senior cats | Diane Weinmann's HOPE

6 Tips for Caring for Senior Cats

As seen in PetMD and Reviewed for accuracy on November 18, 2019, by Dr. Liz Bales, VMD

With good care—and good luck—our cats can live well into their late teens, and even their twenties. But as cats age, their physical and behavioral needs change.

While these changes are obvious as your kitten matures into an adult cat, the changes when your cat transitions from an adult to a senior—starting at 11 years old—can be harder to spot.

Here are the top six ways to care for aging cats.

1. Pay Extra Attention to Your Senior Cat’s Diet

Senior cats have unique dietary and behavioral needs. It is more important than ever for your cat to be a healthy weight to maintain optimum health.

Talk to your veterinarian about how and when to transition your cat to a senior food.

Your veterinarian will help you asses your cat’s optimum weight and can recommend a senior food to help maintain, lose or gain weight.

A cat’s digestion is also improved by feeding them small, frequent meals throughout the day and night. Measure your cat’s daily food and distribute it in small portions.

You can use tools like hunting feeders, like Doc & Phoebe’s Cat Co. Indoor Cat Feeder Kit, and puzzle toys that promote physical and mental engagement at mealtime.

2. Increase Your Cat’s Access to Water

As cats age, they are prone to constipation and kidney disease, especially if they are not staying hydrated enough.

Increase your senior cat’s water intake by providing canned food and more options for drinking water.

As your cat gets older, they might not be able to jump up on to counters or access the usual water dish. Add more water stations around the house with plenty of bowls and/or pet water fountains to entice your senior cat to drink more.

3. Know and Keep an Eye Out for the Subtle Signs of Pain in Cats

Cats are masters at hiding their pain. As many as nine out of 10 senior cats show evidence of arthritis when X-rayed, yet most of us with senior cats have no idea.

The most important thing you can do to prevent the pain from arthritis is to keep your cat at healthy weight. As little as a pound or two of excess weight can significantly increase the pain of sore joints.

Your veterinarian can help you with a long-term plan to help control your cat’s pain with medicine, supplements and alternative treatments, like acupuncture, physical therapy and laser treatments.

4. Don’t Neglect Your Cat’s Dental Health

Dental disease is very common in aging cats. Cats can get painful holes in their teeth, broken teeth, gum disease and oral tumors that significantly affect their quality of life.

Infections in the mouth enter the bloodstream and can slowly affect the liver, kidneys and heart. So paying attention to your cat’s dental health is essential to caring for them during their senior years.

Often, there is no clear sign of dental disease. Cat parents see weight loss and a poor hair coat as the vague signs of aging, not an indication of a potential problem.

A thorough veterinary exam and routine dental care can drastically improve your cat’s quality of life, and can even extend their lifespan.

5. Give Senior Cats Daily Exercise and Mental Stimulation

Environmental enrichment is an essential part of your cat’s quality of life.

All cats need places to climb, places to hide, things to scratch, and ways to hunt and play. All of these things will help your cat stay physically and mentally stimulated as well as healthy.

However, as your cat ages, providing these things may require some extra thought. Your cat’s mobility may become more limited, so you will need to make your home more accessible so that it’s easier on their older joints.

For example, a carpeted cat ramp can act as a scratching post as well as a climbing aid for cats with arthritis. A covered cat bed can give aging cats a cozy, warm place to hide that also helps to soothe sore joints and muscles. You can move their food and water bowls to more accessible locations on the ground instead of on tables or counters.

6. Don’t Skimp on Biannual Vet Visits

Finally, and most importantly, maintaining a good relationship with your veterinarian is critical when discussing care and quality of life for your cat in their senior years. Ideally, cats over 11 years of age should see the veterinarian every six months.

Blood work done during these visits can detect the onset of health issues—like kidney disease—while there’s still time to make medical changes that will improve and extend your cat’s life.

Weighing your cat twice a year will also show trends in weight loss or gain that can be valuable clues to overall health changes. And oral exams will detect dental disease before it negatively impacts your cat’s health.

By Dr. Becker and comments by Diane Weinmann

By the time your cat reaches the age of 10, she’s officially a senior citizen. The good news is that many cats today are living into their late teens and even early 20s. With the proper care, a kitty in good health at 10 can easily live another 8, 10 or even 12 years. There’s no need to worry that your feline companion is getting older. In fact, this is a great time to take steps to make the second half of kitty’s life with you as healthy and happy as the first half.

7 Tips to Keep Your Senior Cat Healthy and Happy

1. Schedule twice-yearly veterinary visits

Once your cat is into her senior years and beyond, her wellness and nutritional needs can require fine-tuning every four to six months. It’s very important to review weight, muscle tone, joint range of motion, diet, supplement protocol and exercise habits at least semi-annually for older pets.

At veterinary visits, be sure to mention any behavior changes you’ve noticed in your cat, no matter how minor, as these can provide important clues about health problems that may be brewing under the surface. It’s also important to monitor your cat’s weight to ensure she isn’t becoming too heavy or too thin.

The senior pet wellness screen is an excellent tool for early detection of changes in your cat’s health so that treatment, including appropriate lifestyle changes, can begin immediately. As part of the checkup, your vet will perform a physical exam and blood (including thyroid levels), urine and stool sample tests.

