11year old cat.

[Boristhecats]

I have had my cat for a few years now. It was a case of he decided he wanted to live here.
He will be 11 after Xmas.
What does your 11 year old cat do. He seems to have slowed down a fair amount this last year.
He had a check up recently and the vet said he was okay.
But I have had to put some stools or furniture in places to help him jump to the window ledge. He has missed on more than one occasion now. So I wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

When he gets up he isn’t as quick as he was and moves much slower.

When did u notice your cat slowing ?

Mine is thirteen, and for the past couple of years has become very yowly and a bit grumpy with the kids. She has always been more of a quiet snoozer than a playful creature though, so I haven’t noticed ‘slowing down’ as such.

At about 14 they both seemed to slow down. One still thinks he is in his prime though and tries to climb things.

Ahhhh. Thanks. He has defiantly slowed a lot. Before he would wander off for ages. Now doesn’t go further than the from part of the house. Is sleeping more. And seriously is missing the window ledges when he tried to jump. I will keep an eye and see how he goes.

Get his eyes checked if he is missing windowsills. One of mine is getting a cataract. They both have glucosamine in their wet food to help with arthritis.

11 isn't really that old these days when many cats live well into their teens and beyond. If he just turned up when you first got him, do you know for sure he's 11 and not older?

I would probably press for more tests at the vet's based on what you've said here, missing jumps doesn't sound "normal" for a cat of that age (or any age, really).

Yes I would go back to the vets too. My cats have still been athletic and agile well beyond 11. Sounds like there could be some arthritis limiting his movements or as scary has mentioned, his visions.

He is 11. As I know his original owner a few doors away. I will speak to the vet. Thanks

I wouldn’t expect an 11 year old cat to be struggling to jump onto things so I would definitely take him back to the vets. I’ve had lots of cats over the 35 years since I became a cat slave and I wouldn’t expect to see them slowing down until around 13/14. I had one who was still leaping over our 6ft fence with ease at 16! Hope all goes well.

Mine got a bit stiff with arthritis aged 12 and needs a chair to get up on the table, using the seat and then the back to jump on.