My Cat
@Happielady85 (384)
United States
January 14, 2013 8:21pm CST
I have a cat who is 16 years old.. This is quite old for a cat, but she seems pretty healthy. Recently, she is not able to jump up like she used to. She loves to drink under the faucet, and she jumps up the drainboard to reach it, but lately she fumbles when she starts to jump, and falls down. When I see this, I pick her up and lift her to the sink.This has only happened twice. Her food is also on the drainboard. I'm concerned at night time when we are sleeping when she tries to eat. She is so used to knowing where everything is, should I put her food on the floor so she won't have to jump. Cats are habit formers. They get used to where to go, when to be somewhere, etc. I'm wondering if I should change the place where I keep her food, or should I wait until she completely cannot jump at all. I feel she may still need the exercise as long as she is able to do it. She hasn't slipped too often when she attempts to jump.
3 people like this
5 responses
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
15 Jan 13
i'd put it on the floor now myself,but if she's one who won't break routine,you might want to get her some pet steps.i have a couple footstool type things for my older cats.
@gopalisat (75)
• India
15 Jan 13
I feel like its better to keep everything down, as it may prevent some accident and injuries
It will also help to keep you places clean and neat
And try to make her jump for shorter length for something else
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
15 Jan 13
I had a cat who lived to be 18, good ol' amazing Grace. I hope your cat lives many more years.
Have you tried putting her dishes on the floor? You are right, cats are definitely creatures of habit, but their mobility slows down with age -- just like the rest of us. Of course, she will continue to jump if her food is on the drainboard, but it might be getting too hard. They can't really tell us, but maybe it's time to make her life easier. See what she does if you put her food closer to her level. I wouldn't wait until she can't jump at all. That will just lead to frustration and embarrassment for her.
Cats do get embarrassed. I've watched my cats jump, miss, and then do a little strut like they're saying, "I'm cool. I'm cool. I meant to do that." It's funny, but they say you should never laugh, just act like you didn't see it.
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
15 Jan 13
What you can do is set a chair or a stepstool where your cat can make mini-jumps. I grew up with cats so that's what I noticed they'll take mini-jumps to get to where they want to go. We do put our cat's dishes on the floor just because it's convenient for her, but we've always had the dish on the floor. Anyway, I hope you can find something for your cat to use. And yes I would definitely agree that he'll need as much exercise as he can get.
@deazil (4730)
• United States
15 Jan 13
I think you should put something there for her to make it easier for her to get to her food and water. It must be frustrating for her to have to keep trying to reach food and water. These are the basic necessities of life and should be easy to get. Also, she could injure herself if she falls. For exercise they have carpeted cat climbers that you could get her. This would be enough for her to get exercise. As a pet gets older their life should get easier. I have a cat who is not and never has been much of a jumper. I have ramps for her to get in windows and little benches for her so she's able to reach whatever she wants. Maybe you should put her food and water on the floor. Then she can have a drink whenever she's thirsty without having to struggle to get it.
