What to Consider Before Adopting an Older Cat

 

I think it’s wonderful that you are considering adopting an older cat rather than a kitten but there are some things you should consider before you adopt.

 

In the past I have matched up older cats with senior citizens in my neighborhood.  I have also adopted older cats to people who work out of the home eight hours a day. The older cat is more laid back and do not require attention like a kitten. As long as you spend quality time with the cat when you are home  the older cat will probably sleep when you are at work.

 

Older cats seem to be better with adults and kids.   They are calmer, they have manners, you don’t have to train them to use scratching posts or litter box.  Many older cats that are being rehomed do not jump on counters. They like to be petted and some will cuddle up next to you to sleep.

 

Older cats know how to entertain themselves

Before you adopt an older cat its smart to ask for a veterinarian health report.  This report will tell you if the cat is up to date with vaccines, if they have any serious illness and if they have been sterilized.  

Inquire about the cat’s personality, if it needs a special diet, and if the older cats get along with kids, other pets’ cat or dogs. 

Consider that cats that are rehomed or adopted from a shelter will need an adjustment period. Don’t expect them to be affectionate and loving toward you as soon as you bring them home.

Senior Citizens Should Adopt a Cat

Recently I was asked if senior citizens should adopt a cat and I said yes because cats are wonderful companions for senior citizens.  Many of the seniors residing in my community are living alone their adult children and grandkids visit them during the holidays. My neighbors are lonely and I think a cat is good company for them.

 

But not all cats should live with a senior citizen.  They may ask for a kitten but kittens are a lot of work, they may be cute but they are not socialized, and can be too much work for a senior citizen, especially when they go through their biting stage. 

 

I never recommend kittens for a senior citizen because kittens may be too much energy for a senior.  Kittens require a lot of attention and physically may be too much for a senior citizen.  Plus kittens require vaccines and sterilization and those costs might be too much for a senior citizen that is living on a fixed income. 

  

 

I do recommend adult shorthair cats that are older. An adult cat is a good match because they are calmer, have good manners, and major expenses for vaccines and sterilization have already been taken care of.  And the short hair cat does not require so much grooming.  Seniors or retirees may have arthritis and brushing a longhair cat might be too much for them.   

 

The life expectancy for a cat is 15 years, that’s a long commitment should a senior citizen adopt a kitten. Whereas an adult cat aged five or older life expectancy is better suited for a person who is a senior citizen.

 

I also think that an adult cat would be a wonderful addition to a nursing home or another facility for the aging.  The cat would provide stimulation and joy as the cats may curl up on the bed to sleep with the residents, or they would lie on their laps.  The resident cat would impact the lives of the residents in a nursing home positively.   Plus cats are easier to take care of than a resident dog.

Age Matters When Adopting a Cat

  

In the past, I rescued a litter of six kittens that were abandoned at the side of the road  We were able to find homes for two of the six kittens but ended up adopting the remaining four. 

Four of the six kittens that we rescued
 

All of the kittens were the same age and it was fun to watch them grow, play, and take care of each other but when they were older it was heartbreaking.

 

Sibling cats sleeping together 

We learned the hard way that it's best to adopt cats that are different ages rather than all the same age.  

This past December we had to say goodbye to three of our cats who all passed away within a month.  I think the loss of a sibling was just too much for our littermates and that the sadness escalated their failing health.

The cats were elderly (age 18) and we knew that they were all end of life but they were part of our family and the passing of a cat, a beloved cat still hurts. 

Both my husband and I decided that age does matter when adopting a cat and that it's best to have multiple cats that are not the same age.  

We are thinking of adopting a kitten and an adult cat age 4 or 5 along with a senior cat since they always need homes for older cats at the shelter.   The difference in age matters to us as we do not want cats that are the same age for fear that they will all become elderly at the same time and all will go to the rainbow bridge one after another just like what occurred with us the month before Christmas. 

Gray Rescue Kitten is Adopted

 Lately, it's been difficult to find adopters for the cats and kittens that we rescue but have to say we got lucky. A neighbor told us that they would like to provide the gray rescued kitten with a forever home.

We took the kitten to the veterinarian's to have it checked for a microchip, then when we learned that there was none we had the kitten checked for disease, then vaccinated and sterilized.  

The kitten was discharged and I was told to keep it calm for a week or ten days.  When the cat had regained its strength and had put on some weight my husband took the kitten to our neighbor's house.

We are thankful that the kitten went to someone who had experience with rescue cats and is grateful that he will provide a safe forever home for the gray kitten.  

