May 8, 2025 • 23 mins
Cats are masters at hiding pain—but if we know what to look for, we can make their world easier to navigate and more comfortable to grow old in.
Cats age differently than dogs—and often more quietly. In this practical conversation, Karen and Gail reflect on the subtle but powerful signs that a cat’s mobility may be changing, from hesitating to jump onto the couch to choosing lower shelves on the cat tree.
Drawing on their years of caregiving experience, they explore how to recognize these early shifts and support aging cats with compassion, creativity, and a few clever adaptations. From food bowl hacks to gentle ramps and raw food transformations, this episode is full of insight, heart, and real-life stories that remind us our cats are still climbing—even if they do it differently now.
You’re not alone. Let’s walk this path together—with love, empathy, and a whole lot of paw-sitive solutions.
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Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes and not a substitute for professional advice.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents, the podcast by BrightHaven Caregiver Academy.
I'm Gail Pope and I'm Karen Wylie and together we're here to support you in navigating life with your aging or ill pets.
We know how deeply you care for your beloved companions, and we're here to offer guidance, understanding, and resources for this meaningful journey.
(00:25):
Each episode we'll explore topics that address the daily challenges, emotional realities, and choices you face as a pet parent helping you and your pets find peace, comfort, and joy.
Whether it's making sense of a new diagnosis, adjusting to changing needs, or simply seeking a place to feel understood, you're not alone.
(00:47):
Thank you for being here with us.
Karen Wylie (00:50):
Hello and welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
I'm Karen Wylie here with Gail Pope, and we're going to take a look at "Cat's Mobility" today.
Something that most of us don't think about as often as we do think about mobility in dogs.
Certainly, there are some different issues and cats are built a little differently than dogs too.
(01:16):
It's definitely worth us taking a separate look from what we spoke about in terms of mobility for dogs.
So Gail, how would you like to start us out with this because obviously at BrightHaven you had a lot of senior cats that had injuries (01:23):
broken bones, fractured spines, paralysis— certainly would affect mobility.
So you saw quite a range of mobility challenges.
Gail Pope (01:43):
Yes.
It's interesting that you should say that.
Because yes, when I look back, I guess I took mobility in all our animals as it was just something that we worked with.
And, if someone couldn't get out of bed, then we sprang into action with what do we need to do to help them.
So I think in general, daily life, people don't think about cats as having a mobility issue.
(02:10):
But I guess for us it was normal.
Especially as I think about it now, sometimes doing tours at the sanctuary and we'd open the front door and guests would start coming in and there'd be one or two, like Sasha or Talya, who were both scooting on their bottoms.
They both had broken backs and they were as happy as clams.
(02:32):
They weren't elderly, they were very energetic but they sat on their bottoms 'cause they didn't like wheelchairs.
People would be really sad.
They'd come in and go, "Hi! Oh no!" and it would be heartbreaking for them to see a cat that had that kind of a mobility problem.
So I think it is unusual in society.
(02:55):
But yes, I think, a cat can have any kind of illness the same as a dog or a human and have a week in bed.
So there's something we haven't really thought about.
Okay, so the cat is immobile, lying in bed, not well— what do we need to do?
Are they eating, drinking?
Well how can we help?
(03:16):
Do we need to put their food on a saucer so that they can just lean forward and lick it?
Do we need to help them by syringe feeding them or can they actually stand up?
Maybe we need to put their bowl there and elevate it onto another bowl.
Purrci, my cat now, he's a big, strong, tough guy.
However, he does have some little neurological issues and I found that when I took like a pudding bowl, I put a cloth in it.
(03:44):
Then I put his plate on top of it so it doesn't licked on.
I tried it without the cloth, first of all, and that didn't work because he just licked the plate off and its contents.
It helped him.
He can eat in a better position.
So Yes, I think the world of cat mobility certainly deserves a little exploring.
Karen Wylie (04:03):
I think for a lot of us, we don't think of it.
I guess cats move so differently than dogs.
I think that's part of why we don't notice it like you're talking about the extremes with where they're paralyzed and people seeing that and reacting, "Oh! They're handicapped. Oh my god!"
The cats just adapt and keep living their lives.
(04:25):
But day to day in the household, I think we tend to notice our dog's mobility challenges much more quickly than we notice the cats.
It's like the dogs are usually, if we're taking them on the leash for a walk, we have a route that we take.
Maybe this is the short route we take on a rainy day as compared to how long we'll walk on a sunny day.
(04:50):
But as a dog is aging and let's just take that idea for the moment.
When a dog doesn't want to walk that long a route that's feedback for us that something might be wrong.
