Cats are considered senior starting around age 10, and by 11 to 14 they’re formally classified as senior, with cats 15 and older considered geriatric, according to the American Association of Feline Practitioners guidance summarized by PetMD. The challenge is that cats are naturally good at hiding illness, so by the time a problem is obvious, it’s often been developing for a while.
10 Conditions That Become More Common With Age
- Kidney disease — a progressive loss of kidney function that’s manageable with diet and treatment but not curable, making early detection valuable.
- Diabetes — typically develops in middle to senior age and requires daily insulin plus a strict diet once diagnosed.
- Hyperthyroidism — overproduction of thyroid hormone, usually from a benign tumor, that speeds up metabolism.
- Dental disease — left untreated, it can lead to infections that affect more than just the mouth. Watch for hesitancy to eat or a switch to soft food.
- Cancer — including lymphoma, mast cell tumors, and squamous cell carcinoma.
- Cognitive decline (dementia) — age-related nerve cell changes that affect memory and awareness, similar to CDS in dogs.
- Arthritis — remarkably common: roughly 90% of cats aged 12 and older have some degree of arthritis, often showing up as trouble jumping onto furniture or getting into the litter box.
- Hearing and vision loss — sometimes a standalone aging change, sometimes secondary to another underlying condition.
- Gastrointestinal disease — vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained weight loss can point to a range of GI conditions in older cats.
- Heart disease — most commonly hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can be silent until it’s advanced.
Warning Signs That Mean “Call the Vet”
Weight loss, appetite changes, and behavior shifts are the three red flags that consistently show up across these conditions — they’re non-specific, but they’re rarely nothing. Blood in urine or stool always warrants immediate veterinary care rather than a wait-and-see approach, since it can indicate anything from a urinary infection to bladder stones.
A subtler sign worth watching for: a drop in grooming. Cats in pain — especially from arthritis — often groom less because twisting to reach certain spots hurts, which can leave their coat looking unkempt or matted.
The Case for Twice-Yearly Checkups
Because cats mask illness so effectively, routine checkups every six months (rather than the annual visit that’s fine for younger cats) give a vet the best chance of catching bloodwork changes or early symptoms before a condition progresses. For senior cats, “wait and see if it gets worse” is rarely the safer option.
Source: PetMD — 10 Most Common Illnesses in Senior Cats.
Photo: “Tony senior cat 6-6-22” by Jeanne Griffin, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.