Ten Tips to Keep Your Senior Cat Healthy and Happy
The AVMA celebrates Senior Healthy Pet Month in September, which is a good time to reflect on whether you’re doing everything you can to keep your senior cat healthy and happy.
Cats are considered “seniors” after age 10, and “geriatric” after the age of 13. The AVMA recommends twice-yearly checkups for geriatric cats. That might sound like overkill, but early detection of common senior afflictions (thyroid problems, diabetes, chronic renal failure, cancer, heart problems and the like) can mean the difference between effectively managing the disease long-term and having to euthanize your beloved pet.
10 Tips to keep your senior cat healthy and happy:
1) Take her in for regular dental checkups.
Cats mask discomfort and pain, and it’s often hard to tell if your cat has dental problems unless her breath is horrific, or her face swells from an abscessed tooth. Regular dental checkups and treatment can save her months of discomfort, and keep her from losing weight – weight that, for a senior cat, might difficult to regain.
2) Groom her often
The benefits of grooming extend beyond keeping her coat tidy. Senior cats are far less aggressive groomers than their younger counterparts, and usually end up with a lot more loose hair … leaving them especially vulnerable to hairballs. Grooming your cat daily will help you learn your cat’s body to such a degree that you’ll be able to recognize tender spots or lumps early on. You’ll be able to spot skin flakes and a dull coat that might be symptomatic of thyroid disease or a poor diet. And it will give you invaluable bonding time — time you won’t have together once she’s gone.
3) Encourage play
It’s easy to forget to interact with older cats, since they sleep most of their days away and don’t seem like they want to play. But it’s worth trying to engage them in play — try their favorite toy and some catnip, and see what happens.
In addition to the quality time you’ll spend together, activity will help keep the cat in better physical shape, and you’ll be in a better position to tell when the cat is lethargic, which could be a clue to a health problem. Be sure to play in a private area, where a younger cat won’t encroach upon the game, which will sometimes cause older cats to back off.
4) Buy bed steps
Older cats often have difficulty jumping up on the bed. If she’s accustomed to sleeping with you, and no longer can get up on the bed to do so, she might feel depressed and alienated.
So, if your senior cat likes sleeping on your bed, consider buying a set of steps for the bottom or side of your bed.
5) Provide a heated cat cup or heated pad
Geezer cats feel the cold more, and appreciate a warm place to sleep.
6) Evaluate accessibility and make changes, if necessary
Consider providing a litter box with lower walls, and raising the height of her food and water bowls.
7) Create a stable environment
Change is difficult for a lot of cats, especially as they get older. For example, adding a kitten to the household may be difficult on an older cat, especially if she’s long been an only cat.
8] Consult with your vet about food supplements
Supplements or special formulations of food can provide additional Omega3 fatty acids, glucosamine with chondroitin, immune system boosters, probiotics, or other supplements that may offer benefits to your cat’s health. Discuss the options with your vet. (Never give your cat supplements designed for humans)
9) Switch to a senior formula cat food
Talk to your vet to determine if your cat might benefit from one of the 
many senior formula cat foods on the market. These foods typically provide an optimal balance of appropriate protein, fat, calories, vitamins and minerals for older cats.
10) Provide a fresh, appealing source of water
Cat fountains are very popular with cats, and may encourage your senior cat to drink more. Keeping your cat well-hydrated is especially important for proper kidney function and overall health.
And 2 bonus tips from our readers:
11) LOLA SEZ: Get a good pet or baby scale.
Good scales that weigh accurately in ounces may cost $80 to $100. Weight loss is often the first signal of disease or dental problems (as in your #1 tip) but can slip by undetected until it’s significant. Get a scale, use it regularly — for all your cats, not just seniors — and catch problems early. You can use a people scale, but it may be hard to detect a few ounces lost, which can be a significant loss for us small cats.
12) FRECKLES SEZ: Once you are ten years old, join the Olde Furts Group on Catster.
It’s a good place to meet other geezers and get good health advice and support.
Thanks Lola and Freckles for making it an even dozen tips!
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And give us lots of love and attention!
It’s Olde Furt MInxy in the photo!
Good tips! May I add one more?
If you can afford it, get a good pet or baby scale. Good scales that weigh accurately in ounces may cost $80 to $100. Weight loss is often the first signal of disease or dental problems (as in your #1 tip) but can slip by undetected until it’s significant. Get a scale, use it regularly — for all your cats, not just seniors — and catch problems early.
You can use your own scale, but it may be hard to detect a few ounces lost, which can be a significant loss for us small cats.
(A bonus is that my scale can be used to weigh letters and packages for the mail.)
We nevr saw a water fountin bowl bfur, it is the neatest thing yet. Prob cost big bucks, hey Mom, we want one fur Christmus!!! Oh yah, Furget the scales thingy, Mom wuld be gettin aftur us fur ar weight – gains, nut loss!!! Boo and Shaddy are chubby boys!!! We luvs lots of ‘tenntun too!!
Yes that me Lola! And the baby scales are a good tip # 11
Tip #12 is to check out Olde Furts http://www.catster.com/group/Olde_furts-2172 once you are 10 years old.
Me and Minxy joined and later became admins and its a good place to meet other meezers and get good health advice
Oh no, I’m a senior cat now.