Maybe something's hurt, starting to be sore when they walk.
With cats, cats just do what they want.
They're very self-directed.
Gail Pope (05:11):
Yes, but you actually, that made me think.
Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you.
But that made me start to think that well what do you see with cats?
They have these wonderful things called claws.
So instead of jumping to the couch, you might see them using their claws, climbing up because they just don't have as much strength anymore, or something like that.
Karen Wylie (05:33):
Exactly.
They move vertically.
It's a whole different thing with cats.
We've got to be thinking of them moving up.
That's where we're likely to see exactly like you're saying.
It's harder for them to get up on the sofa.
They're not just jumping like they used to.
Instead, they don't quite have the oomph they used to and maybe they're starting to use their claws, just like you're saying.
(05:53):
You know, day to day in the household it's a little different when we're trying to keep an eye on our aging cats, for example.
It can be so gradual too which is, of course, that's true for cats and dogs.
Gail Pope (06:07):
That's absolutely true.
Again, I'm thinking of Purrci and when I noticed that he wasn't jumping quite as easily as he did before.
I had a foot stool, so I put it in front of the couch and he went onto the foot stool and then onto the couch.
He went straight there, "Oh, thank God. She's finally realized. This is so much easier." In the bedroom— bed steps.
(06:29):
For the longest time, Purrci would put his claws and climb up onto the bed and I suddenly realized this isn't really very fair.
So I got bed steps for him and he loves them.
The dogs do too.
There are a lot of overlap in the kinds of things you can do with ramps.
Again, if you've got a cat that's scooting on the bottom.
Ramps are really helpful.
Karen Wylie (06:50):
A ramp would work.
Just like you're saying with the steps or the stairs to the bed or to the couch, typically the ones for cats are cheaper than the ones for dogs because the stairs, there's not as much variability in the size of cats as there are with dogs.
With dogs we've got them from 4 pounds to nearly 200 depending on them.
With cats, we don't have quite that range, shall we say.
(07:13):
So, their steps are much smaller and don't take up as much space in the house.
But Yes, it's interesting with, for me in watching my cats and their comfort, I guess I'm going to call it comfort level because I never used to think about them in pain as they were aging.
But I would notice that they weren't jumping up to the highest shelf in the cat tree anymore.
(07:37):
They were choosing the next highest and maybe over another six months they might be down.
That's not something with the cats, it's not something I noticed the day it happened.
It's because cats move around, they follow the sun a lot of times.
They'll jump up to a particular window that has great sun in the east in the morning and then they follow the sun.
(07:59):
They're in different places.
So with my cats, I would be used to them having a few favorite places but over time you start to see that they're not going to the highest shelf in the cat tree, or at least that would be for me.
I've noticed that.
Or they would choose a window sill that was, maybe two feet away from the ground level instead of jumping up to a couple cabinets and going to the highest windows.
(08:24):
That's a pattern you have with cats.
I think you have to look for more of a pattern.
I feel like I see dog mobility challenges faster.
Gail Pope (08:33):
Exactly.
You've just summed it up.
I think you have to be a lot more observant with cats.
Even little things like irritability sometimes.
You may look a little deeper if they seem a little irritable.
But the changes in a cat as mobility becomes more difficult for them in whatever way are generally it's up to us to see them.
(08:55):
Because cats, as you said, they're so proud and strong and they don't want to be beaten by something that might ache.
Then of course you've got continence.
If you've got a cat that is immobile or very often the scooters do have continence problems.
And again, where we were talking about with the dogs, we've got belly bands and wraps.
(09:17):
They make the most amazing jeans and cute panties for girls.
There are all sorts of things you can do there.
If you've got a cat who's immobile in bed for any period of time, coming back to the layering.
Blanket and the incontinence pad so that you can change a bed quick and easy.
At least with a cat, you very often can lift the cat up, right?
(09:40):
So it's a lot easier.
However, you can't change a bed with one hand while you've got a cat in your arms.
Karen Wylie (09:46):
You can't do that?
That's where the baby slings come in nicely— come in handy.
Wear the baby sling.
Put the four footer there.
As you're speaking about incontinence, that's just making me think of litter box.
When our cats are at younger ages and we assume they have no mobility issues, we can use those six inch or eight inch high litter boxes with the covers and all sorts of options these days.
(10:14):
But it's the height and although a cat's spine is different from a dog's, they have more cushioning between their vertebrae.
So they can curve their body more easily.
But when they're aging, just like dogs and just like us, they start losing that flexibility and so lower litter boxes would be something to explore for sure.
