How to determine old age in a cat and how it differs from dog old age
A long and active life is what every owner wishes for their pet. Proper nutrition, physical activity, care and timely visits to the veterinarian help keep your cat or dog in great shape for a long time. But, unfortunately, aging is inevitable, and you have to come to terms with it. How can you tell if your domestic cat is aging, and how does it differ from aging in a dog?
The life expectancy of cats and dogs is approximately the same, on average they live 14-17 years. However, aging is less noticeable in cats than in dogs. Some owners, without knowing it, mistake the development of various chronic diseases for old age.
The first signs of aging in a cat can be noticed no earlier than at the age of 12 years. Although there are some exotic breeds, for example, sphinxes, which live about 10 years, and they show signs of withering earlier. It is important to note that long-livers occur among any breed.
The Guinness Book of Records records about 30 cases where cats lived safely for more than 20 years. The record holders are the cat Cream Puff, who lived for 38 years, and Lucy, who reached the age of 39. This is probably not the limit and someday records will be broken.
It is important to remember that serious health problems in cats can begin long before old age. From 7-8 years old, you need to be especially attentive to your pet, because it is at this age that chronic ailments appear, which affect the animal’s life expectancy. Timely detection and treatment of such diseases can prolong a cat’s life and save it from suffering.
But when age-related changes appear, nothing can be done about them. The signs of aging in cats are not as pronounced as in dogs, who literally become decrepit before our eyes. However, with age, cats’ vision and hearing also deteriorate, and problems with digestion, teeth and fur begin.
An aging cat becomes less active, less willing to play, sleeps more, and eats less well. To these signs are added more unpleasant symptoms: the cat begins to regurgitate food, may defecate involuntarily, and meow for a long time for no apparent reason. Aging muscles, joints and ligaments makes your pet less mobile. At the same time, the animal sleeps a lot. Shortly before death, a cat may sleep for days and show little interest in surrounding events.
However, despite their age, many cats can maintain grace and playfulness into old age. Some of them even become Internet stars at the age of 17, like the Ura cat from Japan.