Here is a photo of the kitten being transported to its adopter / forever home.

Special Cat Needs Forever Home

Last November husband found a mature gray cat sitting in the middle of the street in the snow. The night was really cold and no cat should have been out. Normally a cat would run from a stranger but this cat approached my husband and did not hesitate to be lifted up by my husband. In fact, the cat seemed eager to be put under my husband's coat.

Leo on the day we rescued him

So this is how I came to know the cat we named Leo.

For the next several weeks we searched for this cat's people and when the search was completed we had learned that it was a community cat and that his people h ad died. A neighbor said they would care for the cat, but Leo did not like their cat so they put the cat outdoors in the winter with no shelter.

When I asked them if they wanted the cat, the people said no “that cat is not nice” is what they told me.

Know that I felt bad for the cat since he was a mature cat, probably lived with the same person his entire life. Then his person dies, the cat's life is turned upside down and ends up on the street on a cold night. Did not seem fair and I felt so bad for this cat.

So we took Leo into our home. We got him his shots and learned that he had arthritis. We made arrangements for shots and learned that this cat was approximately 8 years old.  Leo likes my husband more than me, but that does not mean that he does not lie on my lap and play with his toys with me.

Everyone who meets Leo says “what a nice cat”

Leo is a nice cat, he is affectionate and laid back. He will cuddle with his people and sleep at the foot of your bed. He will walk on a leash around the block and will come when you call him. BUT Leo does not like dogs or other cats.

Leo is a large mature cat, age 8 that needs a people only forever home

We have tried the Feliway behavior products, the rescue remedy liquid treatment for cats water, and other cat stress remedies and they work for a while but Leo’s resentment toward other animals is great and he is determined to fight, to hog the food bowl, act like all cats litter boxes are his, he also hogs all 4 water bowls.

Leo will be lying on my lap on the sofa and if the dog or another cat comes close to the sofa.  Leo will run after them.  This rescue cat is set in his way and loves people BUT does not tolerate other pets.

We took Leo to the veterinarian and he was given a prescription for  Calm cat food by Royal Cannin. Leo did well on this food but it was really expensive.  If we had Leo and one other cat, okay but we have two other cats and a dog and that is too much food to buy for all the pets.

Leo needs a forever home with people only

My husband and I like Leo, he is a nice cat with humans. We would keep him if we had an office away from the home where Leo could stay. As is, even if we keep him in our home office, he may get out and then start a fight with another cat or the dog. So we decided that Leo is a cat that has to be in a home with people only, so this week we are looking for a forever home for Leo.

Finding Quality Cat Adopters

As of this date I have interviewed four adopters for the kittens that we rescued in May when they were approximately ten days old.   These kittens were sickly due to the stress and the circumstance in which we found them, in a sack in the center of the highway median.

We took utmost care of the kittens and to make sure they were strong and healthy, after they were weaned we fed them Blue Buffalo Healthy Growth kitten food, we also had sponsors for the kittens so they received all of their rabies shots, vaccines, booster shots, worming and were vaccinated for the prevention of feline leukemia.  Then husband and I went ahead and had all kittens spayed and neutered.

The kittens are housecats that use litter box, scratching post, are trained to come when called and are all crate trained.  The long haired kittens groomed daily and short haired once a week. 

Anyone who would adopt the kittens’ would not have to do anything except transfer the paperwork. We asked for a placement fee of $50, it is less than adopting a kitten from local PetSmart.com charities or Human Society Shelter.  

Out of the six cat adopters that I interviewed there was only one match and Harry our gray and white kitten was adopted into his forever home. The other  kittens are in waiting for their forever family .  

The other adopters were either living in apartments that had a pet restriction,  had family members that were allergic to cats and thus cat had to live outdoors full time and other wanted cat for rodent control only. 

This is why I say finding quality cat adopter is difficult.

Rescued Cat with Frostbite Gets a Forever Home

The stray (no collar) cat that was rescued during extreme cold weather was treated for a mild case of frostbite on front paws.  This cat was kept in crate located in my heated mudroom for three for recovery.

Rescue Cat in Pet Crate

This cat’s pet owner was located and they confirmed that cats have fur and do not need an insulated shelter.  They expected the cat to go under their front porch that had a foundation wind block and open lattice on three sides.  Pet owner said; “the leaves underneath provided ample insulation when weather was extreme cold.”  I agree that leaves do provide some warmth but they are worthless if they become damp from snow or rain and when temperature is below zero.

The cat did not agree with the pet owner because cat was seen going into the neighborhood sewers prior to my husband rescuing the cat during a snow storm.

