Cats are amazing creatures: even if years pass, they have apparently drunk from the fountain of endless youth. However, although they always look young and glowing, cats age just like any other living thing.
Although we don't realize it, cats actually grow faster than other animals. In fact, a cat is already considered an adult when it reaches the age of 7 years. Just like with humans, when a cat reaches this age, its health begins to show signs of change and aging.
It is important for us, as human companions to our pets, to know when this phase begins so that we can take appropriate measures and provide the best lifestyle for your animal. Read this new article and learn 5 signs of old age in cats.
Hearing loss
Hearing loss does not occur in old age in all cats, but it is very common. If you call your cat several times and she doesn't respond, her hearing may not be as good as it used to be.
There are different degrees of deafness, with some cats having only a slight degree. Other older cats may become completely deaf. If you notice any major changes in your cat's feelings or behavior, you will need to contact your veterinarian to rule out another, more serious health problem.
The same thing happens with loss of vision and smell. The breakdown of your pet's senses will lead to attention deficits, and he may begin to become clumsy in his movements and show changes in his mood, so he may be somewhat irritable.
Doubts become the norm
We all know that with age, people increasingly doubt before making decisions, either life experience does not allow them to do rash things, or they constantly think about whether they have enough strength.
The situation is the same with cats: with an aging pet, owners are increasingly observing his doubts: either the pet no longer quickly jumps onto the table without any doubts, or before jumping off, it will take longer than usual to mark the most favorable place for itself.
Changes in eating habits and weight
As your cat gets older, you will find that she eats less or more slowly than before, and her previous appetite will disappear. This happens because over time the digestive system slows down, which can also cause problems with constipation. As digestion becomes slower and more difficult, your cat may also lose weight. If you notice this sign of aging in your cat, it is necessary to adjust the food portions and make changes to her diet.
On the other hand, because older cats are less active, they can gain weight easily and may even become obese. Physical changes are very relative. The situation can get worse if you don't watch out for these symptoms, as it could also be a symptom of diabetes. A common symptom of diabetes in cats is constant eating throughout the day and constant thirst. If you notice this, consult your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Age at which cats become old
On average, an animal lives from 12 to 15 years. Previously, to determine age, 1 year was considered 7. Later, this algorithm was adjusted. Veterinarians have noticed that there is no linear correspondence. Now the year of a pet’s life, by analogy with a human life, is calculated differently, as the table shows:
| Years of a cat's life | Appropriate for a person's age |
| 1 | 18 |
| 2 | 25 |
| 3 | 30 |
| 4 | 34 |
| 5 | 37 |
| 6 | 40 |
| 7 | 45 |
| 8 | 50 |
| 9 | 54 |
| 10 | 58 |
| 11 | 60 |
| 12 | 62 |
| 13 | 66 |
| 14 | 70 |
| 15 | 75 |
Timely treatment of an animal's ailments will prolong its life.
The bifurcation point is considered to be the age of 7 years, when a still mature cat becomes infertile, provided that it is not sterilized. If you provide adequate care for an old cat, treat illnesses promptly and correctly, then your pet will live to a ripe old age, which by human standards corresponds to 105 years. It is important to notice age-related changes in time, which are characterized by specific symptoms.
Slowness of movements
Is your cat not as restless and active as before? This may be a sign of old age. As cats age, they become lazy: they prefer to sleep all day rather than chase mice.
It will also be more difficult for them to move around and perform activities that they did before. The cat will continue to play, but with less intensity, and will become bored with moving faster. An older cat will move more forcefully and less smoothly, which may indicate that there is a problem with the joints and muscles, especially in the hips and hind legs. These are all typical signs of old age.
Other food
A cat, whose life path is already at the stage of old age, begins to increasingly express dissatisfaction with the food served to it; it needs water at the right temperature (it certainly should not be too cold).
Some pets, as they get older, begin to eat differently, sometimes even giving up food altogether - it’s all about the digestive system, the functioning of which slows down with age. As cats age, they begin to eat more slowly and do not rush for food as actively.
Dental problems
Older cats' teeth weaken with age. They may be more sensitive, and if they have a tendency to drool, this may precipitate problems of gingivitis or herpetic gingivostomatitis, in other words general inflammation of the gums.
Just like humans, some cats may even lose teeth, which interferes with the feeding process. To help your cat, you should replace her regular dry food with a more natural one and consider seeing your veterinarian for a thorough oral hygiene routine. You will notice signs that something is wrong with your cat's teeth when you brush them.
Remember that older cats require more care than older cats and require special attention to their diet and health. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to prescribe any veterinary treatment or diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet and visit a veterinarian if they are suffering from any distress or pain.
How to help your pet meet old age with dignity?
As soon as the cat is seven or eight years old, it is necessary to switch to special food for older cats. Industrial food already contains the necessary elements, vitamins and a balance of fats and proteins for older cats. If you feed natural food, consult your doctor: he will select a suitable diet. Monitor your pet's weight. The cat should not be too thin, but excess weight is also not necessary.
