As your cat gets older, you may find yourself taking her to the vet a little more often
Being a cat parent is a rewarding experience. Witnessing the amazing journey of a feline growing up to be an elegant, graceful kitty is truly breathtaking. So, whether a fur baby is still in its kittenhood, or is nearing its senior years, cat parents never stop being in awe of their beloved furry friend.
As a responsible cat parent, it is a crucial task to monitor the general health of furries, especially if your kitty is in its senior years. While cats are extremely enduring and enjoy a long lifespan, senior cats are often known to experience physical discomfort and common ailments toward the advanced years of their life, which often can require expert attention for diagnosing any senior cat health problems.
This article discusses the common senior cat health issues and how you can help your little fur kiddo relieve their discomfort if there are any problems with older cats.
Cats are most prominently known for their unmatched love and enthusiasm for food. As carnivores, not only do cats require a diet containing animal protein and fats, they also enjoy a wide palette with a variety in the texture and taste. Even in their advanced years, cats require sufficient animal protein and fat, minerals, and other vitamin supplements to stay healthy and avoid senior cat problems. And although senior cats often lose their ability to chew all foods that they are offered they still prefer a variety when it comes to their everyday meals.
So, most cat parents often look for healthy alternatives of cat food that is rich in flavours and can be safely offered to senior cats without upsetting their feline tummy. Offering them high-quality home cooked meals rich in proteins and minerals that does not contain high glucose in cats present in diabetic cat food, for avoiding diabetes in cats is an excellent option that also helps them in steering clear of older cat health problems caused by glucose for cats. Whiskas also has special cat food for senior cats that are easy on their tummies yet filled with all the nutrients required for aging felines.
Being aware of the below-mentioned common illnesses in older cats can help you in being more informed and attentive about your feline buddy.
Although our precious feline friends are known to be incredibly athletic and agile, they can still develop feline arthritis at the advanced years of their life. Feline arthritis results in cat arthritis symptoms like painful inflammation around the joints of the body and can restrict movement in cats, making it vital to seek out proper cat arthritis treatment.
Although cats are not quite as prone to the risks of cancer as dogs, they can still develop cancerous tumours in their senior years. Lymphoma, one of the more common cancers that affects cats, is also often triggered by the feline leukaemia virus.
Dental diseases are not just a risk faced by cats at any stage of their lives, but are known to affect more cats in their twilight years. Dental diseases caused by plaque and tartar build-up are common in cats, and can result in bleeding gums, inflammations, and other dental infections.
Although cats have excellent sight, their vision may undergo significant change throughout their lives, and can even lead to loss of vision in the advanced years due to older cat eye problems. Cataracts, where the lens of the eyes gradually cloud up, resulting in reduced visibility, is a frequently-observed symptom of aging in cats.
In the wild, cats significantly depend on their keen sense of hearing to hunt down prey, as well as evade predators. However, in their twilight years, cats are known to partially or completely lose their ability to hear.
Although the cases of hyperthyroidism in cats are rare, senior cats are comparatively open to the thyroid problems in cats than young and adult cats. Hyperthyroidism in cats can result in an excess production of hormones by the thyroid in cats, resulting in a hormonal imbalance, which can contribute to signs of hyperthyroidism in cats caused by the thyroid in cats, such as lethargy and fatigue, lowered appetite, obesity and constipation, irregular body temperature, and more.
Senior cats are also often exposed to the risks of old cat health issues such as renal diseases, which can also lead to chronic kidney failure, as well as other health disorders.
If you are worried about your cat heart and health, here are some tips on keeping your senior cat happy:
Senior cats need veterinarian attention more often, as it allows early detection of possible anomalies such as cat heart disease symptoms, diabetes in cats, arthritis in cats, cat heart worm, or hyperthyroidism in cats, and continue treatments like the hyperthyroidism in cats treatment, cat diabetes treatment, as required.
Hence, it is beneficial to get a professional consultation every six months, even if your feline munchkin is healthy and happy.
Older cats are often prone to the risks of common diseases in older cats such as arthritis in cats, failing vision and hearing loss, periodontal diseases, diabetes in cats, cat heart worm, heart disease in cat, kidney failures, and even cancer.
Depending on their age and breed, cats require changes in their diet as is necessitated by the cat’s age. Your furry’s diet must also be changed to include less glucose for cats, high-quality protein and minerals, or diabetic cat food that avoid the use of glucose for cats.
Yes, senior cats need to keep up with their annual vaccination as well, especially for heart worm prevention for cats. Yearly vaccinations can also help in eliminating the risks of fleas and ticks in addition to heart worms in cats that poses various risks to the cat heart.
Cats might show the tell-tale signs of old age in their twilight years, such as tooth decay and signs of tartar build-up, inability to jump as well as they did previously, lethargy, matted and tangled fur, and loss of appetite.
Most cats do not experience cat heart diseases until late in their life. In their old age, cat heart problems develop cat heart disease symptoms such as breathlessness, difficulty in physical activities, lethargy, and continuously elevated cat heart rate.
Cat parents often worry about cat heart health, especially in older cats. Food rich in protein and minerals are good for cats for maintaining adequate heart health and for getting rid of cat heart worms and other heart disease in cat.
Hyperthyroidism in cats is a worrisome health concern that usually develop in senior years and result in hormonal imbalances. Unless they are treated with cat thyroid medication or other hyperthyroidism in cats treatment, thyroid problem in cats can prove fatal.
