Celebrating Old Cats
Every year, I write about our old cat needs. While Karma-Kat has just reached middle age (and still acts like a kitten!), cats age at different rates. When do you consider your cat old? Is your old cat a senior kitty by age 8, or 13, or…when? For cats, what is old? Here are 8 reasons to consider adopting a senior citizen pet.
November is National Adopt a Senior Pet Month. I have to admit, there’s something special about old cats. This post first appeared in 2012, and has been updated several times. Now that Seren-Kitty has gone to Rainbow Bridge, this post is in Seren’s honor and for all the golden oldie senior cats that rule our hearts (whether here or waiting for us at the Bridge.)
SEREN & OLD CATS
Seren went to the Bridge in December 2017, and would have celebrated her 22nd birthday on February 1st. I wanted to celebrate old cats and talk a bit about what is old age for cats. Some cats age more gracefully than others, and despite her longtime senior status, Seren continued to act like a youngster and keep Magical-Dawg and Karma-Kat in line, up nearly to the last week of her life. Now Karma-Kat has reached senior kitty status.
Siamese as a breed tend to live longer, and it’s not unusual for healthy cats to live into their late teens or even early twenties. Of course, Seren was a found kitten, and we’re not sure what her heritage was, but she continued to maintain clean teeth, good appetite, normal litter-ary habits, sound heart and no lumps or bumps. After her bout with the schneezles, and losing one canine (fang) tooth, she continued rockin’ and rollin’ like nothing could stop her. I thought she’d live forever. *sigh* If you have a senior kitty, here are some tips for helping to keep old pets comfortable during their golden years.
Anyway, I thought this was a good time to share a bit from the book COMPLETE CARE FOR YOUR AGING CAT.
WHAT IS OLD FOR SENIOR CATS?
What is considered old for a cat? The question of what is old is complicated by the impact of genetics, environment, and individual characteristics. Consider human beings: one person may act, look and feel “old” at 65 while another 65-year-old remains an active athlete with a youthful attitude and appearance. The same is true for our cats.
“I think that actually varies a lot, and it’s getting older every year,” says Rhonda Schulman, DVM, an internist at the University of Illinois. “It used to be that eight was the major cutoff for the cat that was geriatric. Now we’re moving to the point that’s a prolonged middle age.” According to Guinness World Records, the oldest cat on record was Creme Puff owned by Jake Perry of Austin, Texas. Cream Puff was born August 3, 1967 and died August 6, 2005 at the age of 38 years and 3 days.
A good definition of old age for an animal is the last 25 percent of their lifespan, says Sarah K. Abood, DVM a clinical nutritionist at Michigan State University. However, since we can’t predict what an individual cat’s lifespan will be, the beginning of old age is a bit arbitrary. Certain families of cats may be longer lived than others, in the same way that some human families enjoy a much greater longevity than others. The lifespan of your cat’s parents and grandparents is a good predictor of how long you can expect your cat to live. People who share their lives with pedigreed cats may be able to access this information through the cat’s breeder.
PREDICTING LONGEVITY IN OLD CATS
Longevity of unknown heritage cats is much more difficult to predict. Even when felines are “part” Siamese or Persian, for example, these felines may inherit the very worst, or the very best, from the parents. The majority of pet cats are domestic shorthair or domestic longhair kitties of mixed ancestry, and the products of unplanned breeding. That by itself points to a poorer-than-average level of health for the parents, which in turn would be passed on to the kittens. Siblings within the same litter may have different fathers, and can vary greatly in looks, behavior, and health. When all is said and done, one should expect the random-bred cat-next-door kitty to be neither more nor less healthy than their pedigreed ancestors—as long as they all receive the same level of care and attention.
“If you get a kitten, it is very likely you will have this cat for the next 15 to 20 years,” says Dr. Abood. That means the last 25 percent would be 12 to 15 years. To simplify matters, most veterinarians consider cats to be “senior citizens” starting at about seven to eight years old, and geriatric at 14 to 15.
Here’s some perspective comparing cat age to human age. “The World Health Organization says that middle-aged folks are 45 to 59 years of age and elderly is 60 to 74. They considered aged as being over 75,” says Debbie Davenport, DVM, an internist with Hill’s Pet Foods. “If you look at cats of seven years of age as being senior, a parallel in human years would be about 51 years,” she says. A geriatric cat at 10 to 12 years of age would be equivalent to a 70-year-old human.
CHERISHING OLD SENIOR CATS
Veterinarians used to concentrate their efforts on caring for young animals. When pets began to develop age-related problems, the tendency among American owners was to just get another pet. That has changed, and today people cherish their aged furry companions and want to help them live as long as possible. Now there are many things you can do for common cat aging conditions.