We offered to assist pet owner by making the porch area insulated and a safer shelter for the cat.  They agreed to the assistance but never came to pick up their cat.  So we did what every cat lover does, we found the kitty, that had frostbite, a forever home.  Another cat lover in my neighborhood agreed to take in the cat by allowing it access to their heated and air cooled garage.  The cat will have indoor outdoor privileges on warm days only and will be kept indoors at night.

We are pleased with the results of this cat rescue as this cat it is a happy ending for the rescued kitty that had frostbite.

Frostbite takes only minutes to set in.  Cats are susceptible to frostbite learn more by viewing this video:

Why You Should Adopt FIV Cats

3 Curious FIV cats

Feline Immunodeficiency virus is commonly called FIV.  When your cat is tested for FIV at your veterinarians office the test looks for the virus antibodies.   

Many cats that test positive may have been vaccinated against the virus and will show a false positive due to the antibody.  Other cats may have been exposed to the FIV virus and have developed antibodies that fight the virus.    

How Contagious is FIV?

I have FIV positive cats living with non FIV cats under the same roof and these cats drink out of the same bowl of water, sleep together and groom each other. 

The virus has not infected the non FIV cats.  The cats get along well with the each other.   Based on the example of my cats I find that it is not a highly contagious virus.  This cat virus is not transmissible through casual cat contact; drinking from the same bowl, sleeping in the same bed, grooming each other, playing and from airborne particles when the cat sneezes.  

FIV is contagious if the cats fight and inflict the non FIV cat with a bite wound that breaks the skin.  Blood with saliva contact will cause FIV to be contagious.

FIV in Feral Cats

Since 2004 I have been caring for a feral cat colony.  I have trapped and rescued many cats and in that time there were a four FIV cats and one FeLV (feline leukemia) cat.  

One of the cats that tested positive for FIV was a young  adult male tomcat and the other three were feral kittens.   Out of these five cats there were 0 fatalities.   The feral cats received medical care, neuter or spay  and were socialized and I adopted them.  The FeLV and FIV positive cat I adopted also. The cats immune system was able to fight of the FeLV by the third phase however he is still infected with FIV.  All cats are alive and healthy as of this date.

Cats that test positive for FIV can live a long and healthy life.  If you would come to view my cats you would think that they were normal in every way. The only thing that I note as being different is that there energy level is weaker and they sleep more.  

Life with an FIV Cat 

When the cats are awake they play together or they visit my husband and me and rub their head on our arms and purr so loud you can hear them across the room.   

Some of the cats will play with the family dog, and others will lie in the sun room.   FIV positive cats have same mannerisms as non FIV cats, they just sleep more. Thus these cats should not be feared and they should not be left in shelters; they need to be adopted into forever homes.  

Many FIV cats will live a long life and will never show symptoms of the virus.   However that does not mean that you can forgo their annual wellness check up by their veterinarian.   All cats must get a check-up by their veterinarian to keep them healthy. 

FIV cats are the same as non FIV cats, except that you must keep them indoors for the rest of their life to protect them from getting sick as they have a weakened immune system; feed them quality food, provide them with a safe and comfortable home, get them spayed or neutered and love them.  If you can do these things then you should adopt FIV cats. 

Caring for your FIV Cat

1. All FIV and non FIV cats must be spayed or neutered.  
2. Get annual wellness checkup at veterinarians, an exam and blood panel.
3. Follow the instructions provided by your veterinarian.    
4. Keep your cat indoors as they are susceptible to infections.   
5. Keep your house and litter boxes clean.  
6. Remove your shoes when you come in from the outdoors and put on house slippers.  Leave your shoes at the door or in another area that is off limits to your FIV cat. Shoes are a way to transport bacteria and other germs into your home. 
7. Feed your cat a high quality canned food.  I like Spa Selects by Blue Buffalo and so do the cats.  Look for a cat food that is high in protein with no corn, soy or wheat gluten. Also supplement your cat’s diet with a Lysine chew formulated for cats only.  Lysine supports your cats immune system to help fight off infection. 
8. Provide your cat with purified water.  Clean their water bowl daily with antibacterial dish soap.  
9. Brush their teeth with cat poultry flavored enzyme tooth paste.  By keeping their teeth clean you will prevent gum disease.
10. A well cared for FIV cat that is kept indoors and is healthy and happy will live a long life on average 15 years

Learn more about FIV:

Cornell University of Veterinarian Medicine: Feline Immunodeficiency Virus