We all want our cats to live forever (except when they wake us up at 6 a.m. for cookies), and while feline immortality is still out of reach, it’s not all that unusual for cats. live to be 20, a great effort for these little ones.
but how can you tell if your cat has a good chance of making it to 21 (the feline equivalent of 100) and you can change their destiny?
Two major studies have brought together the knowledge of a team of veterinary experts from around the world on the common changes experienced by aging cats, looking at everything from wear and tear on the musculoskeletal system to cognitive and behavioral health.
The goal was to establish the signs of healthy aging in cats, because while it is generally accepted that there is much that owners and veterinarians can do to ensure the physical and mental health of older adults, that’s not it’s very helpful if you don’t know what signs to look out for.
This is especially pertinent now, as it is estimated that approximately 20 percent of cats in the US uu. are 11 years old or older.
Anyone who has a cat in their life knows they’ll probably be around for a while, as the average lifespan for domestic cats these days runs an impressive 12 to 15 years.
this has increased dramatically in recent decades, with the average cat living just seven years in the early 1980s and just over nine years in 1995.
If your cat ages healthily, she’s likely to make it into her 20s. And who knows, maybe yours will rival the creme puff, the oldest known cat, who lived to be 38 and enjoyed a rather sophisticated diet of bacon and eggs, asparagus, broccoli, and coffee with heavy cream.
high five, creme puff, you were great.
Just to give you an idea of how amazing the creme puff was, here’s a summary of cat years vs. human years, from the cornell university school of veterinary medicine:
“[a] year-old cat is physiologically similar to a 16-year-old human, and a two-year-old cat is like a 21-year-old person. For each year thereafter, each feline year is worth approximately four human years Using this formula, a 10-year-old cat is similar in age to a 53-year-old person, a 12-year-old cat to a 61-year-old person, and a 15-year-old cat 1-year-old cat to a 73-year-old person .”
So what does healthy aging look like in a cat? According to the two studies, published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery here and here, as your cat ages, she’s likely to experience various behavior changes; changes in appearance; and functional changes, related to their physical health.
researchers say your cat should retain its ability to play and jump through aging, even if it diminishes somewhat, and should be able to maintain a healthy weight without significant changes in muscle mass or body fat.
The coat may begin to thin, the whiskers may turn black, and the skin may become scaly with reduced grooming.
here’s a rundown of some more normal and healthy things an aging cat might experience:
behavioral changes: altered sleep cycle, altered vocalizations, reduced stress tolerance.
Appearance changes: Changes in the appearance of the eye, including lenticular sclerosis, which gives the pupil a cloudy, blue-gray-white appearance, and atrophy of the iris; decreased elasticity of the skin and brittle and thickened nails; slight changes in weight and vision. teeth may experience thickening of the dental walls, making them appear yellow, whitish, or even glassy.
daily functional changes: change in activity patterns, decreased mobility and decreased vision, decreased sense of smell and hearing.
(l) lenticular sclerosis and (r) glassy tooth. credit: journal of feline medicine and surgery
researchers also define a healthy senior cat as one that shows none of the disha sign patterns used to identify cognitive decline in older dogs:
d: disorientation: getting lost in familiar areas, not recognizing family members.
i: changes in interaction: Social interactions can change between pet and owner or between other pets. they may become clingier or more distant and irritable.
s: sleep/wake disturbances: they may sleep more during the day, wake up at night, or have irregular sleep-wake cycles.
h: dirty the house: go to the bathroom indoors or where they normally would not.
a: activity changes and anxiety: a general decrease in activity levels and decreased interest in playing, or restlessness and repetitive behaviors such as licking.
“As in humans, many of the changes that occur with aging in cats are not considered pathological and do not adversely affect general well-being or quality of life,” the researchers explain. “however, ruling out disease is essential when trying to determine whether an elderly cat can be considered ‘healthy.’.”
To learn more, you can read both studies online for free here and here, and take your friend to the vet any time you notice something amiss. Let’s hope he doesn’t hold a grudge for long…