Gail Pope (10:37):
Without doubt, yes.
I think the world of low litter boxes and the towel toilets that we've talked about before that were so popular at BrightHaven, they're a little harder to maintain because a lot more laundry.
But with an incontinence sheet and a towel or a soft rug over the top, you've got a cat who does have mobility issues, then they're probably going to like that.
(11:02):
They'd thank you for it.
Karen Wylie (11:03):
A few years ago and this is going to involve Mr. Hope, who I talk about a lot.
We had just diagnosed him with cardio but he is fine.
My vet said, "How's he moving around at home?
Are you noticing any differences?" And I'm like, "No.
I don't think so." "The reason I'm asking is that there's a new injectable drug that's come out that's been around for dogs for a long time", she said.
(11:31):
"So I was just wondering about that for Hope." I said, "That sounds interesting." And she said, "I'll get you the pamphlet that goes along with it.
You can take that home and read about it.
We can talk about it."
I thought to myself, "oh, now this could be good though. This could be a twofer." Because with cardio, having the blood be a little bit thinner can make it a little easier to pump.
(11:52):
I wonder if this might be a good drug to try both for that reason.
He was 14 and a half years old at that time and so I agreed to try it.
So Mr. Hope gets his injection, I bring him home and two hours later I'm looking around for Mr. Hope, and all of a sudden he's up at the highest window where he had to jump.
(12:19):
Seriously and it was like, "Oh my God, I don't think I've seen him up there in at least a year." It's like until all of a sudden he was up there, I wasn't making the connection that he hadn't been going up there.
Then, another few days and I'm seeing him higher up on the cat tree.
Again, because he wasn't in dire straits, I hadn't been as sensitive to the fact that he obviously was feeling a little sore.
(12:49):
I just really hadn't been as sensitive to that as I think I could have been.
And you know, It is a conventional drug— you give it every three to four weeks over time.
But it did have that wonderful side effect of possibly thinning the blood a little bit which for a cat with hypertrophic cardio was a fine side effect to have.
(13:10):
I was thinking there just wasn't that much you could do to help a cat as they aged— unless they were paralyzed or unless they had a big injury.
I just think we just take for granted that when they start sleeping in lower places, that's just how it is.
But even two months before Hope died, two and a half years later, he was still getting up in that highest window.
(13:35):
I don't want to say it's a miracle drug, but for me, I saw a black and white difference in his ability.
He responded really well to that and now of course they do recommend it for cats.
You've used a lot of alternative therapies with your animals, and so what are some that you think people could consider that are in the homeopathic or alternative range?
Gail Pope (13:59):
All the things that I generally use.
Before I go to that, though, you are reminding me of the opposite side of the coin.
Something that I think we all tend to neglect is that when you have a cat who is used to being on countertops, used to being up high.
(14:20):
And I know I've done it myself, we tend to move a chair, we'll move a table over a bit.
So he's got an easier way to jump up to things.
But we don't stop to think about jumping down when you are getting a little older isn't a very good thing.
So that's something that I learned with them, that there comes a point where you shouldn't be helping them as much to go up, because very often they won't come down that way and they'll take a flying leap and they can hurt themselves.
(14:47):
But Yes, going back to treating animals.
For me, I think diet.
If an animal is older when they come to us, I think changing the diet for a more holistic diet— if they haven't been having such a diet is huge for mobility.
It can really bring in a new surge of energy and change in the animal.
(15:10):
All sorts of holistic therapies but I do think that cannabis comes in that respect for working with joints.
There are so many different supplements and everybody has their own favorites that they come across.
So I think it's always good to talk about them.
I think in our current world, the word arthritis is becoming a norm whether you are on two legs or four
(15:34):
legs.
Karen Wylie (15:36):
Of course, maintaining a normal, average good weight on our cats also helps.
They do tend to put on a little bit of weight as they age, just like two-legged people do.
So that can certainly affect their mobility.
Gail Pope (15:54):
Oh, yes.
That takes me back— way, way back to the early days of BrightHaven.
We had a cat called Sybil.
Oh, she was such a darling.
She'd been born— was deformed.
She had short legs.
She had all four of them, but they were very short.
But in her previous home, we never really found out her story.
(16:15):
She was beyond the word obese.
She was absolutely huge.
When she first came to us, she could still walk a teeny bit.
You couldn't even say a stagger because her body was so big that she couldn't really move the legs.
Obesity, I think is something that we tend to love a fat and cuddly cat but there comes a point where you really need to be careful that they're not getting too big.
