| The
Geriatric Cat
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Question
1:
I have a 17-1/2 year old, long-haired female cat. She has this terrible
habit of howling/wailing which we believe is just for attention, but we
are beginning to get a little weary of her 5.30am wake up call. Has she
just gone a bit senile? Do most old cats behave in this way or is it peculiar
to certain breeds or types?
Answer:
The haunting wail you describe is not unusual in older cats of all types.
Occasionally it can signal some underlying problem but more often than
not the cat seems basically healthy. Senility in animals is a difficult
thing to judge but there are certain behavioural changes that can occur
with age that could indicate a deterioration of mental faculties. Less
fastidiousness about the toilet habits and general cleaning is common
for instance, while cats that pace and wail like yours often seem to be
disoriented to varying degrees at such time. Hearing impairment in the
older animal may account for some of the excess volume of sound these
cats produce.
Its wise to get your
geriatric animals regularly checked, but if she is generally healthy,
you may just have to put up with the wailing!
Question 2:
Because of her age my cat spends most of her days asleep indoors and therefore
needs a dirt box. She is sometimes lacking in total hygiene and quite
often smells of urine. What would be a good solution to clean her with?
Answer:
A good quality pet shampoo is the best thing especially if you need to
clean her frequently. Human soaps have a different acidity from animal
ones and can cause skin problems. Don't use disinfectants because they
may burn the skin, especially if it is already damaged through being soaked
in urine.
Question 3:
Being a mostly "indoor" cat now, her claws are looking fairly
long, Should these be clipped and can we do this ourselves with nail clippers?
Answer:
Older cats tend not to sharpen their claws as often so that the outer
casing is not shed so readily and the claws grow longer. They also find
it harder to retract their claws and often get them caught in the carpet
for instance, so it is a good idea to clip them back, but get a pair of
cat nail clippers. - If you use human nail clippers, they will crush rather
than cut the claws, causing cracking right up to the nailbed, possibly
resulting in the nails growing back malformed. Cat claws are transparent
and you can easily see the bone within the claw - take care to cut below
this or your cat will not appreciate it - the nail will not only bleed
but it will also hurt a lot!
- Virginia Williams & Bert Westera |
