The Real Reason Why Cats Purr And Other Feline Facts

Cats might have nine lives, but they still, sadly, don't live as long as we do. They're living to older ages, though, and those advances in everything from health care to pet food have made us realize something completely heartbreaking. Not only do their brains look like ours, but they act and age like ours do, too. Cognitive dysfunction happens in a lot of older cats, and can typically start to set in around 10 years of age. The condition gets progressively worse, and the symptoms are similar to those seen in humans that have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia.

Signs vary, and include things like a lack of interest, long and random pauses of staring into space, disorientation, random wanderings, and loud meowing, especially talking when no one's around. As cats age, other problems, like arthritis and blindness, can add to the problems, confusion and disorientation that develops.

While there's not anything we can do to keep away the effects of aging (if only), there are a few things we can do to help. Antioxidants and vitamin E are thought to help at least slow the aging process, and environmental factors can make a big difference, too. Don't bring other animals (or other kinds of chaos) into the house, keep things in the same, familiar places, and make sure you keep accessibility in mind when it comes to things like stairs.

That one was pretty depressing, too, we know. It's absolutely the last sad one, we promise.

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