The same as in people, it spoils your life if you put on too much weight (16:40):
Health-wise, mobility-wise, every which way.
Karen Wylie (16:49):
And of course, that's one of the first things that's pointed to in dog mobility is that, especially the larger the dog, the more stress on their structure.
So the weight really comes into play there but it's the same with cats.
If their build is really best at eight pounds and they've gone up to 11 or 12— time to ease it back.
Gail Pope (17:12):
Yes, ease back the treats.
Karen Wylie (17:15):
Ease back the treats.
You know, fresh food is generally a little easier to maintain calorie wise than the kibble and all the canned food.
I think that not only does the fresher food or freeze dried food or raw food, they're all going to have more energy.
It tends to maintain their weight better.
(17:36):
I don't know that I ever asked you that question before but that was my experience with it.
When I was feeding, half of the diet was raw.
Then the rest, there'd be a bowl of kibble for anybody who needed a snack.
I never had a weight issue with any of my cats when I was doing that.
Gail Pope (17:52):
Oh, we didn't do it that way.
When we switched to a raw diet, we literally went cold turkey.
Karen Wylie (17:58):
Did you?
Gail Pope (17:59):
Yes, we did many years ago.
The difference that we saw in the animals in literally a matter of about two weeks was astonishing.
Good heavens.
Yes.
I have all these pictures of old cats in my mind.
Chocolate chip comes to mind first.
He was an old Burmese, he was in his early twenties.
(18:22):
He was as thin as a stick and actually his two brothers had a couch.
They had steps up to the couch and he would get himself up onto the couch and back down again.
He was absolutely adorable and luckily he took to the diet, decided to eat it, and then came the day, literally a couple of weeks later, I saw him jump from the floor up to the arm of the couch.
(18:47):
I was astonished.
Another day, I walked back into my kitchen that was open towards the living area and there was Nigel.
Nigel was rotund.
He seemed to have a small head but his body was very big and he walked with a wobble.
He was delightful.
He didn't have energy.
(19:07):
He was an old man.
He'd come to us for the last part of his life, and as I walked through into the kitchen there went a toy mouse flying across the floor with this great big lumbering old man chasing it.
Every few weeks he was losing weight.
His energy was up.
So those kinds of things are why we switched.
(19:30):
Although, I should tell the story of Spotty.
Spotty was, I think she was about 18.
It was interesting, she came to us as a spoiled tabby.
She said, "I am not eating this awful stuff.
I'm not going to have a treat with it.
I'm not going to have kibble before or after.
(19:54):
I am only going to eat kibble", and we just couldn't do anything.
It took two years before I finally converted her and she ended up eating a raw diet.
But that was a challenge.
Sometimes you have to pull out all the stops with some animals.
Some they can't eat it anyway with their own health issues and metabolism.
(20:14):
It just doesn't suit right.
Something with us, we can't all eat necessarily exactly the same diet, doesn't suit all of us.
We have to be aware that some cats thrive on kibble and some thrive on a raw diet, some thrive on canned food.
So I think we just have to be open to what works.
Karen Wylie (20:35):
Right?
While we're talking about food, the same issues in terms of selecting bowls and the height of the bowls that we did talk about with mobility and dogs is the same kind of consideration for the cats.
Although, cat necks are not quite connected the way dogs are.
They have fewer neck issues than the dogs do.
(20:56):
But again, if we're just assuming whenever any of us are growing a little older where there's going to be a little arthritis that we could support the cat by raising the water bowl and raising the food bowls for them a little bit.
Gail Pope (21:10):
It makes such a difference especially in the aging.
Karen Wylie (21:13):
When we started talking about should we do a conversation on cat mobility different from dog mobility.
It was like are there enough differences?
I think we've talked about the fact that there are a lot of differences.
We do have to approach it a little differently.
Gail Pope (21:29):
There are different species and we have to be more observant with our cats I think.
Karen Wylie (21:35):
I agree with you.
We're so used to them moving wherever they want to move, going where they want to go.
Dogs are with us more— they're more social, we can direct 'em a little bit but it's harder to direct those cats.
That's where observing, like you're saying, we just have to pay more attention to what our cats are doing or not doing as they age.
(21:56):
If we're going to be able to support them a little better.
Gail Pope (21:58):
Yes.
Agreed.
Karen Wylie (22:00):
Yes.
As always, I enjoy talking to you about all these things and we hope that you have also enjoyed this conversation and hopefully gotten some ideas for your own cat as they age.
And we'll look forward to seeing you next time.
Thank you now.
Bye-bye.
Gail Pope (22:19):
Bye-bye.
