Everybody loves a kitten. Most people are susceptible to the charms of an adult cat, but the essence of the human-cat bond lies in the bittersweet pleasures of caring for an elderly cat. Your knowledge of one another is rich, constant, and stripped of pretense. The trust, affection, and respect you share run deep, furrowed into your relationship by years of living closely together. You have, in many cases, navigated the rapids of her kittenhood together and have enjoyed the sleekness and agility of her prime. Now it's time to negotiate her life's final journey together.

Old Friends

Because your cat is an individual, the uniqueness that has always been part of her makeup will be part of her aging process, too. Not every cat, for example, becomes cranky with age. A warlike cat we had acquired during her middle years mellowed considerably as she grew older, a fortunate turn of events for the other cats and the two young puppies with whom she shared our house. Perhaps this old timer was familiar with the following passage from Camus: "To grow old is to pass from passion to compassion."

Just as all cats don't age in the same manner, they don't age at the same rate either. A cat's biological age--as opposed to her chronological age--is a function of genetic background, diet, the presence or absence of disease, and the tenor of her environment.

If you are a first-time owner of an elderly or geriatric cat, you should remember that no one knows your cat as thoroughly as you do. You were the one who found that particular spot where she likes to be scratched. You were the one who discovered that she loved playing in the "popcorn" in which some mail-order items arrive. You were the one to comfort her when thunder storms sent her scrambling into the most remote zip codes of your closet, and you are the one to use that knowledge to make her life and surroundings as comfortable as possible. To do less would be to neglect an old friend.

Tolls of the Road

The passage of time occasions progressive and irreversible changes in your cat. Sadly, most of the physical changes are not for the better. As your cat's metabolism slows down and her vitality begins to dim, her abilities to taste, see, smell, and hear diminish. She is less able to tolerate drugs, less able to regulate her body temperature, and less immune to the onslaught of disease. She requires fewer calories to fuel her body and to maintain her optimum weight. Her thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands and her pancreas do not secrete hormones as fluidly as they once did.

These changes are generally accompanied by other physical and behavioral diminutions. Your cat's eyes may become cloudy, her muzzle may turn gray, her fur may be less luxuriant, her skin may become slack, her muscles flabby, and her spine and hips more prominent. She may also experience hearing loss, stiffness in her joints, or lameness. She will most likely become less active, more inclined to sleep, less accepting of environmental changes, less tolerant of cold temperatures, and, perhaps, somewhat irritable.

Researchers estimate that old age in cats begins sometime around their tenth birthdays, when cats are approaching 60 in human years. According to the following chart, adapted from The Book of the Cat, felines are between 53 and 57 in human years at that point.

AGE IN YEARS
Cat	1	2	6	10	14	20	25	30
Human	15	25	45	60	72	90	105	120

Because older cats are more susceptible to disease, the earlier that conditions are diagnosed, the better a cat's chances of recovery. The annual veterinary checkup becomes more important in old age, and you may consider switching to semiannual visits. Naturally, you should keep vaccinations current in order to protect your cat against panleukopenia, respiratory diseases, feline leukemia, and rabies.

Weight Control

As you and your cat grow old(er) together, you may notice that at least one of you is growing in other ways, too. Older cats often become overweight as a consequence of their lessened activity and metabolic rate. The signs of excess weight are not difficult to detect. If your cat's abdomen begins to droop, if you cannot feel her rib cage when you run your hands along her sides, if she sways noticeably when she walks, or if she develops bulges on either side of the point where her tail joins her body, chances are she is carrying too much weight.
    To correct these symptoms weigh your cat once every month and feed her accordingly. If she gains a pound, switch to lite cat food, which contains 20 to 33 percent fewer calories than regular food does. If you're feeding both wet and dry foods, try a lite dry food for a month. If your cat returns to her "correct" weight, return to regular dry food and continue to monitor her weight. If switching to lite dry does not pare away the padding, continue feeding lite dry and switch to lite canned also.

Like weight gain, progressive weight loss in older cats is cause for concern--perhaps even more so. Weight loss may indicate kidney failure, the presence of a tumor, diabetes mellitus, liver disease, or other conditions. If your cat loses weight for two consecutive months or if she loses more than half a pound in any month, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian.

Obtaining proper nutrition for an older cat may be a matter of adjusting to changing political alliances in a multicat household. The cat that formerly ruled the roost may now have passed the mantle--or had it jostled from her shoulders. Patterns dictating who eats first, who gets the choice spots in a sunny window, or who gets first dibs on lap time are often renegotiated as your older cat declines physically. When this occurs, introduce modifications that will ensure the well being of the senior partner: feeding her alone in a place where her leisurely dining habits can be accommodated and seeking her out for attention on a routine basis can help her to make a graceful adjustment to her new status. Your elderly cat may also appreciate a warm nesting spot near the center of family activity or, if she has been in the habit of going outdoors, a chaperoned trip outside once or twice a day.

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