Your Cat as a Senior Citizen

Cats age at a different rate than humans. During their first year of life, they achieve adulthood. Therefore, that first year is equivalent to about 16 human years. After that, cats age in a fairly linear fashion; each year becomes the equivalent to about 5 human years. Based on that formula, a comparison of feline to human years is as follows:

Because of this faster-aging process, any cat over 7 years is at risk for age-related conditions, and any cat over 10 years is deemed a "senior" cat.

Common Changes in the Aging Cat

Senior cats can get a bit lazy in their grooming habits, developing mats in their fur. Therefore, frequent brushing (1-3 times per week) is important. Brushing not only collects dead hair that would normally be removed by grooming, but it also breaks down tangles before they become mats. Even with brushing, however, it may be occasionally necessary to cut out a mat. Be very careful with scissors or clippers, as many elderly cats have very thin skin that cuts or tears easily.

Senior cats also lose the desire or ability to sharpen their nails regularly. As a result, their nails become very thick and can curl backward into their foot pad. This is very uncomfortable and can result in lameness or bleeding. The key to preventing these potential problems is cutting your cat's nails at least once a month.

Dental disease is common in older cats. The two most common forms of dental disease are tartar buildup - with resulting periodontal disease - and deep cavities near the gum line.

Tartar buildup is common in cats of any age, but older cats often have heavier buildup due to years of dental neglect. The tartar irritates the gums, pushing them away from the roots of the teeth and fostering bacterial growth. This bacteria does not only affect the mouth, because it is also carried through the bloodstream to other organs - most notably the kidneys. However, tartar buildup and periodontal disease are very treatable with proper cleaning and antibiotic therapy.

Cavities that form at the gum line (gingiva) are called cervical line lesions. These are very painful and may affect your cat's eating habits. The best treatment is tooth extraction. While we could fill the cavity, it would invariably undergo further deterioration requiring extraction a few weeks or months later.

While geriatric cats do not usually lose their eyesight altogether, it can become diminished (especially in dim lighting). Their irises (the colored part of the eye that opens and closes) often develop a mottled appearance at about 15 years of age.

Permanent hearing loss or outright deafness occur in many cats over 16 years of age. However, excessive wax production is a much more common and treatable problem. We recommend using a wax solvent in the ears the first few days of each month or possibly every other month.

Some geriatric cats experience arthritis in the spine or legs which makes them reluctant - or even unable - to jump on and off furniture or climb stairs. Safe drugs are available, so a thorough examination and discussion of your options can make a significant difference in your cat's comfort.

Senior cats also develop certain diseases with increasing frequency. The most common of these are diabetes, chronic kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure, and cancer.

Diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to produce adequate insulin, which is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) from the blood into the cells. As a result, cats experience excessive urine production, increased thirst, weight loss, and a ravenous appetite. While these signs should be present in all diabetic cats, some can be easily missed. (For example, outdoor cats eat, drink, and urinate outdoors. Or, in multi-cat households, increased thirst or urine production in one cat can easily be missed. Also, longhaired cats can lose a substantial amount of weight without detection.) If you suspect any of these signs are occurring, do not feed your cat for at least six hours and bring it in for a blood glucose test. Diabetes is a treatable disease.

Chronic kidney failure is the result of many years of slow deterioration in kidney function. Kidney infections, certain toxins, and congenital diseases may be part of this deterioration process, but aging is the major factor. Kidney failure occurs as the cat's body produces an excess amount of urine in an attempt to remove waste products that are accumulating in the blood. This results in increased thirst and decreased appetite. It can be diagnosed with simple blood and urine tests, and managed if treatment begins before the kidney failure is advanced. However, this only slows down the process; it does not restore the kidneys to normal function.

Hyperthyroidism is due to an enlargement of the thyroid gland, which controls the body's metabolism. The first sign is weight loss, followed by an increase in appetite as the cat tries to "catch up." As the disease progresses (over several weeks to months), increased thirst and urination, vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, and lack of sleep may also occur. Hyperthyroidism is diagnosed by feeling for thyroid gland enlargement and simple blood tests. 98% of the time, the enlargement is not due to a cancer; therefore, this is a very treatable - and curable - disease.

High blood pressure, more accurately called hypertension, is fairly common in senior cats. Most of the time it is secondary to either chronic kidney failure or hyperthyroidism. This disease is diagnosed by measuring the cat's blood pressure and it is very treatable.

Cancer is another common disease in senior cats. There are so many forms of cancer that it is impossible to list all of the specific clinical signs - each sign is determined by the part(s) of the body that are affected. Therefore, weight loss, anemia, lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, and coughing are all possible signs of cancer. However, it is unlikely that all of these would occur together.

Detection of Geriatric Diseases

Early detection is the key to successful treatment of all of these diseases. Most can be controlled or cured if diagnosed in a timely manner. We recommend a panel of tests for senior patients, beginning with a thorough history of your cat's past and present health. Next, a complete physical examination is performed, followed by blood and urine tests to detect diabetes, chronic kidney failure, and hyperthyroidism. Blood pressure is also monitored. If any of these tests have questionable results, other tests may be required, such as chest x-rays (radiographs), ultrasound studies, or biopsies of suspected abnormal organs.

If your cat is over 7 years old, we recommend wellness checks every six months and a geriatric profile (blood and urine tests) at least once per year so that we have the opportunity to detect, treat, and, ideally, prevent problems before they become life-threatening.

Reminders

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