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Senior Cats: Common Behavior Changes

Behavior Changes & Problems in Older (Senior, Geriatric) Cats

Updated On August 21st, 2000

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Reviewed By Lauren Jones VMD

As cats become older, they may be more likely to change their behavior or develop certain behavioral problems. With the correct diagnosis and treatment, and a bit of patience, many of these behavioral problems can be resolved.

Inappropriate Elimination

Inappropriate elimination (urinating or defecating outside of the litter box, and/or [spraying](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/inappropriate-elimination/) is the most common behavior problem of older cats. There are numerous causes for this behavior, many of them medical, so a cat who has inappropriate elimination should be examined by a veterinarian. Laboratory tests will need to be performed in most cases.

Medical Causes of Inappropriate Elimination

Medical conditions, which result in an increased frequency of urination or defecation may be the underlying cause for this behavior problem. These conditions include: [colitis](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/colitis/), [inflammatory bowel disease](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/inflammatory-bowel-disease-1/), [diabetes mellitus](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/feline-diabetes/), [hyperthyroidism](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/hyperthyroidism/), [kidney disease](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/kidney-disease-1/), [liver disease](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/liver-disorders/), and [feline lower urinary tract disease](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/lower-urinary-tract-disease/) (FLUTD). Medical conditions, which cause pain to urinate or defecate, or make it difficult for the cat to get in and out of the litter box, may also result in inappropriate elimination. Such conditions include [arthritis](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/arthritis/), [anal sac disease](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/conditions-of-the-anal-glands-1/) and a loss of vision. Treatment of these medical conditions may help to resolve this associated behavioral problem. In addition, using litter boxes with lower sides, placing the litter box in the area in which the cat spends the most time and increasing the number of litter boxes may be helpful.

Behavioral Causes of Inappropriate Elimination

Stress can be a major cause of inappropriate elimination in cats of all ages. Older cats may not be able to handle stressors as well as younger cats. Stressors such as moving, changes in routine or changes in the makeup of the family can all result in inappropriate elimination. Reducing these stressors or decreasing their impact on the household will benefit your cat (and probably you, too). Calming pheromones, which are chemicals used to communicate with other members of the same species, can be helpful in reducing anxiety in cats, thus decreasing the incidence of urine spraying or inappropriate urination in many cases. Feliway is one example of a calming pheromone product that can be used as a plugged in diffuser, collar or spray.

Cats of all ages may develop an aversion to the litter box or substrate (material inside of the litter box). Trying different types of litter, including clumping litter, sand, shredded newspaper and no litter are things that could be helpful. Other tips on managing behavioral inappropriate elimination and spraying include using enzyme cleaners to clean the areas that have been soiled with urine or feces, feeding the cat in the area in which they are inappropriately eliminating, and using upside down carpet runners (the ones with the spikes on the bottom), double-sided tape, motion detectors, pet repellents or scat mats to limit their access to the area where they eliminate inappropriately.

Aggression

Cats may become aggressive toward people or other animals in the household. Again, this aggression may be the result of a medical problem, such as one causing pain (arthritis, for example), vision or hearing loss, which results in the cat being easily startled, or diseases having direct effects on the nervous system. As with inappropriate elimination, stressors can cause irritability and subsequent aggression in some cats. A combination of counter-conditioning (teaching the cat a different response when exposed to a certain stimuli), desensitization (gradually reintroducing the cat to the stimuli), medical therapy and calming pheromones may help change the cat's behavior. Consult your veterinarian and an animal behaviorist if your older cat is becoming aggressive.

Fear & Anxiety

As with the other behavioral problems discussed above, loss of hearing or vision, stress, pain and neurologic disease can contribute to fear or anxiety in a cat. When possible, the treatment includes determining the cause of the fear and minimizing it, providing appropriate therapy for any medical condition, and prescribing various anti-anxiety medications.

Change in Activity Patterns

For their entire lives, some cats tend to be active during the night, and then they go into sound sleep as soon as we get up. Some older cats will develop this altered sleep-awake cycle, as well. Pain, the need to urinate or defecate more often, the loss of vision or hearing, changes in appetite, and neurologic conditions can contribute to this behavior. Playing or grooming your cat prior to bedtime may help them to sleep. Experiment with changing feeding times to see if that makes a difference. Keep in mind that you may not be able to change this altered sleep-awake cycle. In those cases, you may simply want to keep your cat out of the bedroom.

Many of the behavioral changes seen in older cats can be due to medical conditions. If your cat's behavior is changing, have your cat examined by a veterinarian. Older cats are more easily stressed, so attempt to reduce their stress by making any necessary changes in routine gradually, and decreasing the exposure of your cat to stressors. With patience, understanding and treatments recommended by your veterinarian, you can help to make your cat's older years a quality time for everyone.