The results will provide a snapshot of how well your cat’s organs are functioning, and point to any potential problems. Regular wellness screens also allow your vet to compare current test results with past results to check for changes that may need further investigation.

2. Minimize environmental stressors

Kitties of all ages do best with a consistent daily routine, but older cats tend to get extra stressed when presented with anything new or different in their environment. Your senior kitty may be dealing with some vision and hearing loss, less tolerance for the cold and mental confusion. Cats can and do develop age-related cognitive decline, which means even the smallest change in your kitty’s routine can cause stress.

Your senior cat may become a little cranky and easily irritated. If there are young children or a playful dog at home, it’s important that all family members approach your kitty in a quiet, non-aggressive manner. It’s also important to protect an aging cat from potential bullying by younger or more active pets.

Of course, it’s important to avoid becoming a “helicopter pet parent” who constantly hovers over kitty. He’s still a cat after all, and prefers attention on his own terms! But do make a concerted effort to keep him comfy, secure and relaxed by maintaining a consistent daily routine and providing him with a quiet, cozy hideaway with comfy bedding and a favorite toy or two.

3. Feed your cat like a carnivore

Contrary to what many cat parents and even veterinarians believe, aging pets need MORE protein than their younger counterparts, and the quality is of paramount importance. The more digestible and assimilable the protein is, and the higher the moisture content of the food, the easier it will be for aging organs to process.

Feed kitty a nutritionally balanced, antioxidant-rich, species-appropriate diet that includes omega-3 essential fats such as krill oil. Since moisture is a cat’s best friend, be sure to encourage hydration by offering kitty a variety of water bowls around the house or a drinking fountain, in addition to minimizing or (preferably) eliminating dry food. If your cat is addicted to a poor-quality processed diet, consider adding a supplement such as Feline Whole Body Support.

4. Provide appropriate supplementation

Offering your cat SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine) is a safe and effective way to stall mental decline, improve mobility and assist in liver detoxification. Consult your holistic veterinarian for the right dose size.

Periodic detoxification with the herbs milk thistle and dandelion can also be very beneficial, as can providing super green foods in the form of fresh “cat grass” to nibble on. Chlorophyll, chlorella or spirulina can also be offered in supplement form to enhance your cat’s detoxification processes.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) have been shown to be safe for cats and can improve brain energy metabolism and decrease the amyloid protein buildup that results in brain lesions in older pets. Coconut oil is a rich source of MCTs and may also reduce hairball issues. I recommend 1/4 teaspoon for every 10 pounds of body weight twice daily for basic MCT support, if your cat will voluntarily eat it.

For aging kitties who prowl the house all night and vocalize, consider low-dose melatonin, which is not only a sedative with a calming effect, but also an antioxidant. I also use rhodiola, chamomile and l-theanine with good results.

5. Make sure kitty stays physically and mentally stimulated

Keep your cat’s body and mind active with regular exercise appropriate for your cat’s age and physical condition, and mental stimulation (puzzles and treat-release toys can be beneficial). Think of creative ways to enrich your cat’s indoor environment and if your kitty never touches the earth’s surface directly (most housecats don’t), consider a grounding pad to help reduce the buildup of EMFs.

Regular massage can help keep your senior cat’s muscles toned and reduce the slackening that comes with aging. Massaged muscles are looser, which makes it easier for your pet to move around comfortably. Massage also improves circulation, encourages lymphatic drainage and eases joint stiffness.

6. Take steps to keep your cat’s aging body comfortable

If kitty seems physically uncomfortable, it’s important not to assume it’s just a natural part of aging. You want to make sure she’s not in pain, so a visit to your vet is in order. The sooner a health problem is diagnosed and treated, in most cases, the better the outcome.

Keeping your cat at a good weight and physically active will help control arthritis and degenerative joint disease as he ages. Chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture can also be very helpful in keeping cats fully mobile in their later years. There are a wide range of supplements that can be added to your cat’s diet to help maintain healthy tendons, ligaments, joints and cartilage. These include:

• Glucosamine sulfate with MSM and eggshell membrane

• Omega-3 fats (krill oil)

• Ubiquinol

• Supergreen foods like spirulina and astaxanthin

• Natural anti-inflammatory formulas (herbs, proteolytic enzymes and nutraceuticals)

In addition, talk to your vet about Adequan injections, which can stimulate joint fluid very rapidly in pets with arthritis. Also insure your cat can get into and out of the litterbox easily. Remember that kitties are very adept at hiding arthritis and other aches and pains, which can limit their ability to climb into high-sided boxes, or boxes kept in bathtubs or up a flight of stairs, for example.

7. Spend some time with your cat every day

Set aside time each day to hang out with your kitty. If she tolerates being brushed or combed, work that into the daily schedule as well, to help her with grooming chores. Trimming the hair around the perineal area is usually much appreciated by older cats. Make sure meals are provided on a consistent schedule, along with playtime and petting/lap time. Organic catnip (for kitties who respond to it — not all do) can be a very effective way to encourage your cat to play.

I know my older cats, Arron and Milo both really enjoyed their snuggle time. It’s very important for both your pet’s and your own emotional security to spend time together sharing the love and demonstrating how much you mean to each other. Make sure you spend time each day cuddling because the memories you make together are irreplaceable!