Stairs - Good or bad exercise for older cats?

Does anyone have an opinion on stairs?

Recently, we lost our 10 year old kitty due to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. When we found out we placed another littler box upstairs in case he had trouble going up and down the stairs to the basement.  He did in fact use both.  He didn't seem to struggle but we wanted to provide the alternative if he didn't feel like exerting himself.  Right before we lost him he did have trouble with breathing and we were glad we had established the new litter box upstairs.

Now we are wondering if stairs are considered good exercise for our other cat who is 13 years old and in good health.  If his health declines should we again move a litter box upstairs or is this still considered good exercise even if your cat is ill?  obviously if he had trouble with walking then the answer would be upstairs I'm sure.  

I'm just thinking of this in terms of a human hospital stay where they are quick to get you up on your feet and moving around.

I can't imagine why a cat in good health, regardless of age, should find climbing stairs difficult.

There are times when moving the box would be beneficial - perhaps if they have arthritis or heart issues as you mentioned.  I'd think if the cat was really having problems, they would just balk at doing it.  Our older boy, who is on the verge of turning 15, manages to get up the stairs just fine, albeit somewhat slower than in past years.  However, he does have trouble jumping up on things now so we've configured areas where we know he enjoys being in ways to make them more accessible to him.  It's pretty easy to tell when he can or can't do something - some days he just wants us to pick him up into our bed and others, gets in himself.

We've discussed moving a litter box to the ground floor but thus far, see no reason to do so.  Once we do, however, we'll make that change.

Your cat should be perfectly fine using the stairs.  It is good exercise and the more a cat moves, the better condition they will stay in.