Cats are considered senior from age 11 and geriatric from 15, and proactive health management in later life dramatically improves their quality of experience.
Senior cat welfare is chronically under-served because cats mask discomfort so effectively. Owners frequently attribute reduced activity, changed sleep patterns, altered grooming, and decreased jumping to "normal ageing" — but these signs often indicate treatable pain or disease. A welfare-positive approach to feline ageing is proactive and clinical: regular blood and urine testing to detect CKD and hyperthyroidism before they cause suffering, mobility assessments to identify arthritis, and cognitive assessments to distinguish treatable decline from untreatable dementia. Environmental adaptations — providing everything a senior cat needs without requiring jumping — dramatically improve daily quality of life for arthritic individuals at minimal cost.