by M. Pence

Created on: January 07, 2010   Last Updated: January 08, 2010

Caring for Older Cats.

Older cats give no less joy, laughter, warmth and silliness than younger cats. They still purr, they still try to curl in impossible bundles of sunshine-soaking fur and they are still the cats we adored when they were younger; tearing up our curtains and home. Yet, there are a few unique changes, challenges as well as questions which crop up when owning as well as caring for geriatric felines.

What sort of food should be purchased? Should an owner of an elder cat make any changes in their house?  Why is the cat yowling at night? Why won’t they curl up in their old sleeping place? What can an owner of a getting-on-in-years cat do to assure comfort and quality of life for our mature kittens? What should an owner look out for, health wise, with an older cat?

As an owner of several cats throughout my life, as well as an older, diabetic cat, I know it can be overwhelming some times. Here are a few things I have learned over the years about caring for elder cats which I hope can help you!

-Older cats eat less, more often-

Usually in the first few years of a cat’s life, or even the first decade or so, most owners feed their cats twice a day. A younger cat’s digestive system is efficient and strong. As a cat grows older and sometimes over the mark of seven years,  the feline digestive system can begin to lose some of its efficiency and may start to require easier to digest proteins.

Changes in your cat’s diet at or around the seven year mark (or earlier and later, seven years is a general number) can be expected. Cat owners might notice that their cat still eats during morning or evening feedings, but tends to leave more food in the dish in order to come back later. This is normal for older felines and no need to panic.

There are also several special life-stages foods formulated for older cats and feeding your feline these types of foods can certainly help with changing appetites and digestive issues. Since our older kitties are not as active either, these foods most ofter have been specially tailored to aid digestion and lessen the risk of obesity.

A small note here for consideration on foods for aging cats: dry food, or dry cat kibble, tends to be far better for a cats teeth than soft food. But sometimes, with age comes less teeth.  Elder cats may have issues eating dry food due to gum pain, loss of teeth or cavities and when they do they tend to swallow the kibble whole. Eating dry food whole often causes

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