The days of raising a cat are always warm and happy. When you go home and open the door every day, you can see that it is ready to welcome you. When you are free, it will lie in your arms and let you stroke it.... .. We are immersed in this every day, but we forget that it will also grow old.
Even many times, because of ignoring "the life clock of cats runs much faster than ours", misses the best intervention opportunities for many diseases.
So, at what age does a cat need to pay attention to its "elderly care issues"? What are the symptoms of common geriatric diseases in cats?
Let’s take a look with Tete today:
At what age do cats enter old age?
There are many opinions on the “age conversion” between cats and people. The most mainstream one at present is the cat age comparison table released in the 2010 AAFP-AAHA Feline Life Stage Guide.
In other words, cats begin to enter old age after they are 10 years old.
However, just like some people (such as Tete) are concerned about hair loss after they are 30 years old. Cats are around 5 years old and have not yet entered old age, and their body functions are beginning to age...
Therefore, pet doctors usually recommend that after the cat is 7 years old, change the physical examination from once a year to once every six months, so as to grasp the cat's physical data in real time and nip emerging health problems in the bud.
The easily overlooked Alzheimer's disease
Cat Alzheimer's disease, also known as Alzheimer's disease, usually occurs in cats after they are 10 years old.
Alzheimer's disease will cause cats cognitive decline and memory impairment. Cats with disease may experience: disorientation, forgetfulness, urination, barking, reduced activity, increased anxiety, decreased appetite, etc.
Cats with the disease may not remember the locations of food bowls, water bowls, and cat litters. They may even be lying in a room but cannot find the way to the living room, or they may not be aware of people approaching, so they are easily frightened.
There is currently no specific treatment for this disease. The only way to slow down the development of the disease is through drugs or some cognitive function exercises.
Easy to observe "disease signs"
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Many diseases that cats suffer from have more or less behavioral manifestations.
1
Urinary tract diseases
● Difficulty urinating (cannot urinate despite going to the litter box many times)
● Frequent urination (may be accompanied by polydipsia and polyuria)
● dripping urine (small drops of urine)
● Urinating indiscriminately (urinating on the way to the cat litter box, or not using the cat litter box due to painful memories)
2
Arthritis
● Does not like to move around, and the amount of activity is reduced
● Pain causing irritability (pain when touched)
● Indiscriminate urination (urinating on the way to the cat litter box, or not using the cat litter box due to painful memories)
● Reduced activities in all aspects: reduced eating leads to weight loss and physical weakness, and unwillingness to lick fur makes the hair dirty.
3
Skin diseases
● Dirty hair, abnormal hair loss
● Increased frequency of paw biting (possibly due to paronychia)
● Skin damage (excessive scratching and licking due to itchy skin)
4
Hyperthyroidism (hyperthyroidism)
● Indiscriminate urination
● Appetite increases, but weight may not change
● Howling at night
● Restless, hyperactive
5
Hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism)
● Symmetrical hair removal
● Depression, reduced activity
● Appetite increases, but weight may decrease
● Irritability and increased aggressive behavior
6
Gastrointestinal diseases
● Changes in appetite
● Indiscriminate urination
● listlessness, low activity
● loves to lick the mouth (possibly licking the mouth after vomiting)
7
Oral diseases
● Oral odor, increased drooling
● Reduce hair licking due to oral problems, and the hair is messy
● Decreased appetite, weight loss, poor mental health
8
Nervous system disease (intracranial tumor)
● Cat's daily routine is suddenly disrupted
● Reduced appetite
● Excited, aggressive, and may self-mutilate
● Abnormal behavior, mostly manifested as running in circles
● Personality changes, may become "docile" (apathetic) or aggressive (venting emotions through aggressive behavior) due to pain
Of course, these signs do not mean that they are sick, but they indicate that elderly cats may have hidden dangers in their bodies, and it is recommended to seek medical treatment in time to eliminate them.
The health problems of elderly cats require us to pay more attention to them.
How to protect elderly cats
. Regular physical examinations
Compared with adult cats, there are some differences in the focus of physical examinations for elderly cats. Because multiple diseases in elderly cats tend to be endocrine, , chronic kidney disease, , etc., these diseases often do not have very typical clinical symptoms, so specific examinations are required.
The physical examination of elderly cats should focus on these 8 examinations: blood routine , B-ultrasound, X-ray, SDMA (testing kidney function), T4, blood pressure , blood sugar, urine test, etc.
Of course, it will cost a lot to complete the whole set... Tete works hard to make money and works for elderly cats (retirement care).
. Balanced nutrition
provides easy-to-digest food, which can appropriately supplement VB, VC and VE that elderly cats are prone to missing, as well as taurine, AA, DHA, EPA, etc.
. Home environment layout
● Try not to change the layout of the home and the placement of items to reduce the number of times the cat has to adapt to the new environment;
● Place food, water and cat litter boxes in different rooms to ensure that the cat can eat, drink and defecate normally even when "confused";
● Choose a cat litter box with a low opening to make it easier for older cats to use.
. Interact more with cats
Interacting with cats every day can stimulate the cat’s nerves and slow down the decline of its cognitive ability. For example: daily grooming and massage, using snacks or cat teasing sticks to play with.
(graphic and text materials come from the Internet, such as intrusion and deletion)
