Complete Care for Your Aging Cat - Amy Shojai [9]
People of all ages, whose human family members live far away, become even more emotionally dependent on the cat. “I’ve met many elderly people whose cat has become the most important thing in their life. It’s a family member, and it may be the only remaining family member,” says Susan Little, DVM, a feline specialist in Ottawa, Canada. Of those pet owners who have a will, 27 percent have included provisions for their pets. Prolonging the cat’s life touches on a host of social and emotional issues.
Cats who have spent a decade or more with us have learned what we like and expect—and we’ve learned to anticipate the senior cat’s needs, likes, and dislikes. Over the span of years, we build and then enjoy a comfortable companionship together. Our aging pets share with us our life experiences, successes and failures, joys and sorrows, and they represent milestones in our lives, says Signe Beebe, DVM, a veterinary acupuncturist and herbologist practicing in Sacramento. They may have celebrated with us when we graduated school, married, and had children or grandchildren—or comforted us when we divorced, retired, or lost a spouse. They have been there for us, through everything. The more time we spend together, the greater our affection grows. Our compassion, love, and empathy for each other reach a depth that has no parallel in human existence.
“We share our secret souls with our pets in ways we wouldn’t dare with another human being,” says Dr. Wallace Sife, a psychologist and president of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement. “We’re human beings, and love is love. Love for a pet is no different than love for another human being.”
What To Expect
Pet owners relish spending time with their older cats. As the cat ages, chances are she’ll need more medical care. The most common health problems of senior cats mirror those of aging humans. They include kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, heart disease, arthritis, obesity, and dental disease. Cats are also prone to sensory loss – eyesight, hearing, and scent sense fade with age. A certain percentage of aging cats also develop behavioral changes that mimic those of human Alzheimer’s patients, says Dr. Little.
“People need to recognize that older animals get diseases more frequently, and most of these diseases are progressive,” says Dr. Marks. Problems such as kidney failure or hyperthyroid disease will not go away, but pets can live with these conditions and enjoy a happy life for months to years after the diagnosis. “I think one of the strategies associated with the senior pet is making the owners aware of what realistic goals are for these particular diseases,” says Bill Fortney, DVM, director of community practice at Kansas State. “In diseases of the young and middle-aged, we often think in terms of cure. But with arthritis, kidney failure, and cancer we look at control, management, and setting realistic quality of life goals for the pet.”
A large majority of cats remain relatively healthy throughout their golden years and won’t require more than routine medical care. “There are symptoms of aging that don’t seem to impact the quality of life,” says Dr. Fortney. “For example, a cat has a graying muzzle, a little bit of muscle wasting and their eyes are a bit clouded over,” he says. Elderly cats don’t care about gray hair, and they often develop a bluish or hazy-milky pupil called nuclear sclerosis, which is a normal aging change that won’t bother them.
Even when they don’t have special health care problems, though, all senior cats require more emotional support and nutritional help than younger pets. As the most important person in your cat’s life,