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us on Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
We hope today's episode has offered you support and insight as you care for your aging or ill pets.
Remember, it's not just about the end.
It's about living well at every stage of life.
To continue your journey with us, explore more resources at BrightHaven Caregiver Academy's website— BrightPathForPets.com, where you'll find guides, assessments, and a caring community of pet parents like you.
(22:56):
Until next time, may you and your pets find comfort, connection, and peace in every moment.
Take care.
Welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents, the podcast by BrightHaven Caregiver Academy.
I'm Gail Pope and I'm Karen Wylie and together we're here to support you in navigating life with your aging or ill pets.
We know how deeply you care for your beloved companions, and we're here to offer guidance, understanding, and resources for this meaningful journey.
(00:25):
Each episode we'll explore topics that address the daily challenges, emotional realities, and choices you face as a pet parent helping you and your pets find peace, comfort, and joy.
Whether it's making sense of a new diagnosis, adjusting to changing needs, or simply seeking a place to feel understood, you're not alone.
(00:47):
Thank you for being here with us.
Karen Wylie (00:50):
Hello and welcome to Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
I'm Karen Wylie here with Gail Pope, and we're going to take a look at "Cat's Mobility" today.
Something that most of us don't think about as often as we do think about mobility in dogs.
Certainly, there are some different issues and cats are built a little differently than dogs too.
(01:16):
It's definitely worth us taking a separate look from what we spoke about in terms of mobility for dogs.
So Gail, how would you like to start us out with this because obviously at BrightHaven you had a lot of senior cats that had injuries (01:23):
broken bones, fractured spines, paralysis— certainly would affect mobility.
So you saw quite a range of mobility challenges.
Gail Pope (01:43):
Yes.
It's interesting that you should say that.
Because yes, when I look back, I guess I took mobility in all our animals as it was just something that we worked with.
And, if someone couldn't get out of bed, then we sprang into action with what do we need to do to help them.
So I think in general, daily life, people don't think about cats as having a mobility issue.
(02:10):
But I guess for us it was normal.
Especially as I think about it now, sometimes doing tours at the sanctuary and we'd open the front door and guests would start coming in and there'd be one or two, like Sasha or Talya, who were both scooting on their bottoms.
They both had broken backs and they were as happy as clams.
(02:32):
They weren't elderly, they were very energetic but they sat on their bottoms 'cause they didn't like wheelchairs.
People would be really sad.
They'd come in and go, "Hi! Oh no!" and it would be heartbreaking for them to see a cat that had that kind of a mobility problem.
So I think it is unusual in society.
(02:55):
But yes, I think, a cat can have any kind of illness the same as a dog or a human and have a week in bed.
So there's something we haven't really thought about.
Okay, so the cat is immobile, lying in bed, not well— what do we need to do?
Are they eating, drinking?
Well how can we help?
(03:16):
Do we need to put their food on a saucer so that they can just lean forward and lick it?
Do we need to help them by syringe feeding them or can they actually stand up?
Maybe we need to put their bowl there and elevate it onto another bowl.
Purrci, my cat now, he's a big, strong, tough guy.
However, he does have some little neurological issues and I found that when I took like a pudding bowl, I put a cloth in it.
(03:44):
Then I put his plate on top of it so it doesn't licked on.
I tried it without the cloth, first of all, and that didn't work because he just licked the plate off and its contents.
It helped him.
He can eat in a better position.
So Yes, I think the world of cat mobility certainly deserves a little exploring.
Karen Wylie (04:03):
I think for a lot of us, we don't think of it.
I guess cats move so differently than dogs.
I think that's part of why we don't notice it like you're talking about the extremes with where they're paralyzed and people seeing that and reacting, "Oh! They're handicapped. Oh my god!"
The cats just adapt and keep living their lives.
(04:25):
But day to day in the household, I think we tend to notice our dog's mobility challenges much more quickly than we notice the cats.
It's like the dogs are usually, if we're taking them on the leash for a walk, we have a route that we take.
Maybe this is the short route we take on a rainy day as compared to how long we'll walk on a sunny day.
(04:50):
But as a dog is aging and let's just take that idea for the moment.
When a dog doesn't want to walk that long a route that's feedback for us that something might be wrong.
Maybe something's hurt, starting to be sore when they walk.
With cats, cats just do what they want.
They're very self-directed.
Gail Pope (05:11):
Yes, but you actually, that made me think.
Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you.
But that made me start to think that well what do you see with cats?
They have these wonderful things called claws.
So instead of jumping to the couch, you might see them using their claws, climbing up because they just don't have as much strength anymore, or something like that.