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Related Questions

I have a cat that as a kitten was very ill. We got him from 7 months old. We knew he’d had cat flu prior to him coming here. He is now nearly 5 yrs old. He picks huge fights with our other cat. He keeps urinating and scratching at doors and windows around the house. We allow him to go out via the cat flap unlimited. What is happening to him

I'm glad to see that Pippin has been neutered because this eliminates that possibility of hormone-fueled behavioral changes and aggression. Behavioral changes in cats can occur at any point in time, and could be related to anxiety or stressful situations (even rearranging furniture or introducing new people to the home can be stressful to cats). Without a lot more information and observing Pippin's behaviors, I can't precisely tell you why these changes are occurring. It may be best to consult a veterinary behaviorist in your home so that they can observe everything firsthand. You can also try using calming pheromone collars or diffusers (Feliway is one example), and discussing the use of anxiety medication with Pippin's vet. I hope that all goes well!

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Hi! My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He’s taking insulin and taking antibiotics for a Uti. It’s been 4 weeks and he wobles when he’s walking. He can’t jump up on the bed like he used to.He’s blood sugar is 250 it’s better than it used to. I don’t understand why he’s so wobbly.

Cats can develop what's called diabetic neuropathy, where their hindlegs become progressively weak. The best thing to do is try to get his diabetes under control as quickly as possible. Here is a link describing the conditon: http://www.diabeticcatcare.com/DCCCOK/Neuropathy.htm

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Is there a reason you want to stop the prednisone? I would recommend not stopping it and if you feel it is better to stop the prednisone then I would recommend weaning off of the prednisone. I would discuss how to wean the prednisone with your veterinarian. Thank you for using Boop by Petco.

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My 3 year old long haired tuxedo female pees just fine in the litter box, but she preferred to poop on the bathroom rug or on the carpet behind the sofa. Then, she will go weeks and everything is fine only start pooping outside the box again. I have 4 litter boxes and 3 cats. I clean all several times a day. She is the youngest. I've put wee wee pads down and she lifts them up and poops under them. Any ideas to help? Thanks!

A good first step, if you haven't already, is to rule out any health issues with your vet such as arthritis that may be causing the accidents. Secondly, making sure none of the other cats are bullying her away from the litter box may also alert you to any issues. Thirdly, a good enzymatic cleaner may help reduce the smell/discourage use of these areas in the future. That said, if you've done the above and the issue is still happening, it's probably time to call in a veterinary or animal behaviorist that can visit in person to see what may be going on. They may be able to check for stressors that could be causing the accidents where they are, look for issues with refusal to defecate in the box, or see if there is a cycle that is happening that is triggering this reaction. From there they may be able to set up a more tailored plan to help reduce the accidents and encourage use of the litter box at all times. If you're in the US, you can use this website to help find someone available in your area: https://www.dacvb.org/page/about

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Thank you for contacting Boop by Petco with your question about Lav. I've heard many owners quote the UC Davis study, and there are a number of things wrong with the study. Check out this article on it: https://humanepro.org/magazine/articles/deconstructing-spayneuter-debate Not spaying her can cause a pseudopregnancy reoccurrence, but it doesn't increase her risk of mammary tumors. That's already going to be 25% because she's had more than two heats. Keep in mind, 50% of mammary tumors in dogs are malignant. She is eight years old, so she is already at a higher risk of developing cancer simply because she is an older dog. She is also at risk of a pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment. The treatment for a pyometra is spaying the dog, which is an emergency during a pyometra and can cost many thousands of dollars. In all honesty, it's best to spay her. It will keep her from developing a pyometra as well as a pseudopregnancy, and it will keep her from getting pregnant if she accidentally mates. Dogs over the age of six should never have puppies. In my opinion, it's best for her to health to get spayed asap. I hope this helps!

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There seems to be two wounds underneath my cat’s ear. There is not one on the other side. Does it look like ringworm or caused by fleas? What can I use to help her? It was smaller a week ago.

Thank you for contacting Boop by Petco with your question about Tor and for providing pictures, they are very helpful. Yes, I see the two wounds, and they could be caused by her scratching at her ear. While that could be due to fleas, it may be she has an ear infection causing her to scratch at her ears. Continually scratching at them would cause the wounds to get bigger. This does need to be checked out by a vet, as if she does have an ear infection, it could be caused by ear mites, yeast, or bacteria. In addition, the ear drum needs to be visualized through an otoscope to make sure it's still intact before any medication is given. Ear problems can be considered an emergency as leaving them untreated can lead to hearing loss. Given that these wounds are getting bigger, I'd see if you can get her into her vet asap. I hope this helps!

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