Modern cats age seven and older can still live full, happy and healthy lives. Age is not a disease. Age is just age, says Sheila McCullough, DVM, an internist at University of Illinois. “There are a lot of things that come with age that can be managed successfully, or the progression delayed. Renal failure cats are classic examples.” It’s not unusual for cats suffering kidney failure to be diagnosed in their late teens or even early twenties.
“I had a woman with a 23-year-old cat who asked should she change the diet. I said, don’t mess with success!” says Dr. McCullough. These days veterinarians often see still-healthy and vital cats of a great age.
“I think if the cat lives to 25 years, I shouldn’t be doing anything but saying hello,” says Steven L. Marks, BVSc, an internist and surgeon at Louisiana State University (now at North Carolina State University). “If you’ve ever had a pet live that long, you want them all to live that long.”
Whatever the age of your special cat, consider what your cat wants and needs to provide the best for kitty. Hint: LOVE is #1 on the list!
Excerpt from COMPLETE CARE FOR YOUR AGING CAT, revised and updated Kindle Edition by Amy D. Shojai, CABC.
DO YOU HAVE OLD CATS?
What about your senior cats? Does he or she act like a senior? What age did you notice a change, if any?
Seren’s aging changes meant her dark Siamese mask turned gray, with white hairs surrounding her eyes. Arthritis made it hard for her to leap as before. Her claws thickened so she could no longer retract them, and she “clicked” while she walked on hard surfaces–I kept them trimmed for her. In her last four months, she needed extra potty spots as she couldn’t quite anticipate getting to the right place on time. But I’ll forever be grateful for the nearly 22 years we shared together.
What about your furry wonders? Please share!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!
Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!
I lost my heart cat , Walker, this past September. He was 16 &1/2. A day does not go by that I don’t think about him. And I still cry, but he had a great life. I knew it was time to let him go, when he stopped purring. His way of telling me, ok.
This book is a must for everyone, who has or will eventually have an aging cat.
Oh Donna, I only met Walker a couple of times but he was indeed a special boy. My heart hurts for your loss.
I am so glad you shared this again and thank every one of you who answered my questions — not sure I did back in 2012! Our oldest part Burmese furry one is now 13 and has had to adjust to us adding a kitten we rescued. It was hard on us all initially but I think it has helped keep him young. Our 13 year old is still on Hill’s bladder diet as he has been since he was six and had an awful time with a penile blockage / stones. He still jumps in the window if he feels it worth it and this week he jumped in and out again when I had not opened it. I told him I was busy and would have opened it if he had given me another second. The next thing I knew he had jumped in again and I opened it for him. (Only to the old and sturdy screen and not very wide open.)
Hi Brenda, Thanks for the update! I’m so glad your older Burmese is still keeping you “jumping” to do his bidding, LOL!
Anubis has now reached 17 years old, and of course as I think I’ve mentioned in the past, he didn’t start showing any age at all until we lost Simba. He is now on thyroid meds and blood pressure meds, and we’re looking for ways to improve his diet to go easier on his kidneys and increase his water intake. (Simba 2 is still residing with my parents – they have agreed to hang onto her indefinitely so we can focus on Anubis and she LOVES my dad.) He gets his Adequan shots every 6 months for the arthritis and still has his food up on blocks. But with the meds he is gaining weight back again and is starting to play more, and he is still DEFINITELY interested in whatever we are eating (even if it’s something he doesn’t like, it’s polite to offer to kitty as far as he’s concerned).
Awww…so glad to hear that Anubis is gaining weight again and interested in food. That’s an important indicator.
Now we just have to find him a canned food he will actually eat again, since he is snubbing the stuff he loved for ages. I get to do the sample run here soon. LOL
Seren loves her canned k/d! She’s gained at least half a pound since starting that.
So far Anubis has snubbed every Hills food we have tried to offer him (figures since we can get that right from the vet’s office). So now we’re trying to hunt for other foods that are supposed to be higher quality to cut out the sodium and phosphorus since that can help the kidneys too (which also means no fish flavor from what I’ve been reading). Got a list from a friend who studied some nutrition, cut out brands based on recent recalls and complaints, and now have a smallish list of brands to play with.
Nice article. I have a 16 year old tabby but you’d never guess in a million years that she is that old. I haven’t noticed much change in her at all, really. She’s still feisty, still keeps the dogs in line, and my boyfriend too, and she still likes to play (rough). She hasn’t been sick a day in her life. I love her to pieces. Her name is Jessie, named after my Dad. Thanks for sharing! Your cats are beautiful.
