"Senior" definition?

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purrrplej

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Hi - I was browsing the articles on the Cat Site, in the Cat Health area, and one of the articles on choosing food stated that a cat can be considered a "senior" as early as the age of six! My Murray is about age six. I thought he was still a relatively young cat. He certainly seems as active as he's ever been. And Simba is going to be 12 this year, so I guess he is probably a "senior" in terms of years, but he is still an incredibly active cat - just like a kitten in his playfulness, in running around the house and up/down stairs, etc. So does the decision to start feeding a cat "senior" formula depend on their activity level - when that level starts to slow down? Or does it strictly depend on age? And, if so, what is the age - is it really as early as six??

Thanks!
 
mews2much

mews2much

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Six is to young to be a Senior.
Coco is 16 and she does not eat Senior Food.
She has Bladder Problems and has to be on Urinary Food.
Meeko is 8 and she eats Reg food.
 
momofmany

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I start looking at a cat as a senior when they hit about 8 or 9 and by the time they are 10 I start their senior blood panels (e.g. blood tests to monitor them). Because I have such an age variety in my house, I can't do senior food, but just give them a quality food. The average age for a cat is still in the 12-13 year old range and I know that many, many cats live much longer than that. But counter that with all the cats that die young and that lowers the average.
 
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krazy kat2

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Pearl is almost 8 and she has always been a shy, lazy cat, but a senior? She can still do everything she has always done and will rip into anything that she feels threatened by, including our youngest cat, who often makes the mistake of trying to scarf down her food and then go after Pearl's.
 
sharky

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7-10 is typically when the senior yrs start.. senior food depends on factors like activity , other cats in house , blood work results
 
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maxcat08

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My Vet used to consider a 7 yr old as a Senior...now it has been raised to 8 yrs old. My Phoebe is 12...and is eating Wellness Weight Management food.....she actually needed it when she was about 5...
....she is as healthy as the proverbial horse based on her full 'senior' blood panel done in May. In human years, according to the chart in the Vet's office...she turned 64 yrs old on her birthday March 1....so she really is a 'senior' !! She actually turned 65 yrs old June 1 (based on the chart..she ages 4 human years to 1 cat yr)
 
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purrrplej

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Originally Posted by sharky

7-10 is typically when the senior yrs start.. senior food depends on factors like activity , other cats in house , blood work results
Click to expand...
For Simba, we can't really do blood work, because he's been "banned" from the vet - he gets too wild, from fear. Last time, about 9 years ago, he was heavily sedated, but still had the adrenaline to jump up and bite the vet. So my folks and I just keep our fingers crossed that he stays healthy. He is still active enough to make me think that senior food is not a necessity (though he's nearly 12), but I suppose it couldn't hurt to try some out on him.

As for Murray, I think I will ask the vet, but I think he is several years from being a senior.
 
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maxcat08

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I've never heard of a cat being 'banned' from the Vet's....poor kitty. It must have been really scary for him!
 
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purrrplej

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Originally Posted by MAXCAT08

I've never heard of a cat being 'banned' from the Vet's....poor kitty. It must have been really scary for him!
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It was a horrible experience - and I was in tears, too, because I felt so bad for him. Actually, we went through that twice, at the same vet - he got "banned" the second time we went. It's odd, before those visits, I was able to take him to a vet, and he was always a little scared, but never acted out in such pure terror as he did at his last two vet visits. I don't know why he suddenly started going berzerk. But he had diarrhea all over the place, and growled, and as I think I mentioned, was super-sedated yet still managed to jump up to bite the vet in the arm. So, if he ever needs a vet for anything, one that makes house calls might be needed!
 
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