As cats attain their senior years, their
day-to-day care necessities start to alter. Senior cats maintain a particular place
in our hearts, so we’ve put collectively some suggestions for offering the perfect look after
senior cats. With a little bit bit of additional assist, your senior cat might be ready
to not solely dwell, however thrive, throughout their golden years.
Review
your pet’s food plan
Senior cats have completely different dietary necessities than their youthful counterparts. As they age they will begin to wrestle with weight administration, dry pores and skin, or different extra severe illnesses that affect their dietary necessities. During one in every of your bi-annual wellness checks, converse to your veterinarian about your cat’s food plan and whether or not any adjustments have to be made to enhance their general well being. This might contain switching to a prescription food plan – comparable to urinary or kidney care – or just shifting to a more healthy, brisker choice like Freshpet. One of the advantages of switching to meals created from recent, complete elements is figuring out that your senior cat is getting digital vitamins in each meal that they eat!
Encourage them to drink extra water
Water is essential for all cats, however senior
cats are particularly liable to constipation and kidney points – each of that are
impacted by water consumption. Fortunately, there are a number of straightforward methods you’ll be able to
improve your senior cat’s every day water consumption.
- Switch to recent meals: Fresh cat meals has a naturally increased moisture content material than the
shelf-stable various – 72% vs. 10%, in reality!
- Use a water fountain: Cats want shifting water, so the addition of a bowl with a fountain
might improve the quantity of water that your cat drinks.
- Offer a number of water factors: Set up a number of water stations round your home, ideally at floor
stage, so your senior cat at all times has easy accessibility to recent water.
Schedule
common wellness checks
Veterinarians, together with Freshpet vet Dr.
Aziza, recommends growing the frequency of your cat’s wellness appointments
from yearly to each six months after they attain their senior years. At
these appointments your vet will seemingly advocate blood work panels and bodily
exams, which permit them to display screen for ailments that present up in a cat’s senior
years comparable to kidney illness, periodontal illness, or most cancers. The earlier that
diseases like these are caught, the extra remedy choices there can be found
and the higher the prognosis.
Maintain
a lightweight exercise routine
Senior cats naturally turn into much less energetic
however that doesn’t imply they need to dwell a very sedentary way of life. If
you’re struggling to seek out methods to get your cat shifting every day, hold an eye fixed out
for toys that they’re notably concerned about and save them for these
particular exercise occasions. If you’re unsure the place to begin, some nice choices
embody:
- Tossing a mouse or ball by a
tunnel
- Encouraging them to chase and
catch a feather wand
- Fill a field with scraps of material
and have them dig for treats inside in
Not solely does routine train hold your
senior cat’s spirits excessive, it’s going to assist them keep at their ultimate weight,
keep muscle tone, and improve blood circulation.
Keep
their minds lively
Keeping up together with your senior cat’s psychological
exercise is as essential as their bodily exercise. There are two key occasions
in the course of the day the place you’ll be able to naturally interact their thoughts: time for supper and play
time.
- Play time: If you could have a treat-motivated cat, take into account getting a problem board like this 5-in-1 from Trixie. Your cat must put their thoughts to work, determining the right way to extract the treats from the 5 various kinds of compartments. The Ripple Rug is one other nice choice, as you’ll be able to create areas on your cat to cover, climb, discover, and play – and blend up the configuration inside seconds!
For extra concepts, check out our list of the best toys to maintain your pet busy indoors.
Modify
your home as wanted
Another a part of caring for a senior cat is offering modifications, the place wanted. This might embody litter containers with ramped or low-step entries, swapping vertical scratching posts for horizontal ones, or steps to assist them get on the mattress or sofa. If you’re uncertain the right way to finest meet your senior cat’s altering wants, check out our article on how to adapt your home to an aging pet or converse to your veterinarian. They’ll give you the option that will help you discover options that may allow your cat to maneuver comfortably round the home.
We hope that this checklist provides you some insights
into the perfect methods to care on your senior cat. Do you could have different suggestions you’d
wish to share with fellow senior pet dad and mom? We’d like to see them within the
feedback!