With old age, chronic diseases appear, so it is necessary to regularly show the animal to a veterinarian. Pay closer attention to your pet's condition and behavior. Do not forget that an elderly cat has a weakened immune system, so protect your pet from drafts and make sure he is warm.
Clean your cat's ears and comb his fur to collect numerous dead hairs and prevent tangles. Show more care and attention. Stroke your pet, talk to it, call it to your lap. It is important for an old cat to feel safe.
Photo source: pixabay.com
Who is susceptible to aging?
When do kittens change teeth: symptoms and at what age
All living beings are subject to aging. This is an internal process that occurs at the molecular level, during which the immune system is suppressed, healthy cells die, and genes and chromosomes change.
The degree of aging largely depends not on the age of the animal, but on the speed of progressive diseases of internal organs, on the speed of depletion of the body's reserves, on the ability of organs and systems to regenerate.
Picky character
The character of aging cats very often deteriorates, just like that of people, and, most likely, the reason for this lies in the acute need for love, which we will talk about in the next paragraph.
Many owners notice how, with age, a cat becomes much more jealous and selective of people - she will no longer rush to every guest who comes to your apartment, but will prefer to spend time on the lap of her pet.
Symptoms of imminent death
You can understand that your pet will soon leave the world of the living by the presence of certain characteristic signs. Older cats over 12 years of age should be taken to a veterinarian for routine checkups to closely monitor their general health.
If characteristic symptoms appear, you should contact a qualified veterinarian as soon as possible. Perhaps the cat is very sick and needs help, but it can still be saved. Timely therapeutic measures will extend the life of a pet with chronic pathologies of the body for several years. In this case, timely treatment will give good results - the animal will not suffer and suffer.
Characteristic symptoms of impending death in a cat:
- Change in eating behavior. Cats begin to eat very little or they lose the desire to eat altogether. After some time, the drinking regime is also disrupted - the cats refuse to drink. The owner should be alert to the following signs: untouched food, no trips to the litter box for more than 48 hours, excrement with bloody discharge, cloudy and dark-colored urine. Some time after refusing food, the animal becomes physically exhausted, the coat becomes dull and falls out in clumps. The animal tries to move less and constantly lies down. Control of the bowel muscles and urinary sphincter is impaired, leading to involuntary bowel movements.
- Breathing problems. A change in breathing rhythm is a clear sign of serious disorders in the body, indicating an imminent death. This is due to the fact that the myocardium cannot cope with its work, and the amount of oxygen needed by the body’s cells in the bloodstream decreases sharply. The cat begins to breathe heavily and frequently, trying to make up for losses as much as possible. It is important to remember that in a healthy animal, the respiratory rate within 60 seconds should be at least 20 times. Weak and intermittent breathing indicates the imminent death of the pet. In order to accurately determine the frequency of respiratory movements, you need to use a stopwatch and observe how many times the chest rises and falls within 1 minute.
- Heart rhythm disturbances and changes in blood pressure. A clear sign of an animal's imminent death is a slowdown in the frequency of contractions of the heart muscle. The normal heart rate in a healthy animal is from 125 to 145 beats per minute. A sharp change in indicators indicates difficulties with pumping blood throughout the body. To measure your pet's pulse, you need to place your open palm on the left side, behind the front limb, and count how many beats there were within 15 seconds. Multiplied by 4, the resulting figure should not be less than 60. Otherwise, the signs of imminent death are obvious.
- The presence of a specific odor from the animal. As a result of a sharp decrease in the performance of all organs of the animal, the removal of toxic substances from the body slows down, and in some cases completely stops. Toxic substances begin to accumulate in the body and cause an unpleasant odor throughout the body. First of all, from the pet's mouth.
- Decreased body temperature. Hypothermia is associated with a decrease or cessation of internal organ function. The temperature drops to 37-37.5 degrees, which indicates weakness of heart contractions. If you don't have a measuring device at hand, you can touch the cat's paw pads. They become noticeably cool.
When a cat gets old: how to help your pet
When does old age begin?
Domestic cats with normal care most often live 12–15 years, but there are also long-livers among them who break records, reaching up to 20 or even longer. By the way, it has been proven that sterilized cats live two to three years longer than nulliparous and unsterilized cats, including because they are much less likely to get breast cancer. A similar trend can be seen in cats: neutered ones live longer.
From about eight years old, a cat can be considered elderly, because it is at this age that certain body functions begin to decline. The ability to reproduce offspring gradually declines. However, outwardly the animal during this period can still remain frisky and energetic. But again, for the time being.
How to determine that a cat has entered the “Balzac age”
First of all, the fact that your cat has begun to age will be indicated by changes in its behavior. She will become less active, but this will not happen overnight, but gradually. If she liked to rush around the apartment, the periods of such running around will become shorter. She will stop making difficult jumps, and at the same time, her movements will show the caution characteristic of older animals. The furry beauty's sleep periods will also increase. An older cat may also experience sudden mood swings and general lethargy.