So glad that Jessie is doing well at age 16! Seren never had a sick day in her life, either, up until about 18 months ago, but she’s doing really well now.
Carmine developed arthritis when he was merely 6 years old. He’s been on Cosequin for about 4 years now, and he still runs around like a nut quite often. He will be 10 Feb. 18.
Milita has a little arthritis in her spine, but it doesn’t seem to bother her much. She’s always been a less active cat than Carmine, and she spends much of her time sleeping. She’s 11. She’s a Siamese mix and she’s been pretty healthy throughout her life.
Happy early Birthday to Seren!
Thank you for the good wishes for Seren! Ya know, today it appears that most all cats do have some amount of arthritis, but they are really good at hiding it. Glad that the Cosequin works well for Carmine.
You can help your older pet live longer by annual blood work after the age of ten. Helps detect disease before symptoms occur and then you can slow the disease down. You obviously take great care of Seren! Happy Birthday!
Thanks so much! And I absolutely agree on the blood work. Seren had her first full blood panel at age 7. *s*
My kitty BeBe just turned 16. She is incredible as she climbs trees, walks along the roof of our house, etc. She doesn’t like to be inside the house, so we do everything we can for her outside, special house, heat lamps, heated pads… it’s where she wants to be. But she doesn’t stray from her little area. Last year we began giving her vitamins, etc. and she is thriving… so happy for her being “old” but she is very happy and I know she will live a long time.
Awwww….as much as we want to protect our kitties, sometimes they just INSIST on doing things their own way! So glad that BeBe continues to thrive.
Very informative. It does make sense to attribute old age to the last 25% of their estimated lives.
Great post! My beautiful Calico kitty, Maggie, lived to be just shy of 19 yrs. old. She had a rough start as a stray in Harlem, NYC. I took her home at 9 weeks old and gave her the best life possible. She passed just over a year ago. She was so special, she was with me through so many challenges in my life as well as many joyous times. I was grateful for every year with her!
Awww….love those Calico girls, so striking.
I’m suddenly feeling old. LOL.
You and me both, Cokie!
Mum bought your book, and she loves it ! Angel Hercule was helped to cross the Rainbow Bridge at 14 years old because of a jaw tumor ; Mum noticed the first signs of age as he was 11-12 years old, not before . He used to play like a kitten, and she was able to say Angel Hercule was “old” when he became more quiet and less inclined to jump on the counter ! Purrs
Awww…so glad your mom loves the book! Seren stopped jumping on counters so much, too, when she was about 14 or so.
Senior pets are so touching. My childhood kitty is now almost 18 years old. She’s going blind and is having incontinence issues, but she’s still doing well. I cherish such a sweet girl.
Yes, there’s something extra special about the oldies–we’ve shared so much with them. Seren knows all my secrets (shhh…don’t tell!)
There should be some special rite of passage for a cat turning eighteen, as with humans. Happy Birthday, Serendipity! (Love her name!) While I like cats, I love dogs, and generally end up with not-so-cat-friendly canines, so no cats in my house at present.
Hi Ruth, thanks for the visit and comment! Seren was 9 when the Magical-Pup came to live with us so from the beginning I taught him that SHE was the boss! That helped enormously.
She doesn’t look a day over 12! 🙂
LOL! Seren would appreciate the comment! And probably she’d note that she’s just beginning her 3rd life. 🙂
Great posting – most definitely celebrate the oldies in our home! Thank you for writing about caring for ‘oldies’ – it’s a very worthwhile topic as these critters just need love, attention, and caring!
“Getting old” sneaks up on all of us. And the alternative sucks so it’s certainly worth celebrating more birthdays.
What a great book. It’s good to recognize that our cats needs change as they get older and be prepared to give them the best care at any stage.
Thank you! I hope the book helps lots of pet parents and “golden oldies.”
from one old animal to another! Happy birthday!
Thank you!
GREAT article! I really enjoyed reading it. The oldest in my gang is only three, so we are still (hopefully) a long way off from old age. But I always like to be prepared :)I’m so amazed that the oldest cat on record lived to be 38! Incredible! I also learned that a female cat can be pregnant with kittens who have different fathers. You learn something new every day!
My Karma is the “baby” at just a year old. *s*
Happy Birthday, Seren! I have a beautiful 9-year-old Siamese named Precious. Meezers Rule!
Thanks! *meeeerowwwww!*
Happy Birthday Seren and many, many more. Having a pet that has shared so many wonderful years with you is definitely a blessing. “I think if the cat lives to 25 years, I shouldn’t be doing anything but saying hello,” – LOVED this!
