Signs & Symptoms in Senior Cats
The everyday changes that mean something in an older cat, and what to do about them. What is ordinary aging, what is treatable, and when a symptom is worth a same-day vet visit.
Senior Cat Drinking More Water and Losing Weight: What It Means
A senior cat drinking more water and losing weight often means kidney disease, thyroid trouble, or diabetes. What each looks like and when to see the vet.
6 min readWhy Is My Senior Cat Losing Weight? Causes and What to Watch
A senior cat losing weight is often the first sign of a treatable illness. The common causes, why eating well but shrinking is a red flag, and when to act.
8 min readSenior Cat Not Eating and Hiding: When to Worry
A senior cat not eating and hiding can be urgent: even a day or two without food risks the liver. What is behind it, how fast to act, and when to see the vet.
6 min readSenior Cat Vomiting: When It's More Than a Hairball
A senior cat vomiting often is rarely just hairballs. How much is too much, the diseases behind it, and when throwing up calls for a vet visit.
7 min readDiarrhea in Cats: When Loose Stool Signals Something More
Diarrhea in cats is often a passing upset, but when it lasts it is a sign worth heeding. Causes in older cats, the dehydration risk, and when to see the vet.
6 min readConstipation in Cats: Why Older Cats Struggle to Go
Constipation in cats is common in old age and easy to mistake for a urinary problem. The signs, why dehydration and sore joints cause it, and what helps.
7 min readSenior Cat Peeing Outside the Litter Box: Why, and What to Do
A senior cat peeing outside the litter box is usually medical, not spite: what to check, the emergency to know, and how to make the box easy.
7 min readWhy Is My Senior Cat Crying at Night?
A senior cat crying at night is often an overactive thyroid, high blood pressure, or feline dementia. What each looks like, and when to see the vet.
7 min readVision and Hearing Loss in Senior Cats: Signs and How to Help
Vision and hearing loss in senior cats creeps in slowly. What is harmless aging, what is a same-day emergency, and how to help a fading cat.
8 min readSenior Cat Coat Changes: What a Dull, Greasy, or Thinning Coat Means
Senior cat coat changes are often a signal, not just cosmetic. What a dull, greasy, matted, or over-licked coat can mean, and when it is worth a vet visit.
7 min readSenior Cat Bad Breath: What It Means and When to Worry
Senior cat bad breath is rarely just old age. Usually it is dental disease, but it can signal kidney disease or diabetes. What each means and when to act.
7 min readSigns Your Senior Cat Is in Pain (and What to Do)
The signs your senior cat is in pain are quiet by instinct: changes in grooming, posture, jumping, and mood. How to spot them, and what to do.
7 min readSenior Cat Lumps and Bumps: When to Worry
Senior cat lumps and bumps can't be told benign from cancerous by feel, and cats skew malignant. When to worry about lumps and bumps, and what to do.
7 min readSenior Cat Breathing Fast or Hard: When It's an Emergency
A senior cat breathing fast, hard, or with an open mouth is often urgent. How to count her resting breaths at home, the emergency signs, and what causes it.
6 min readWeak Back Legs in a Senior Cat: Causes and When to Worry
Weak back legs in a senior cat can mean a clot, low potassium, diabetes, or arthritis. How to tell them apart, and which ones are a same-day emergency.
8 min readWhy Is My Senior Cat Drooling?
A senior cat drooling usually has a mouth problem: dental disease is common, but an oral tumor can look just like it. Causes, and when drooling means the vet.
8 min readWhy Is My Senior Cat Sneezing?
A senior cat sneezing is usually a virus or chronic rhinitis, but one-sided or bloody nasal discharge is a red flag for a nasal tumor. Causes and red flags.
8 min readJaundice in Cats: What Yellow Gums and Eyes Mean
Jaundice in cats is a yellow tint to the gums, eyes, or ears from bilirubin. It is never normal, and points to the blood, liver, or bile ducts.
8 min readSenior Cat Coughing: When It's Asthma, Not a Hairball
Senior cat coughing is usually a lower-airway problem like asthma, not a hairball and not the heart. What it means, and the one kind that is an emergency.
6 min readMuscle Wasting in Cats: Why Senior Cats Lose Muscle, and How to Spot It
Muscle wasting in cats can happen even when the scale holds steady. Sarcopenia vs cachexia, where to feel for it first, and when muscle loss means a vet visit.
8 min readHairballs in Senior Cats: How Often Is Too Often?
Hairballs in senior cats: Cornell puts once every week or two in the normal range. Why old cats get more, what actually prevents them, and blockage signs.
8 min readSenior Cat Sleeping in the Litter Box: What It Usually Means
A senior cat sleeping in the litter box is telling you something: urinary trouble, sore joints, or confusion. What to check first, and the one urgent version.
8 min readCat Urine Smells Like Ammonia: Is It Her, or Is It the Box?
When cat urine smells like ammonia, the smell reports how long it sat more than what is wrong. How to tell the box from the cat, and when to call the vet.
9 min read