy depends on how well your cat takes pills.

[hollylovesbrandon]

I guess I should take her to the vet... just for a check-up. She already had one earlier this year, but I guess when your cat gets old you should check into one more check up a year. Lol thanks guys.

[Wondergirl]

Our four cats (two old and two young) were eating a certain brand of cat food, and their coats started getting matted and unpleasant to the touch. I seriously think there was something nasty recently added to that food during processing because the cats never had a problem before this past summer. Once we changed brands, the cats' coats got shiny and soft and smooth. It had to have been the cat food.

[Clough]

I guess I should take her to the vet...just for a check-up. she already had one earlier this year, but I guess when your cat gets old you should check into one more check up a year. lol thanks guys.

I agree. For peace of mind, more often is better. :)

[Handy_Mom]

It could be a thyroid issue, what with the change in color and texture. If it is, you can treat it (relatively) easily by supplementing the missing hormone. How easy depends on how well your cat takes pills.

I agree with froggy7, my 19 yr old cat (at the time) was puking a lot and his fur seemed not as soft anymore and it was hypothyroidism. At the recommendation of my vet I took him to a place that specializes in this - all they do is zap the thyroid so as you can imagine it's really common or they couldn't maintain a business so speicalized. You can also give a pill a day but that takes a while to determine the exact dose. Anyway Poohbear is coming up on his 21st birthday but now the arthritis is getting him and I think he has diabetes too.

I just love on him a lot. I've had him since he was just 6 weeks old, picked him out from a litter. I't going to be very hard when he dies. I'll miss him a lot.

Regard,
Lanelle

[hollylovesbrandon]

Ok I have another question. Same cat. She had an "accident" in the house yesterday, when I cleaned it up, there was blood in it. It scared the crap out of me. So I went in there to the bedroom (she was sleeping on the bed) and I picked her up... and there was a little bit of blood on the sheet where she was laying. I'm scared.

[bushg]

Was it pee or poo accident? If pee then it is a sign of urinary tract infection, poo could mean hook worms.. but never heard of cats having those... You really need to see a vet. *edit* I just looked at a link that says cats can have hook worms besides blood in the stool they can have a dry brittle coat as well. I really think you need to take her to the vet as soon as possible.

[froggy7]

At 13 years old, you should probably being seeing a vet twice a year, instead of annually. Cats age faster than humans do, so it makes sense to see them more frequently in order to catch things at an earlier stage.