Abstract
(1) Background: age-related changes in behaviour and health may be thought of as “normal” ageing; however, they can reflect under-diagnosed, potentially treatable, conditions. This paper describes the prevalence of age-related behavioural changes and disease in two UK cat populations at separate time-points. (2) Methods: owners of cats aged ≥11 years completed questionnaires in 1995 (cohort 1: n = 1236), and from 2010–2015 (cohort 2: n = 883). (3) Results: the most important behavioural changes in these cats were increased affection towards their owners (reported by 51.9% in 1995; 35.8% in 2010–2015), increased vocalisation (63.5%; 58.9%, respectively), particularly at night (32%; 43.6%), and house-soiling (29.3%; 55.8%). Most (79.4%; 81%) of the cats had visited a veterinary surgeon since becoming 11 years old. The main reasons, aside from vaccinations, were dental disease, renal disease and lower urinary tract disorders in 1995, and dental disease, renal disease and hyperthyroidism in 2010–2015. All major diagnoses were reported significantly more frequently in 2010–2015 than in 1995; behavioural changes were variably associated with these diseases. (4) Conclusion: elderly cats display age-related behavioural changes and develop diseases that may be under-diagnosed. Veterinarians need to ask owners about these behavioural changes, as they may signify manageable conditions rather than reflect “normal” ageing.
Highlights
With improvements in nutrition and veterinary medicine, the life expectancy of pet cats is increasing and the number of elderly cats seen by veterinary surgeons is growing [1,2,3,4]
30–50% of pet cats in the United States are believed to be of seven years of age or older [5]; 13% of the cats are aged 12 years or older [5]; and there was a 15% increase in the number of cats over 10 years of age seen at veterinary clinics from 1983 to 1993 [6]
This paper provides evidence about the most common behavioural changes and diseases seen in elderly cats, according to their owners, in two large groups of pet cats in the UK
Summary
With improvements in nutrition and veterinary medicine, the life expectancy of pet cats is increasing and the number of elderly cats seen by veterinary surgeons is growing [1,2,3,4]. In the UK, there are currently believed to be approximately 2.5 million ‘senior’ cats [4,5,6,7,8]. The management of these individuals is becoming
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