General Pet is your source for advice and information for a happy and healthy pet.
Author: CharleyHwang Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used with author's permission.
A cat will not always be young and sharp, and after it grows old, its senses will become duller, such as vision worsening and hearing or sense of smell deteriorating. Some cats age before others, or have different changes as they age, so here are some common signs of aging in a cat that you should look out for to be able to take care of your cat.
Some changes may be harder than others to notice, for your cat may have adapted to the changes themselves. But after some extra attention and checkups, you should be able to find out diseases or negative aspects of your cat's aging, and find the best prevention method. Some changes would be noticeable, such as dental diseases, which causes bad breath.
Besides that, there are also harder-to-spot signs such as hearing senses deteriorating. Your cat may have gotten used to not hearing as properly as it used to, and due to that, you would not have known that your cat is actually becoming deafer.
To find out for sure if your cat is really not hearing well, you can look out for its reactions to certain noises. Once when your cat used to react quickly to loud sounds and yet now, it is not really startled, or shows no signs of hearing the sound, you can be sure that your cat is suffering from hearing loss.
Snap your fingers quickly behind your cat's head, and see if it curls back right away, or react in any way to the direction of the noise. If your cat is unsure of the origins of the noise, or looking somewhere else instead, then you can be certain it has hearing problems.
If you usually keep your pet in the house, then there is no need to worry about its loss in hearing. If your cat is an outdoor cat, then you should take precautions about letting it wander outside, as it may not be able to hear oncoming dangers such as vehicles or other animals like dogs. As it cannot hear the approaching sounds of these things, it may become a victim before it realizes it is in danger.
Besides hearing and eyesight that is affected in your cat, its sense of taste is also reducing. For cats, this could be a problem, for they are picky animals that usually test and smell at their food to see if it is still good, or spoilt. Therefore if they cannot sense if it is delicious enough or bad, they may ignore the food, and not eat it for enough nutrition. An aging cat needs its health, and this may be damaging for its health.
For more information on Aging Cats or visit http://www.siamesecatsinfo.com/the-aging-cat-learn-what-changes-are-taking-place-as-your-cat-gets-older/, a popular website that offers information on Cats, Cats Breeding, and Cats Behavior. Please leave the links intact if you wish to reprint this article. Thanks
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