Thanks Patricia. Seren says, “what’s the big deal, I plan to live forever!” *s*
Rainbow, 17 soon to be 18, is suffering from kidney disease right now and is having a hard time of it. But we remain hopeful. Other than needing lots of water and SQ fluids she seems to be okay. She has started the “senior howl” this last year and she has lost muscle mass but she is active, affectionate and interested in life.
One interesting change that I’ve noticed of late is that she used to be the pariah cat in our household but this past year the other cats have been leaving her alone. I’m happy as can be for that but have no idea why that changed.
I’m glad to read about your decision regarding Seren’s vaccinations. I’ve been considering the same thing with my older cats. No sense in vaccinating if they don’t need it. Of course the Rabies vacc. is required so we’ll keep up with that.
Happy Birthday Seren! from all of my crew (actually they don’t really care but I do)
Thanks Andrea! I made the decision to stop vaccinating back when Seren was 4 or 5, after interviewing a bunch of the movers-and-shakers (including Dr. Jim Richards *s*) during that vaccination shake up over vaccine-induced tumors. Got the scoop on the new vaccination protocols before they were pub’d. I asked Dr Ford what he did for his cats… and followed suit. *s*
SQ fluids make the old kitties feel sooooo much better! Kidney disease seems almost a given if they live long enough. *sigh* Good positive thoughts sent your way from Seren-kitty (well, from me anyway! *s*)
I can’t believe it has been so long since I first commented on this thread. Rainbow is long gone now as are so many others. My latest loss, Glitter, was 19. I can’t tell you when she seemed to turn geriatric, it was a gradual thing. Now I still have her mother, Meadow, who is 20 and still plugging along. I think both of them had Siamese behind them but they were feral so who knows. My youngest “kittens” are now 12.5 years but act like they are only 5. Still playing, still causing trouble. But B.W. just lost his brother in June and now has kidney disease. I guess you could say I have three geriatrics and three seniors.
Hi there! Thanks for the senior kitty column. I enjoyed the read. I’m owned by Charisma (I call her Chrissy) who is a register lynx-point siamese. In February, she will be 19.5 years old. Her teeth were never the best and now she only has her fangs left. During this past year, she has started losing muscle mass. Her fighting weight all her life was about 6.2 pounds and now she is down to 5.2 pounds. Vet says she seems to be healthy for an old girl and to just keep doing what I am doing. I have noticed that she is more “clingy” in her old age but just as vocal as ever. lol She’s always told me what to do and how to do it….at great length. We’ve been together since she was a baby.
Pamela
Tucson, AZ
I love the name Charisma! She’s a tiny one, all right. Seren has always been small, too. And yes, the older kitties do tend to lose muscle mass which is why they need MORE protein (but very digestible) when they reach certain ages. You must have been doing something very right with this lovely girl for her to be almost 20. Wow.
Our furry one will turn seven on his next (unknown but probably early spring) birthday. He can & does still go airborne chasing toys like a kitten but doesn’t always jump into a window unless he decides it is worth his while (and he is going to be allowed to stay for more than just a momentary peek). Still, several times a day something high energy is worth his while. He is muscular and in very good shape for an all indoor cat.
Can you interview the guy whose cat lived to be 37 to see what he did that we can all copy? I do occasionally ask my friends with cats that have lived into their 20s details of what they did. In one case where my friend’s cat lived to be 27, the cat had had kidney problems or something like that earlier on and had to be on a special diet. As a very old cat, she also was given a specially cooked treat of chicken livers when she asked for it. I think attention to their health and food and being indoors were the key things I noticed (thus far) in the ones I asked.
Our dear one is part Burmese and is more and more vocal as the years go by. Today he informed me that he disliked my classic rock & country musical choices to exercise by and would not return to that room until it stopped.
Hi Brenda, As I recall the owner of the 37-year-old cat was interviewed some years ago by Cat Fancy magazine and said the kitty ate quite a variety including fresh foods (green beans, melon, etc!).
I do believe longevity has as much to do with nurture (care and environment) as nature (inheritance). I stopped giving Seren yearly vaccinations when she was 4 other than rabies (required by TX law). And she eats a complete and balanced commercial food but gets supplemented with fresh foods from my plate (whatever she wants, in moderation). She’s also incredibly confident. I think nervous and fearful cats have a more difficult time fighting off illness and may not live as long as a result, and some of that personality is inherited while other parts have to do with early socialization.
Wish there was a magic wand. I really do.
Brenda,
Don’t know if it helps, but I swear by Science Diet. Ginger, out 18 year old Tortie, had been fixed at the pound just before we got her. She was supposed to be six at the time. We didn’t know any better, so we fed her grocery store cat food for years. Her belly fur, which had been shaved for surgery, never grew back.
