Living with an Aging Cat

Fluffy and I have been living together for sixteen glorious years. I couldn't have been blessed with a more loving pet. My cat has spent many a devoted night sleeping with one eye open, waiting for the love of his life (me) to wake up. Whenever I had to use the bathroom in the very early a.m. hours, Fluffy never failed to meet me there, regardless of how tired he was. I was more important to him than sleep as far as he was concerned. Within seconds he would push the bathroom door open so he could be with me and get a few pets (of course he always reciprocated the affection by licking my hand). During the day, Fluffy would periodically leap onto the couch; it always seemed so effortless for him, as if an invisible magnet was hanging over his head to lift him up.

Early morning bathroom meetings haven't happened in a while now, and my dear cat seems to sleep a lot more since he turned sixteen. I've also noticed Fluffy isn't as agile as he used to be. Those once smooth and fluid jumps to the high spots have become unsuccessful attempts that now end with a crash to the floor and a look of confusion on his darling little face. It's becoming apparent Fluffy's getting old.

Realizing your pet is no longer a kitten (or even a middle-aged cat) can help your pet lead a life that is more in tune with his needs. For example, for a while I went crazy buying one brand of dry cat food after another in an attempt to find one Fluffy would eat. I thought I just had a really finicky cat on my hands, but as it turned out, that wasn't the case. The problem, I realized, was Fluffy had lost some teeth and the dry food was too hard for him to chew. Wanting to make my little fur ball happy, I purchased dry food made for baby cats and served it to him. He loved it, and he's been eating it ever since. Baby cat food is easy for him to eat as this type of food was created for the newly developed teeth kittens have. It may not have the specific nutrients recommended for cats that are Fluffy's age, but at least he's eating it and I feel good about that because it's one of the better cat foods on the market.

I'm very happy I was able to pick up on my cat's changing needs and that I found a dry cat food he's able to enjoy. All it took was a little loving observation and some time. That's the least one can do for such a loyal friend.