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| -This post is in collaboration with Vetscriptions- |
If you didn't already know, I'm basically a crazy cat lady (lol), there's never been a time in my life where we don't own at least one cat. Right now, we technically have 4 cats... I know what you're thinking why technically? Well, basically we share a previous neighbourhood stray with our next-door neighbour (who has always been more of a dog lover). Yep really! His name is Ozzy and he's basically a big ball of white fluff. He's that big that he has to use a dog flap as he can't fit through a cat flap! We also have Charlie who we've had since he was a kitten and is now 7 years old, Rory who is the latest addition and is around 6 years old and our eldest is Minnie who is now 11 years old (pictured above when she was younger).
Obviously, as cats get older, they start to show it in multiple ways. Cats tend to start showing signs that they're getting older from as early as 7 years old. Charlie hasn't started to show any signs yet, he's still as crazy as he was when we first got him as a kitten, however, Minnie has definitely started to show some signs she's getting older in the past year or so. So in this post, I'm going to be talking about a few things we can do which can help our cat's overall health as they get older.
First up is making sure your cat visits the vets at least once a year for an annual check-up. Cats are very good at masking signs of illness and pain so the vet can thoroughly check them over and ask the owner about their cat's day-to-day life, diet and if they have noticed anything different about their cat since their last visit to the vets, they may also have a dental cleaning whilst visiting too, as well as their vaccination.
When cats start to get older, you may notice that they are not able to jump around and play as much as they used to be able to and this can be a sign of reduced mobility due to joint health problems, it can also happen if your cat is on the bigger side and could do with losing a few pounds. If you think you're cat has joint health problems then you can buy joint medicine for cats from Vetscriptions and it can be delivered straight to your door. However please remember that painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicines should only be used as directed by your vet. If you notice signs of poor joint health in your cat, you should speak to your vet for advice first.
Diet definitely plays a big part in your cat's health and we personally always give our cats a mixture of wet food 2-3 times per day, easy-to-digest dry food which is available at all times and we also buy our cats a cooked chicken once a week between them for added protein and just as a treat really, which they obviously love. Whenever we've told any vet this, they've always been positive and say that it's not a bad idea at all.
Obviously, we should give our cats attention every day in general as they need to know that they're loved and wanted. However, as cats get older, they tend to be more affectionate and want more attention. Our Tabs who was 24 when she passed last year definitely became needier and more loving as she got older. I think when she became deaf around the age of 16, she just needed more guidance I guess and she loved to cuddle up next to you and sleep for hours on end. Minnie's also become a bit more affectionate over the past year, usually, when she's in the house she tends to either be asleep or eating and then when she's outside she's usually people watching on the fence or looking for a boy cat (lol I'm not even kidding) but she has started to want to be in the house more over the past year and wanting more attention which is nice really because she's always been quite independent and never really been a lap cat and I'm hoping as she gets older she becomes one.
Making sure our cats have Playtime is a must just to keep them active. Obviously as cats get older they slow down so they might not be interested in fast toys like a cat laser or something they've got to chase anymore but there's something that cats always like and that's catnip. So maybe buy a few catnip toys and let them play on their own. Tabs wasn't that interested in toys as she got older but if you gave her a catnip toy or slowly pulled a piece of ribbon in front of her she would go absolutely crazy. I recently bought some fish-shaped catnip toys from Amazon and all of our cats love them, even Ozzy pops in to play with them often and then leaves again.
Lastly is to tailor to their needs as they get older so this could be from buying a shallow cat litter so they're able to get in and out easier to buying a proper pet step or a stool to help them to get onto the couch or bed.
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