It’s a commonly held belief that most old cats become calmer, slower and more tolerant. But no one passed this message on to my tuxedo cat, Oscar.
He is now rapidly approaching his fourteenth birthday, and the last couple of years of his life have seen some rather different changes to his personality.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not just a cat owner, I’m a feline obsessive. I’ve researched everything about this species from random health facts to unusual characteristics. I grew up with cats, and thought that I knew what to expect when my buddy became an official senior. But even I have been blindsided a few times recently.
Normal Old Cat Behavior
If you run a quick search on expected behaviors for senior cats you’ll see the same things come up a lot. Most older cats typically become less feisty, more lazy, sleepy and even cuddly.
They will spend extra time on your lap, ignore their toys, and merely flick their tail in response to things that would have previously sent them into a meltdown of claws and teeth.
And if this describes your cat, then fantastic! No worries, right. All you need to do is make sure that their slower behavior isn’t due to aches and pains, and that you switch over to a senior cat food that better suits their activity levels. And enjoy the more sedate pace of this stage of life.
But if your cat doesn’t fit any of those boxes, then he might be a little more like mine.
My Cat’s Younger Personality Was Pretty Much Faultless
Oscar has always been a very tolerant cat. I had to watch my kids like a hawk when they were toddlers as he’d put up with anything they accidentally threw in his direction. Grabbing, squeezing, rapid approaches, they were all taken with good humour for the few seconds it took me to dive in the way.
He’s always been a company cat, not a lap cat. He didn’t want to sit on us very much, but loved to be nearby. He was playful, loud, and always hungry. And some of those things haven’t changed, but others really have.
When Expectations Don’t Meet Reality
The last year with Oscar has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Whereas I used to be able to leave the kids confidently in his company, I am now more cautious. He is less tolerant of their attentions, and on a couple of occasions has threatened to bite or actually done so.
In frustrating contrast to his earlier behavior he is now an enthusiastic lapcat, but an intolerant one. He wants to be on your lap, but he does not want to be petted whilst he’s there.
He remains fairly playful for an older cat, and is increasingly focussed on mealtimes. Demanding them earlier and earlier in the day.
Is This Normal?
Oscar’s changes in behavior are actually also normal responses to getting older. When he first bit, a completely out of character move for him, I took him straight to the veterinarian in case he was in pain. And he was.
Oscar has mild arthritis in his hips. It’s not causing him any obvious mobility issues, but it means that when someone touches his back end it hurts. If someone poked me in a painful spot, I might be tempted to bite them too.
The vet also ran a series of blood tests to check among other things his thyroid given his increasing hunger, but they all came back as expected for his age.
Managing Behavioral Changes
When our pets get old, it can be tough for us too. There are adjustments we can make to our lives, homes and our own behavior that can help them.
For our family, this has meant two things. For the kids, they now have rules about how to interact with him that weren’t there before. They are not allowed to have him on their laps, or to pet him anywhere below shoulder level. He loves a head scratch, so I’m confident he’s happy with this decision too!
I’ve also had to refresh the family on cat behavior signals for them to watch out for. And since doing this, no one has accidentally got to the point that he feels he needs to bite to get his message across. Ear position, tail activity and stiffening of posture are all clear signals from Oscar that he does not want to be touched.
Moving Forward
It’s also important to keep monitoring Oscar, and to follow our veterinarian’s advice regarding pain medication for his hips later on if they think that becomes the appropriate choice.
But for now, we’ve come together with a plan that works for our family to manage his new personality traits and needs in a way that doesn’t detrimentally impact him or the people who share his home. It’s not easy sometimes, but he’s worth it.
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