Aging-Cat-Health

Aging Cat Health.

As cats gets older, their senses will begin to decline. Hearing, vision and smell will begin to be reduced. A hearing problem is often first recognized by the cat meowing incessantly.

A cat is middle aged by the age of 12-15. Some vets has gone as far as to call cats geriatric at the tender age of eight.

As your cat ages you will find your veterinarian becoming more alert to conditions such as kidney disease, dental health, and diabetes. While these conditions are called age related, much can be done to prevent them, or to delay the onset.

Diabetes is a man-made disease. Studies in the UK show it affects one cat in every 230 cats. Feline diabetes can frequently be cured by feeding a diet without carbohydrates. (Just the way they have evolved for over millions of years)

The current "modern commercial diet" contains levels of carbohydrates 10-20 TIMES the level their bodies are designed to metabolize. After years of an onslaught of carbs, the pancreas begins to shut down, and hence, the feline diabetes occurs.

One way to avoid for your cat to develop diabetes is to feed a diet with little or no carbohydrates.

Kidney Failure.

Kidney failure, the leading cause of death for cats, have a number of contributing factors that are under our control.

The first one is again the diet. Cats being desert animals do not have a good thirst instinct. Meaning, that they do not sense very well when they need water. In the wild cats do not drink very often, their water intake comes from their prey.

Cats fed a kibble diet are always dehydrated. Always. That results in kidneys working overtime to rid the system of toxins, having to make the urine super concentrated in order to keep enough moisture.

Feeding a diet which consists of canned or raw foods will result in a cat whose kidneys are not working overtime, a cat who has enough water to fluch toxins from it’s system.

Dental Health.

Poor dental health, including gum disease is another leading cause for kidney disease.

Infected gums will leak bacteria into the bloodstream. These bacteria hurt vital organs such as the kidneys, liver and heart. Keeping the teeth and gums healthy is very important for overall health, not to mention keeping the cat out of pain from cavitites and inflamed achy gums.

Brushing, feeding raw chicken necks, or raw smaller bones such as those found in Cornish game hens, can help keeping the teeth and gums in shape, as can adding (powdered) Coenzyme Q 10 to the food.

Vaccinations.

Vaccines have been implicated in cats developing antibodies to kidneys simce vaccines are grown on kidney cells.

Vaccines are also implicated with a variety of autoimmune diseases and VAS. (Vaccine Associated Sarcoma –a deadly form of cancer developing at the injection site)

Reducing the amount of vaccines to the legal requirements and no more, can help your elderly cat.