What are common medical problems in senior cats?
As cats get older, there are a few things that we tend to see. One of them is true medical problems. Cats will start losing weight, become more lethargic, and not play as much. Their appetite or water consumption might change, and that can indicate underlying medical problems that we should address. In addition, cats get arthritis just like everyone else.
Because cats hide a lot of things, it’s not really obvious, and that's something that's easy to miss. If cats are in pain, they don't tend to cry or limp, even if they have significant arthritis. Instead, you see behavior changes. Instead of a cat that comes out to greet you, interacts with the family, plays with toys, and gets the zoomies, they tend to just be there. Cats are vertical creatures, so they tend to jump up on things. I like to ask people if their cat is still jumping up on things. Sometimes the answer is, well, no, they don't jump on the counter anymore, or they struggle to get onto the couch. That's a cat that's in pain because cats go up. If they stop doing that, it's because it hurts too much to jump.
What should cats eat as they age?
As your cat becomes a senior, what they eat is important. We want a well-rounded senior cat diet. One of the major companies that does good product quality testing uses veterinary nutritionists to formulate their diet. As long as your cat doesn't have any medical problems, a good quality cat food is really all they should need. If we start seeing some arthritis, there are arthritis supplements that we could add to the diet. If we find any medical conditions, a lot of those are treated with various prescription diets.
What vaccinations do senior cats need?
Cats, even as seniors, even if they are indoors only, always need the rabies vaccine. It's Virginia state law and a really good idea because rabies is a serious disease.
Beyond that, every cat should have their FVRCP vaccine, which is a vaccination combo they get every 3 years. If your cat goes outdoors, they should still get their feline leukemia vaccine. Otherwise, the rabies and the FVRCP are the only two vaccines they need.
How can you manage a senior cat's weight?
The best time to get your cat to a good weight is before they're a senior because when they're a senior, their metabolism slows down, making it harder. That being said, if we end up with a senior kitty who's overweight, getting that weight off is still beneficial, particularly for their joints. Practically speaking, it's all about the calories, cutting back on the number of calories your cat gets in food and treats. If we cut back on the food and still don't see a difference, there are prescription weight loss diets we can use.
What about dental health in senior cats?
As cats get older, their teeth tend to worsen over time, just like people's. We tend to see a lot of plaque buildup, and when that plaque sits on the tooth, it irritates the gums, causing them to recede. Then our teeth can get loose and painful. In addition, cats have their own type of dental disease called resorptive disease, where the plaque builds up on the tooth. The body doesn't like that plaque, tries to eat it away, and actually eats a hole into the tooth itself. Resorptive lesions can be really painful, and that's something we generally need to extract to make the kitty comfortable.
What are the warning signs of health issues in senior cats?
The number one thing we tend to see is weight loss. Cats hide things, and sometimes their behavior doesn't change until they're really sick. Gradual weight loss is one of the red flags we tend to see. If someone comes in with an old kitty that's just not quite themselves lately, we look at the chart. They weighed 10 lbs last year, and they weigh 8.5 lbs this year. That weight loss can be gradual, making it hard to see at home, which is why getting older kitties examined a couple of times a year is a good idea.
Weight changes, appetite changes, whether it's a stronger or lesser appetite, and changes in water consumption are the big red flags. Most people don't know how much their cat drinks, but it's really about how big the clumps are in the litter box. If they go from this big to this big, the cat's producing a lot more urine, which is a concern.
How do you address weight loss in senior cats?
If you have a senior kitty that's underweight, the first thing we do is try to figure out why because often there's a medical reason. Hyperthyroidism is really common in older cats. Your thyroid is essentially overactive, your metabolism is running too high. Your kitty can eat as much as they want and still lose weight. If that's the case, it's essentially a daily medication, and suddenly we have a cat where every calorie that goes in actually stays on them, and they gain weight well.
There are some underlying conditions that just make cats nauseous, like kidney disease. The answer is nausea medications so they don't feel sick and want to eat. We have appetite stimulants we'll use for certain conditions as well. Sometimes just being aware of what food your cat likes is important because there's the ideal diet, but eating is more important than what you eat. If we have a kitty with kidney disease and they will not eat the kidney food, we have to put them on a non-prescription food because they need to eat.
Cats can develop food aversions too. If they were eating a food when they were getting sick, even if we got them feeling better, sometimes they don't want to eat that food because they associate it with feeling poorly. Then it's about switching around until you find a food that kitty is willing to eat.
Why are regular checkups important for senior cats?
Cats tend to hide things, and that's where we always say, "Keep an eye on them at home." Keep an eye out for changes in weight, eating, and drinking. Some of those changes can be really subtle, or the kitty truly feels good until a disease hits a certain level of severity. That's why we recommend seeing senior kitties twice a year. Checking their weight, examining them, feeling their lymph nodes, and feeling their belly can help us find things before the cat starts feeling poorly.
Checking blood work on senior kitties is really important because that's how we pick up kidney disease, thyroid disease, or electrolyte abnormalities before the cat starts feeling really sick. Having a senior wellness plan is great because it lets you do the screening that helps keep your cat healthy without worrying about the exact cost each time.
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