Karen Wylie (05:33):
Exactly.
They move vertically.
It's a whole different thing with cats.
We've got to be thinking of them moving up.
That's where we're likely to see exactly like you're saying.
It's harder for them to get up on the sofa.
They're not just jumping like they used to.
Instead, they don't quite have the oomph they used to and maybe they're starting to use their claws, just like you're saying.
(05:53):
You know, day to day in the household it's a little different when we're trying to keep an eye on our aging cats, for example.
It can be so gradual too which is, of course, that's true for cats and dogs.
Gail Pope (06:07):
That's absolutely true.
Again, I'm thinking of Purrci and when I noticed that he wasn't jumping quite as easily as he did before.
I had a foot stool, so I put it in front of the couch and he went onto the foot stool and then onto the couch.
He went straight there, "Oh, thank God. She's finally realized. This is so much easier." In the bedroom— bed steps.
(06:29):
For the longest time, Purrci would put his claws and climb up onto the bed and I suddenly realized this isn't really very fair.
So I got bed steps for him and he loves them.
The dogs do too.
There are a lot of overlap in the kinds of things you can do with ramps.
Again, if you've got a cat that's scooting on the bottom.
Ramps are really helpful.
Karen Wylie (06:50):
A ramp would work.
Just like you're saying with the steps or the stairs to the bed or to the couch, typically the ones for cats are cheaper than the ones for dogs because the stairs, there's not as much variability in the size of cats as there are with dogs.
With dogs we've got them from 4 pounds to nearly 200 depending on them.
With cats, we don't have quite that range, shall we say.
(07:13):
So, their steps are much smaller and don't take up as much space in the house.
But Yes, it's interesting with, for me in watching my cats and their comfort, I guess I'm going to call it comfort level because I never used to think about them in pain as they were aging.
But I would notice that they weren't jumping up to the highest shelf in the cat tree anymore.
(07:37):
They were choosing the next highest and maybe over another six months they might be down.
That's not something with the cats, it's not something I noticed the day it happened.
It's because cats move around, they follow the sun a lot of times.
They'll jump up to a particular window that has great sun in the east in the morning and then they follow the sun.
(07:59):
They're in different places.
So with my cats, I would be used to them having a few favorite places but over time you start to see that they're not going to the highest shelf in the cat tree, or at least that would be for me.
I've noticed that.
Or they would choose a window sill that was, maybe two feet away from the ground level instead of jumping up to a couple cabinets and going to the highest windows.
(08:24):
That's a pattern you have with cats.
I think you have to look for more of a pattern.
I feel like I see dog mobility challenges faster.
Gail Pope (08:33):
Exactly.
You've just summed it up.
I think you have to be a lot more observant with cats.
Even little things like irritability sometimes.
You may look a little deeper if they seem a little irritable.
But the changes in a cat as mobility becomes more difficult for them in whatever way are generally it's up to us to see them.
(08:55):
Because cats, as you said, they're so proud and strong and they don't want to be beaten by something that might ache.
Then of course you've got continence.
If you've got a cat that is immobile or very often the scooters do have continence problems.
And again, where we were talking about with the dogs, we've got belly bands and wraps.
(09:17):
They make the most amazing jeans and cute panties for girls.
There are all sorts of things you can do there.
If you've got a cat who's immobile in bed for any period of time, coming back to the layering.
Blanket and the incontinence pad so that you can change a bed quick and easy.
At least with a cat, you very often can lift the cat up, right?
(09:40):
So it's a lot easier.
However, you can't change a bed with one hand while you've got a cat in your arms.
Karen Wylie (09:46):
You can't do that?
That's where the baby slings come in nicely— come in handy.
Wear the baby sling.
Put the four footer there.
As you're speaking about incontinence, that's just making me think of litter box.
When our cats are at younger ages and we assume they have no mobility issues, we can use those six inch or eight inch high litter boxes with the covers and all sorts of options these days.
(10:14):
But it's the height and although a cat's spine is different from a dog's, they have more cushioning between their vertebrae.
So they can curve their body more easily.
But when they're aging, just like dogs and just like us, they start losing that flexibility and so lower litter boxes would be something to explore for sure.
Gail Pope (10:37):
Without doubt, yes.
I think the world of low litter boxes and the towel toilets that we've talked about before that were so popular at BrightHaven, they're a little harder to maintain because a lot more laundry.
But with an incontinence sheet and a towel or a soft rug over the top, you've got a cat who does have mobility issues, then they're probably going to like that.
(11:02):
They'd thank you for it.
