Damn.... At least call a local animal shelter or agency to see if they will accept the cat...

If the animal is not sick or dying, why would someone have it killed, especially after being a part of the family for 20 years? The cat depends on you for care. It is really sad that people treat living creatures as disposable when it suits them...

EDIT: Selfish people never cease to amaze me... I had a cat live to the ripe old age of 24... She was a faithful companion to my Wife and I until the end, despite her moodiness and the high vet bills during her last few months. (She did not suffer) We took in another cat from the animal shelter a couple of years ago that did not use the litter box for awhile and is still somewhat moody and mean.... She is still with us... We would never consider killing her for that...

 

I have a fat old cat...Bubba...who hates going to the vet. He is on the rowdy side too. But we can still wrestle him into a cat carrier. A pillow? That'd scare me too.

 

Matter of fact, we took the cat in 20 years ago. I appologize that you see this as "selfish", but it's not. One can only doctor so many cuts, and one can only clean the floor so many times (which has a constant stink to it). Besides, I don't know of any shelter that is willing to accept a 20+ year old cat, especially in the condition that she is currently in. Unless of course, you want her??


No No, trust me, it's "humane" and all (the pillow case). We tried the whole pet taxi thing, but she would always manage to reach her little paw out though the little holes and tag our hands.


People, don't misunderstand me, I don't "hate" this cat, but just think that she's been with us for along time, and for the last... say 3-4 years, she has made it a daily routine to find her area on the rug.

 

Got some experience in this field!
Buddy, my long time friend was born in May of 1982, that's right, he's 22 years old! I've had him since August of 1982. He's survived 2 wives, the birth of my son, 13, who now considers him his best friend too, 6 or 8 other cats who died in the 17-19 year old range! You can see a pic of him and his two new housemates on my web page bobcatv8.org. Best natured and smartest cat I've ever seen! Buddy is blind in one eye, skinny as a stick, stiff from old Arthur, but still gets around! He even goes outside on the pool deck and will meander off if we don't keep an eye on him. He has always got along great with all other cats and even got along with my ex-wifes idiot dog {I know, redundant terms, idiot and dog }. He loves his two new mates who seem to have even pepped him up a bit. Survived going under and having a tumor cut off his tail at age 21!
As to your quandry, my advice is as long as your pet is living comfortably, without pain and can function, that is eat, poop and halfway keep themselves up, let 'em live. If they struggle or cause a burden to your family too bad to overcome, putting them down is the humane thing to do. Actually we OWE our pets the compassion to take care of them, even if it means putting them down when the time comes. It's a hard decision we've had to make several times, but quality of life is important to the animal too! If they suffer or it is apparent they will suffer very soon, putting them down is the right thing to do. Celebrate your pets long life and let it end painlessly and dignified.

 

my g/f is going through this wither her cat at the the moment. Around 16 years old, and has taken up some of the same habits. The vet tells her there's not much to be done, the cat's just OLD, and that there's nothing wrong with her, and to deal with it as long as possible. If the cat seems to be suffering, then it's time to put her down. In this case, the cat has also taken to constant meowing, and is driving everyone in the house crazy.
And, since it's been around so long, no one wants to put it to sleep. Guess who got voted to take care of that in the near future. Great.