Senior Cat Behaviour Changes: What's Normal and What's a Warning

Normal aging looks like this

More sleep — up to twenty hours a day is fine. Less play, calmer temperament, stronger routine attachment, slightly pickier eating. A cat gradually becoming a more mellow version of themselves is aging as designed.

Warning signs dressed as aging

Hiding is the big one: cats conceal illness by withdrawing, so a social cat who starts living under the bed needs a vet, not privacy. Also on the list: new aggression when touched (often pain), night-time confusion or yowling, staring at walls, forgetting the litter tray location, and sudden clinginess in a formerly independent cat.

The speed test

Gradual change over months is usually aging. Change over days or weeks is usually medical. A cat who slowly played less this year is old; a cat who stopped eating this week is sick. When in doubt, the speed of the change tells you which conversation to have.

Keep a simple log

A few words a day — ate well, played, hid all morning — turns vague impressions into a pattern your vet can actually use. It's also the honest record that helps with harder decisions later, when memory gets unreliable exactly when you need it most.