5 Things to Think about as your Cat Gets Older

[Ad- collab] Now, don’t get me wrong. Pancake is still a little tiny cat in my eyes. As it turns out, I am not actually that wrong, as their aging can be different from breed to breed. Pancake is a purebred – something neither Dann nor myself had ever been able to get before. Purebreds are often considered a junior pet for a little bit longer, which is pretty cool, but most cats are deemed ‘senior’ from anywhere between age 7 and 11.

As Pancake gets older, there are lots of things we want to keep in mind and consider, as time flies and accommodating your pet all through their life is something we aim to do ourselves. There are a lot of different things to think about and look for as your cat ages, to make sure they do get the most out of their lives and enjoy a full life themselves. It’s good to fully understand what an older pet will look like, even if you get a kitten, as hopefully you will have your cat long into their old age.

Changes in their diet

When you go to the pet store, you might have noticed that some food say ‘adult’ and others say ‘kitten’ or ‘senior’ – you will need to keep in mind the age groups around these for your cat and focus on changing them when the time comes. At first, I wasn’t sure what the difference would be in cat food for Pancake, but as it turns out there really is a lot of difference! Kittens need a much higher calorie intake when they are young, but will need to slow down when their growth slows down, which is why you will need to change to a new food. When they get even older, they will need a different diet once again, to keep their calorie intake at a good level. Many senior cat foods also have added nutrients that fight against common diseases and issues that your cat could develop.

Necessities around homes

As cats get older, they may have trouble making it all the way to food bowls or to litter boxes if these items are further away from where they are. You might find your cat is having accidents or troubles with the items themselves. This is something to be mindful of and lookout for, as your cat might be having trouble making it all the way around your house or they might be having trouble getting in and out of their litter box or other small places. You can easily place a few extra food bowls around your house and add another litter box to be used if they don’t feel like making it all the way around the house, which can be really helpful to your cat. If you have stairs in your home, you might find that your cat may no longer want to climb up the stairs, finding it hard because of joint pain. This can be a common issue in older cats, so it is worth making provisions for your cat and possibly looking into joint medicine for cats.

Better scratching posts

As your cat gets older, it probably still wants to scratch. Often, homes are full of those vertical cat scratchers, which are great for younger cats looking for a bit of challenge and to get energy out! When cats get older, they might have trouble using vertical scratchers, but still probably want to scratch at posts. It is worth taking a look at the horizontal cat scraching posts, that can be laid on the floor, to give your cat some options – which might actually be better suited for their body as they age. Pancake currently has one of these and loves sleeping on it and scratching it – especially when he is being lazy!

Age appropriate toys

When it comes to the way older cats play, they still do play! You’ll just need to trade out some of their younger kitten toys for stuff that is more age appropriate or use the current toys in a new way. Cats often want to play in shorter bursts as they get older, in ways that take a bit less energy. They might find some toys to be intimidating (as many toys are made around hunting or move very fast) so one of the best toys to re-use for your older cat are those little cat wands, that have hanging feathers. Chances are, you already have one of these, but if you are use to a kitten you might find yourself whipping it around the room. Instead, with an older cat, you should try waving it around softly and lightly, making the feather flick a bit around your cat, to see if they’d be interested in a bit of a slower approach.

Grooming changes

As cats get older, they might start finding it hard to groom themselves. Pancake had a bit of an issue cleaning around his eyes when he was a kitten, so we had to wet a paper towel and help him out, but now he has mastered it himself. If your cat needed help when they were a kitten, they might return to needing help now that they are older – or they might need help grooming in ways that before they were great at. Often cats start struggling to clean their own fir, as they can’t twist and bend as much as they did previously and get tired easily. It’s important to notice this and start spending time grooming them – brushing their fur often and cleaning away any bits of built-up dirt and grime.

You can check out more of our articles about our cat, Pancake, in his category.