Karen Wylie (11:03):
A few years ago and this is going to involve Mr. Hope, who I talk about a lot.
We had just diagnosed him with cardio but he is fine.
My vet said, "How's he moving around at home?
Are you noticing any differences?" And I'm like, "No.
I don't think so." "The reason I'm asking is that there's a new injectable drug that's come out that's been around for dogs for a long time", she said.
(11:31):
"So I was just wondering about that for Hope." I said, "That sounds interesting." And she said, "I'll get you the pamphlet that goes along with it.
You can take that home and read about it.
We can talk about it."
I thought to myself, "oh, now this could be good though. This could be a twofer." Because with cardio, having the blood be a little bit thinner can make it a little easier to pump.
(11:52):
I wonder if this might be a good drug to try both for that reason.
He was 14 and a half years old at that time and so I agreed to try it.
So Mr. Hope gets his injection, I bring him home and two hours later I'm looking around for Mr. Hope, and all of a sudden he's up at the highest window where he had to jump.
(12:19):
Seriously and it was like, "Oh my God, I don't think I've seen him up there in at least a year." It's like until all of a sudden he was up there, I wasn't making the connection that he hadn't been going up there.
Then, another few days and I'm seeing him higher up on the cat tree.
Again, because he wasn't in dire straits, I hadn't been as sensitive to the fact that he obviously was feeling a little sore.
(12:49):
I just really hadn't been as sensitive to that as I think I could have been.
And you know, It is a conventional drug— you give it every three to four weeks over time.
But it did have that wonderful side effect of possibly thinning the blood a little bit which for a cat with hypertrophic cardio was a fine side effect to have.
(13:10):
I was thinking there just wasn't that much you could do to help a cat as they aged— unless they were paralyzed or unless they had a big injury.
I just think we just take for granted that when they start sleeping in lower places, that's just how it is.
But even two months before Hope died, two and a half years later, he was still getting up in that highest window.
(13:35):
I don't want to say it's a miracle drug, but for me, I saw a black and white difference in his ability.
He responded really well to that and now of course they do recommend it for cats.
You've used a lot of alternative therapies with your animals, and so what are some that you think people could consider that are in the homeopathic or alternative range?
Gail Pope (13:59):
All the things that I generally use.
Before I go to that, though, you are reminding me of the opposite side of the coin.
Something that I think we all tend to neglect is that when you have a cat who is used to being on countertops, used to being up high.
(14:20):
And I know I've done it myself, we tend to move a chair, we'll move a table over a bit.
So he's got an easier way to jump up to things.
But we don't stop to think about jumping down when you are getting a little older isn't a very good thing.
So that's something that I learned with them, that there comes a point where you shouldn't be helping them as much to go up, because very often they won't come down that way and they'll take a flying leap and they can hurt themselves.
(14:47):
But Yes, going back to treating animals.
For me, I think diet.
If an animal is older when they come to us, I think changing the diet for a more holistic diet— if they haven't been having such a diet is huge for mobility.
It can really bring in a new surge of energy and change in the animal.
(15:10):
All sorts of holistic therapies but I do think that cannabis comes in that respect for working with joints.
There are so many different supplements and everybody has their own favorites that they come across.
So I think it's always good to talk about them.
I think in our current world, the word arthritis is becoming a norm whether you are on two legs or four
(15:34):
legs.
Karen Wylie (15:36):
Of course, maintaining a normal, average good weight on our cats also helps.
They do tend to put on a little bit of weight as they age, just like two-legged people do.
So that can certainly affect their mobility.
Gail Pope (15:54):
Oh, yes.
That takes me back— way, way back to the early days of BrightHaven.
We had a cat called Sybil.
Oh, she was such a darling.
She'd been born— was deformed.
She had short legs.
She had all four of them, but they were very short.
But in her previous home, we never really found out her story.
(16:15):
She was beyond the word obese.
She was absolutely huge.
When she first came to us, she could still walk a teeny bit.
You couldn't even say a stagger because her body was so big that she couldn't really move the legs.
Obesity, I think is something that we tend to love a fat and cuddly cat but there comes a point where you really need to be careful that they're not getting too big.
The same as in people, it spoils your life if you put on too much weight (16:40):
Health-wise, mobility-wise, every which way.
Karen Wylie (16:49):
And of course, that's one of the first things that's pointed to in dog mobility is that, especially the larger the dog, the more stress on their structure.
So the weight really comes into play there but it's the same with cats.
If their build is really best at eight pounds and they've gone up to 11 or 12— time to ease it back.
Gail Pope (17:12):
Yes, ease back the treats.
