The Aging Cat: Learn What
Changes Are Taking Place As
Your Cat Gets Older

By Teri Champigny

When your cat starts to reach those golden years his senses will slowly start to decline. His vision will deteriorate, as well as his hearing and sense of smell.  Not all cats age the same, but there are some common changes that you can look out for so you can be sure to take extra care when he starts to hit old age.

There'll be some changes that you may hardly notice as the years go on because your cat adopts to them but if you pay attention and have regular veterinarian checkups, then any diseases or other negative affects of aging can be prevented as best possible. On the other hand, some changes will be very obvious to you, such as bad breath which is the result of dental disease.

However, there are other changes that are not as easy to spot which may be the loss of your pets hearing, for example.  He may have grown accustomed to losing his hearing ability, which is why you never noticed.

One way to determine if your cat is losing his hearing is to take notice of his reactions to certain sounds.  There are times when your cat has a certain quick response to loud sounds or sharp noises, but if in recent times he is showing signs of slow reaction or not even hearing the sound, then your cat is definitely losing his sense of hearing. 

To test this out, give your fingers a quick snap behind his head.  Your cat's years should immediately curl back and his head should swivel towards the sound.  If he is looking in a different direction or not quite sure where the sound is coming from, then you know there is a problem.

You do not have to worry about the problem of hearing loss as much if your cat is an indoor pet.  However, for those of you that allow your cats to roam free outdoors, this can create a very serious problem – even life-threatening.  Being deaf increases the chance of your cat getting hurt or attacked by other predator-like animals that are outdoors, especially dogs.  He will no longer be savvy enough to pick up the sounds of an approaching animal or a cat-hungry canine before it's too late.

Old age can also affect your cat's sense of taste, which is an extremely important ability when it comes to his food. This can be a huge problem for older cats.  Cats are very picky when it comes to food and their sense of smell is very valuable when determining what is good enough to try or spoiled enough to leave alone. If a cat's ability to pick up and sniff out the food that are enticing enough to eat or damaged, then he may ignore the food and not get enough good nutrition, which is very important for the aging cat's health.