About four years ago we decided to try Science diet on Ginger, the older cat blend. Within three months the belly fur which had NEVER grown back over eight years, grew back.
I’m not a nutrition expert. I’m guessing that the cheaper stuff leaves out some of the vitamins that cats need (and dogs – we had a similar experience with Mark, our Husky/Sheperd/Wolf mix), but I don’t know for certain. I do know that we’ve had a lot of success with Science Diet.
I’m not sure about any of the other brands, because I really haven’t wanted to mess with a winning combination, but you may want to experiment, because what worked for us, may not work for you. FYI, Science Diet is damned expensive.
Wayne
Happy birthday Seren! My 17-year-old Siamese boy Merlin sends purrs. You don’t want to hear him sing happy birthday ;-)! Like Seren, Merlin is more vocal than ever but in his case it’s related to his diminished vision. Btw, my vet said older Siamese cats tend to have more brittle nails. Amy, I really enjoyed this and will share.
Awwwww, THANK YOU Layla, and Merlin. I imagine Merlin and Seren could have quite a duet. *s*
Stories of our older kitties have abounded in the comments, but I actually want to express a curiosity regarding lifespan – want to try and get some feedback on if it’s coincidence or if others have observed it too.
See, we’ve had 2 calicos that we kept their entire lives. Both died of natural causes – no signs of ill health up until we, well… found them. Both were outlived by their mothers, and the more recent one we know was the first of her litter to die. I’m kind of wondering if calicos in general have shorter life spans. I know the genetics involved in the calico coloring are a little finicky to begin with, so it makes me wonder. But since we’ve only had the two that we could actually compare to other cats in the same family, well, that’s not a big enough sample size to work with.
Yeah, not a large enough sample to know. And I don’t recall any study that has looked at color patterns as they relate to longevity. There are a few that purport to relate coat color to personality but there’s some question about the validity of those, too. *shrug* I’ll be interested to hear from others.
Not that it means much, but Ginger is a Tortie, and she is fairly old. I’ve known Calicos that were about as old (hard to tell with cats from the pound).
Family joke is that Ginger combines all the worst points of blonds, brunettes, and redheads in one small, but volatile package. Everyone loves here, even when she takes a swipe at their ankles for being in her way.
Wayne
LOL Wayne! Love that she “combines all the worst points…” but still must be a charmer for everyone to love her. *s* And yes, painful feet make sense, especially when claws seem to thicken or overgrow and are hard to retract. A couple of Seren’s are like that. She once caught and tore a claw (she was 3 or 4 I think) and it grew back a bit deformed so I have to keep it trimmed short.
I’ve noticed that Ginger, our Geriatric (about 18 years old we think – we got her from the pound and they estimated she was six years old at the time) is a little more cranky now than she used to be. She doesn’t like change. On the recommendation of the vet we changed her feed to a brand that includes glucosamine. Apparently she hated it.
Now Ginger doesn’t like our dogs. She gets along with them, but she doesn’t like them, so we were confused when she came upstairs (to keep the peace Ginger lives in the basement with our sons) and shoved the dogs away from their food bowls and scarfed their food. Guess I’m a bit thick. Took me a couple of days of Ginger doing this to figure out that:
1) The dogs were getting soft food with some meals
2) We changed Ginger’s food two weeks before
3) When we checked the food bowl downstairs was NOT going down
We changed back to the original food, and Ginger is happy again.
It was really quite funny to watch, since all three of the dogs (we are babysitting one for a friend) are bigger than she is. Even the smallest, the beagle, outweighs her by ten pounds, and the biggest by over forty, but she had all three buffaloed. She pulled her steam kettle routine and they just backed up and let her eat.
The Empress of the Universe lives here.
Wayne
ROTFL! Yep, those kitties know how to bluff, true enough. You might be able to add glucosamine to Ginger’s wet food, too. *shrug* It takes a while to build up in the system but does seem to help some kitties. There’s also a product at health food stores called green-lipped mussels that contain similar properties. And cats often take it as a treat because it stinks like fish. LOL!
I may look at it, but going by what you said about claws, I’m wondering if her problem walking isn’t her feet instead of her joints. We tried her on this new stuff because she wasn’t moving well, but she came up the stairs like a trooper. I watched her, and it seemed more like her feet were bothering her than anything else.
Thinking about it, she hates people touching her feet. She hates going to the vet. She hates leaving the house.
We’ve been pampering her. and going along with her foibles. What else do you do with an elderly relative that you love, and that you are scared isn’t likely to be around for that much longer.
Wayne