Cats age quietly: the subtle signs owners tend to miss
The first signs of ageing in cats usually develop gradually and can be easy to overlook. Once a pet is around 11 years old, it is worth paying closer attention to its daily habits.
Cats do not age overnight. In most cases the changes happen gradually: a pet may start sleeping more, jumping onto windowsills less often, neglecting the careful grooming of its coat or acting differently in other ways. Because these shifts develop slowly, owners frequently fail to notice them.
By convention, cats are considered mature at around 11 to 14 years of age and seniors once they are older than 15. A calendar age, however, is far from the whole picture when it comes to health. Every cat ages differently, so the more useful approach is to watch for changes in the daily routine of a particular animal.
The widely repeated saying that one cat year equals seven human years is not an accurate way to measure feline development. In the first years of life cats mature much faster than people, but in later years the ageing process takes a different path. This means a simple conversion rule cannot reflect the individual condition of the animal.
Anyone living with a cat of about 11 years should pay special attention to its habits. Some warning signs are extremely subtle and may appear a long time before the owner realises that anything has changed.
