Caring for Your Senior Cat

By Lisa Maciorakowski, DVM
angell.org/generalmedicine
generalmedicine@angell.org
617-522-7282

April 2024

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Caring for a senior cat takes extra effort and consideration but can be a very rewarding experience. There are many ways to ensure that your special senior cat (those beyond seven years of age) has the healthiest and highest quality of life possible during this period. Older kitty care should include increased frequency of veterinary care and monitoring, re-evaluation of diet and nutritional needs, weight control, maintenance of mobility and mental health, and ensuring comfort through environmental accommodations.

As cat owners, our daily interactions with our cats allow us to serve a critical role in detecting signs of disease and discomfort. It’s important not to assume that changes in behavior (such as increased vocalization, disorientation, increased irritability, wandering, house soiling, etc.) are necessarily normal aging changes. While normal aging changes may be the case, a behavior change may also be an indicator of disease or illness like hyperthyroidism or a UTI. Therefore, it is essential to rule out possible underlying medical issues first. Like people, cats can experience some cognitive dysfunction. This may manifest as vocalizing and other vague changes in behavior. While older cats, in general, tend to sleep more, even subtle changes in sleep cycles, personality, or other behaviors should be reported to your veterinarian.

Monitoring more closely for changes in drinking and volume of urine produced is vital as an increase of either could be an indicator of common diseases in cats like chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and hyperthyroid disease. Also, monitoring the weight of your older kitty on a more regular basis is essential. This can be done at home on a baby scale each month so that trends can be noticed in between the vet visits. You should discuss what should be your cat’s “just right” weight with your vet. This conversation should include which senior food or other diet would be best for your cat. Overweight cats have a more significant strain on their heart and joints, and it puts them at risk of diabetes, while trends in unintentional weight loss could be indicators of underlying disease.

Also important to monitor at home is their bowel movements’ location, size, and consistency. Both inappropriate locations of defecation or abnormal bowel movements could potentially indicate some source of discomfort or illness. Smaller BMs could be an indicator that less food is being consumed. Monitor their appetite closely, as their sense of taste and smell can decrease with age. You may need to modify their diet due to a health issue or just due to their change in preference.

While annual “wellness” exams are important for cats of all ages, these visits are even more crucial during their senior years. With age can come issues arising from a decreased immune system, dehydration, and dental disease. Ideally, older kitties should be examined semi-annually or more often, depending on medical issues. Also, baseline lab work becomes more critical since kitties are good at hiding signs of illness. Physical exams and lab work can often catch a disease process before symptoms are noticed. So, even if a cat appears healthy, this should be done. Cats with a great appetite can still have common older-age cat diseases like hyperthyroid or intestinal disease. At these vet visits blood pressure monitoring should be started as well since hypertension is more common in older cats and associated with other disease processes.

Sometimes, cats with dental disease will have trouble grooming or eating or have abnormal behaviors around their mouth. But most often they are in silent pain or discomfort, so special attention should be taken to have their mouths evaluated regularly and dental procedures done if needed. Sometimes, older kitties need help with grooming/brushing. Although sometimes they just decide it’s a chore they no longer want to do, they may stop doing it themselves if they are uncomfortable from underlying arthritis or oral pain.

We assume that most, if not all, animals will develop some degree or form of arthritis as they get older. It should not be assumed that they are “just old” and that their condition should be accepted without intervention. Owners should be on the lookout for subtle changes that can be hard to notice as cats try to hide signs of discomfort. They may show other changes in behavior, energy levels, and sleeping patterns due to arthritis pain. Sometimes, the changes are a little more evident as they are starting to have trouble going up or down stairs, missing or avoiding jumping, limping, and difficulty getting up to or into their favorite spots. Even going in and out of the litter box may cause some discomfort and cause them to eliminate elsewhere. Keeping your cat from being overweight is extra important to help with their mobility. Options for joint supplements and pain medications should be discussed with their vet. It’s essential to make sure they can still comfortably get to all of their favorite places. They may need added steps or ramps or a couple of smaller jumps to get to their favorite sunning or lookout spot.

Older cats often require more frequent nail trims. As they age, their nails tend to grow longer and thicker at a much faster rate than when they were younger. Part of the reason may be that they are not using their scratching posts as much. If the nails are not monitored and cut more often, they run the risk of curling under the foot and causing a puncture wound into their feet.

As your cat ages, continue to provide physical and mental stimulation by petting, playing, and interacting together in your unique ways. However the type of play may need to be adjusted for what your kitty  can and wants to do at this age. Aging cats often crave more attention so this could be a way to strengthen and enjoy your special bond.

Fear-free thinking at both the vet clinic and at home becomes even more important for our senior kitties as it is harder for them to adjust to changes. You can create a senior cat-friendly home environment by placing resources such as water, food, and litter boxes in multiple easy-to-get-to locations. Don’t make them climb downstairs, if possible, to get to a single litter box. Litter box edge height might need to be adjusted if your cat has arthritis that creates discomfort while navigating the deeper boxes. Also, have food, water and litter boxers in calm, quiet locations. Providing plenty of sources of water to increase water consumption to prevent dehydration. Some cats prefer wide and low-sided bowls whose edges won’t rub their whiskers. Raised food and water dishes might help if bending the neck low to eat is uncomfortable. Senior kitties love their warm, cozy sleep spots more than ever so it’s essential to make sure that those are plentiful and that they have easy access to them.

So, if you are lucky enough to be loved by a senior cat, you should do everything you can to help them age comfortably and gracefully as you share this time of their lives together. As observant owners working together with the professional eye of the veterinarian, we can help assess our kitties’ comfort level and quality of life. Since kitties are blessed with the inability to be sad about the fact that they are aging and maintain the ability to live in the moment, our goal is to ensure that they are allowed to experience as much pleasure and enjoyment as possible during this particular time. While aging is inevitable, and we must accept the changes in our animals that accompany it, we should be encouraged that there is much we can do to keep our senior kitties happy, healthy, and comfortable as they enter the Golden Years part of their life journey. And maybe our senior kitties can help teach us to slow down, step back, and be in the moment with them.