Aging and the senior cat
Aging and the Older Cat: What is Senior? There is no specific age at which a cat "becomes senior." Individual animals and body systems age at different rates, but one convenient way to view older cats is to classify them as "mature or middle aged" (7-10 years), "senior" (11-14 years), and "geriatric" (15+ years). (FAB) This helps to focus on the varying disease risks of the different groups (e.g. obesity in the mature group; cachexia in the geriatric group). In this document, as elsewhere, the word "senior" is used as a broad category for all older cats, unless otherwise noted.
With good care, many cats live into their late teens and some into their twenties; the percentage of older cats is increasing. (Broussard et al 1995, Wolf 1995) The inevitable biological changes associated with aging result in a progressive reduction in the ability to cope with physiologic, immunologic, and environmental stresses. Along with "normal" aging, the incidence of certain diseases gradually increases.