Appearance will also change, not for the better, with age: the coat will become thinner, it will be more prone to forming tangles and may lose its former shine and silkiness.
What happens in the body
As a kitty ages, her sense of taste and smell becomes duller, so the cat foods she used to love may not seem so tasty to her. Increased wax build-up in an older cat's ears will aggravate hearing problems, so the owner will need to clean her ears more often. In an aging animal, the digestive organs work worse, and in general, chronic diseases in a pet, like in humans, become worse in old age, and their number increases. On top of everything else, in old age you will experience shortness of breath, problems with the heart and joints - in general, everything is like in humans.
Old age should be comfortable
An elderly pet, like a small kitten, requires increased attention and care from the owner. Spend more time with your cat - pet her, pick her up more often, speak kind words. This will encourage her and give her a feeling of security, because the unpleasant sensations that she began to experience due to age-related changes in the body are unfamiliar and upsetting to her.
Remove potentially dangerous objects from the rooms that could injure an elderly cat that has lost its former dexterity and visual acuity. If, in the case of a young and healthy animal, you sometimes closed your eyes to drafts or stuffiness in the apartment, now you need to be especially careful to ensure that your cat does not catch a cold or overheat. The room where it is located should not be damp. And if you have bathed your beauty, you need to very carefully dry her fur, as well as her ears.
Hygiene procedures will now need to be carried out more often. Brush the hair at least twice a day, because in older animals it falls out and mats more actively than in youth.
And regularly show your cat to the veterinarian, because now she urgently needs it. The doctor will check her teeth (they are known to deteriorate with age and may even fall out) and conduct a detailed examination, because an older animal increases the risk of cancer.
As for childbirth, of course, it is not advisable for an unsterilized cat to have kittens after 7–8 years, even if the body has not yet lost this ability. Childbirth at an advanced age is more difficult and can, at best, undermine health, and at worst, be lethal for the kitty.
Nutrition in old age
An older pet may have a tendency to gain excess weight, so make sure that the cat does not lie in one place all day, but still moves regularly. If the cat, on the contrary, refuses to eat, do not let her lose too much weight, because this depletes the body. Make sure she still eats. Heat food and stir it to make it look more attractive.
Together with your veterinarian, determine the optimal diet, which will include all the beneficial microelements that an animal needs at this age. If your pet has always eaten commercial food, it is better to switch to an option designed specifically for older cats. Such food is easily digestible and is designed taking into account the characteristics of an aging animal, including in terms of taste. But it is advisable not to change the manufacturer.
And no stress!
The environment in the house where an elderly pet lives should be calm. If you do not have a particular need to change your living conditions, do not organize a move. This will be extremely stressful for the cat. There is also no need to go on long trips and leave her alone with strangers. If you love your animal, then it won’t be difficult for you to give up your desires a little.
Constant parties, noisy companies and loud music in the house are also undesirable factors that can cause your pet to become stressed and refuse to eat. Just imagine that, for example, an old grandmother lives with you, and she is forced to constantly be at the epicenter of such events. Cats, of course, are not people, but their nervous system in old age is also very sensitive.
As your kitty experiences age-related changes, she may become anxious, fearful, or apathetic, and she may also experience some obsessive behavior—for example, excessive licking of her fur or involuntary urination, whereas previously this was not observed in her. The cat may suddenly suddenly “forget” all the rules and begin, for example, to pull her food out of the bowl and eat it from the floor. Or he will suddenly start sharpening his claws in the wrong place. All of these are age-related behavioral disorders, which are not at all necessary in your case, but are quite possible.
Experience shows: the more care, affection and attention an elderly pet is surrounded by, the more responsible the owner is in his diet and living conditions, the fewer problems arise with his behavior and health.
Alas, all living creatures grow old sooner or later, but we have the power to make the “golden age” of pets as comfortable and safe as possible, and to make the aging process a less stressful period.
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Behavior of cats before death
Animals, especially cats, are very wise and understand when death should occur. A cat, emotionally attached to its owner, begins to cuddle, trying to spend as much time as possible with its owner. At the very end of life, even the most unaffectionate and aggressive pets become especially loving, radically changing their behavior. There are cases that even when cats can no longer walk due to illness, they try to play with their owner and purr intensely.
It is important to devote as much time as possible to your pet, being around more often. Not every owner will be able to euthanize their pet by going to a veterinary clinic. But there are situations when it is simply not possible to alleviate the suffering of a pet in any other way.
In the case of severe oncology or serious disorders of the body, when the pain and suffering of the animal are simply unbearable, it is more humane to carry out euthanasia.
Modern techniques used in veterinary medicine make it possible to euthanize an animal forever. The procedure is carried out under general anesthesia, and a veterinarian administers a drug that stops respiratory activity without causing pain or fear to the cat. The final decision always remains with the owner.
