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A cat's golden years fun
for humans, too
June 19, 2008
If we have the fortune to share our lives with older pets, there are
many benefits for us and them. That's often the case with cat owners
because it's not unusual for our amazing feline friends to live into
their 20s.
"Improved nutrition, living indoors and advances in veterinary
medicine," are the primary reasons for their longer lives, said Dr.
Richard Goldstein of Cornell University's College of Veterinarian
Medicine.
If you have an older cat, the reward is that they relax you even in
the most stressful times and you have the joy of knowing them even
better than you sometimes know yourself. For your feline friend,
especially if they had the benefit of growing old with you, they
cherish their days filled with routines and familiar surroundings
that are extremely comforting to them.
An Uptown reader who lives with an older cat recently asked about
dietary needs. "I understand that there are many different types of
cat food," the reader said, "for instance, one for hairballs and one
for urinary problems that older cats seem to always have."
While cats at middle age, roughly 6 or 8 years, are prone to
obesity, once they get past 10 they may naturally start to lose
weight, so providing them with foods on the market that are matched
to their stage of life is the best formula to follow. Also, you may
find that you'll have to use methods to encourage them to continue
to eat, such as slightly warming canned or moistened dry food or
even adding water from a can of tuna (but not the tuna) to increase
their interest in their regular diet.
If your older cat has been diagnosed with a particular disease, such
as urinary tract infection or diabetes, you'll want to match their
diet to the disease. For example, cats with diabetes require diets
with increased fiber, while cats with chronic kidney problems should
be on diets with highly digestible proteins. Similarly, if your
senior feline has dental or oral diseases that makes it difficult or
painful for them to eat hard foods, then you'll want to place them
on a canned food diet.
Beyond meeting an older cat's dietary needs, providing them with
continual doses of comfort and lots of TLC is also important. There
are easy ways to do so, such as creating soft, warm resting places
for them. Also consider gentle, frequent grooming. Another great
help is easy access to their basic needs, such as multiple litter
boxes throughout the home and having ramps and steps near their
favorite window or ledge. With lots of extra TLC, both you and your
feline will create simple, cherished moments, and that's the best
medicine of all.
-
Gloria Dauphin
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