I can’t believe it. Luckily, mom has done a lot of those things for me already.
Think yourself lucky Ashley. I’m “geriatric”!!
My cats are lucky, we live right near the vet and they get weighed once a month. And both of them have lost a little weight with the diet they are on. Mrs. B. needs to lose about 4 more pounds and Matty about two more. They get a spoonfull of fancy feast each, twice a day, and Purina diet. It has worked quite well.
Lucky is 4 yrs old now and he stays dizzy. I took him to vet last yr and he gave him a series of shots and he got better but its back. I wonder if its the fall season, but he is basically an inside cat…I have a screen deck he sits on. I got laid off from job, so I can’t afford the shots again this year, they were approx $40 for about 5 of them last yr. He just had a physical in August, and the vet thought he looked good, but gave me spray to help his hair look better. He is long hair. He will not touch the spray of course. He still eats and does everything normal but he has no balance and I’m worried about him.
Good tips, thanks, CATSTER! The fountain is a definite hit with our furmily, who drink a LOT more water since they have it. Clean it regularly and replace filters as required; buying the cleaning kit is a good thing, and you will feel great knowing your cats are drinking more water for their health and enjoyment!
Also, we strongly recommend a premium diet, NOT supermarket brands. The quality is reflected in the health of your CATS. And isn’t that the whole point?
We would love to have a water fountain but Junior Fluffkins knocks them over daily (or more, if possible) and spills the water all over the floor. Mom gave up trying to find one Junior-proof.
thanks for the helpful tips, my cat is 20 so i am sure these tips will come in handy with making her more comfortable.
Another tip: Get your cat’s *blood pressure* checked. We’ve been treating my 17-yo cat, Rhino, for kidney failure for a year and a half or so, but didn’t know about this making her a higher risk for blood pressure until she went blind suddenly due to detached retinas! Vet says sometimes the retinas can actually reattach if you treat for high BP immediately, which we did, but I’d suggest anyone else have their vet check for this when their cat gets older, or if the cat has another high-risk condition. Thanks for the article!
My domestic long hair, Samantha is 18 and being treated successfully for thyroid disease. She is also deaf and loosing her sight to some degree. At the suggestion of our vet we have added night lights through out the house to help her be more comfortable at night. We have also put a litter box on each level of our home so that she doesn’t have to travel the stairs when nature calls.
Human scales that measure to the 1/5 or 1/10 pound are cheaper than baby scales. I weigh my senior kitties by holding one while stepping on the scale, then weighing myself without the cat, and calculating the difference. It’s also much easier than trying to get kitty to sit still on her own!
My Siamese Emma is now 11 years old and I have had her since she was 6 weeks old. She definitely has her own heating pad and she enjoys it so much. She also doesn’t like to eat with her food on the floor, nor can she get on the cabinet so she uses my kitchen utility stool where she eats on the second step and she love it. I am on a fixed income and can’t afford any better.. She lets me know when she is hungry because she not only has the loud Siamese of talking, but she get very snappish if she doesn’t get it NOW !!
A must for every senior cat is getting a yearly blood panel work up from your vet, it will tell you so much that you need to know and keep surprises to a minimum. We wish we had known to do this sooner, but with our new vet (national vet of the year two years ago) recommends it and it works! Your younger cats can go every several of years. If you have a strictly indoor cat, grow cat grass indoors to help purge fur and give them the green diet they are use to. Outdoor grass is not always the best idea since it has pesticides and fertilizers. Older cats are hard to stimulate with toys, keep new toys coming to keep their minds active. You can even make toys for them – they know and recognize effort
About the scales, Mommy sez you can get a decent digital human scale for about $40 that reads tenths of a pound. Our vet sez that a tenth of a pound is close enough. More than a tenth of a pound loss (unless they’re on weight loss food or something) is a sign to get a checkup.
Anyone know what kind of “waterer” is pictured, what the approximate cost is, and where to purchase?
Thanks fur the info! =^..^=
FourFurbs
Lola is my idol!
PS
Can my Mom join Olde Furts? She is as old as dirt
Ooop
FourFurbs:
It’s a Drinkwell cat fountain. There are several models; they start at around $50, but are SO worth it. I’ve had one since 1996.
Here are all the models: http://su.pr/2korwB (you can shop around for cheaper prices, but Petsmart happened to have all the available models on one page.)
Don’t give your Senior Kittizens tap water that contains chlorine. It is hard on their kidneys. Filtered, bottled or well water is highly recommended.
Warm Mist humidifier is a MUST for colds. Lysine 250mg 2x/day (crushed in wet food), pediatric nasal drops & lots of wet moist food to keep hydrated. (Nuke it for 8 sec to soothe their throats) Plus remember, cats will only eat if they can smell. Treat your kitty just the way you would treat yourself. Take it in the bathroom with you when you shower to get a full steam bath. You can buy Terramycin at most feed stores or online to treat crusty eyes.
I am NOT a Vet. This is just what works for PurrEver. ALWAYS check with your Vet anytime your pet is ill or before adm meds. Often, your kitty will need to be on anantibiotic to prevent secondary infections. Cat colds can be fatal especially to the very young & very old.