Cats are living longer than ever before, and the welfare needs of senior and geriatric cats differ significantly from younger animals in ways that many owners are unprepared to address.
Senior cat welfare requires proactive recognition of conditions that cats themselves cannot communicate. Arthritis-impaired cats that can no longer jump to elevated food stations or use high-sided litter boxes suffer hunger and inappropriate elimination rather than asking for help. Kidney disease produces gradual decline that owners attribute to old age rather than treatable illness. Cognitive dysfunction causes disorientation and distress that reduces quality of life in ways invisible to owners focused on physical health metrics. The senior phase of companion cat life can be a time of continued high welfare if owners recognize changing needs and adjust care, or a period of progressive unrecognized suffering if age-related conditions go unidentified and untreated.