Karen Wylie (17:15):
Ease back the treats.
You know, fresh food is generally a little easier to maintain calorie wise than the kibble and all the canned food.
I think that not only does the fresher food or freeze dried food or raw food, they're all going to have more energy.
It tends to maintain their weight better.
(17:36):
I don't know that I ever asked you that question before but that was my experience with it.
When I was feeding, half of the diet was raw.
Then the rest, there'd be a bowl of kibble for anybody who needed a snack.
I never had a weight issue with any of my cats when I was doing that.
Gail Pope (17:52):
Oh, we didn't do it that way.
When we switched to a raw diet, we literally went cold turkey.
Karen Wylie (17:58):
Did you?
Gail Pope (17:59):
Yes, we did many years ago.
The difference that we saw in the animals in literally a matter of about two weeks was astonishing.
Good heavens.
Yes.
I have all these pictures of old cats in my mind.
Chocolate chip comes to mind first.
He was an old Burmese, he was in his early twenties.
(18:22):
He was as thin as a stick and actually his two brothers had a couch.
They had steps up to the couch and he would get himself up onto the couch and back down again.
He was absolutely adorable and luckily he took to the diet, decided to eat it, and then came the day, literally a couple of weeks later, I saw him jump from the floor up to the arm of the couch.
(18:47):
I was astonished.
Another day, I walked back into my kitchen that was open towards the living area and there was Nigel.
Nigel was rotund.
He seemed to have a small head but his body was very big and he walked with a wobble.
He was delightful.
He didn't have energy.
(19:07):
He was an old man.
He'd come to us for the last part of his life, and as I walked through into the kitchen there went a toy mouse flying across the floor with this great big lumbering old man chasing it.
Every few weeks he was losing weight.
His energy was up.
So those kinds of things are why we switched.
(19:30):
Although, I should tell the story of Spotty.
Spotty was, I think she was about 18.
It was interesting, she came to us as a spoiled tabby.
She said, "I am not eating this awful stuff.
I'm not going to have a treat with it.
I'm not going to have kibble before or after.
(19:54):
I am only going to eat kibble", and we just couldn't do anything.
It took two years before I finally converted her and she ended up eating a raw diet.
But that was a challenge.
Sometimes you have to pull out all the stops with some animals.
Some they can't eat it anyway with their own health issues and metabolism.
(20:14):
It just doesn't suit right.
Something with us, we can't all eat necessarily exactly the same diet, doesn't suit all of us.
We have to be aware that some cats thrive on kibble and some thrive on a raw diet, some thrive on canned food.
So I think we just have to be open to what works.
Karen Wylie (20:35):
Right?
While we're talking about food, the same issues in terms of selecting bowls and the height of the bowls that we did talk about with mobility and dogs is the same kind of consideration for the cats.
Although, cat necks are not quite connected the way dogs are.
They have fewer neck issues than the dogs do.
(20:56):
But again, if we're just assuming whenever any of us are growing a little older where there's going to be a little arthritis that we could support the cat by raising the water bowl and raising the food bowls for them a little bit.
Gail Pope (21:10):
It makes such a difference especially in the aging.
Karen Wylie (21:13):
When we started talking about should we do a conversation on cat mobility different from dog mobility.
It was like are there enough differences?
I think we've talked about the fact that there are a lot of differences.
We do have to approach it a little differently.
Gail Pope (21:29):
There are different species and we have to be more observant with our cats I think.
Karen Wylie (21:35):
I agree with you.
We're so used to them moving wherever they want to move, going where they want to go.
Dogs are with us more— they're more social, we can direct 'em a little bit but it's harder to direct those cats.
That's where observing, like you're saying, we just have to pay more attention to what our cats are doing or not doing as they age.
(21:56):
If we're going to be able to support them a little better.
Gail Pope (21:58):
Yes.
Agreed.
Karen Wylie (22:00):
Yes.
As always, I enjoy talking to you about all these things and we hope that you have also enjoyed this conversation and hopefully gotten some ideas for your own cat as they age.
And we'll look forward to seeing you next time.
Thank you now.
Bye-bye.
Gail Pope (22:19):
Bye-bye.
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us on Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.
We hope today's episode has offered you support and insight as you care for your aging or ill pets.
Remember, it's not just about the end.
It's about living well at every stage of life.
To continue your journey with us, explore more resources at BrightHaven Caregiver Academy's website— BrightPathForPets.com, where you'll find guides, assessments, and a caring community of pet parents like you.
(22:56):
Until next time, may you and your pets find comfort, connection, and peace in every moment.
Take care.
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