It’s a fact of life that as animals (and humans) age, they can become frail. “Frailty syndrome” is the term that describes the loss of weight and muscle mass, combined with slower and less agile walking, that accompanies aging.

A Florida veterinarian has been working with human gerontologists to study frailty in senior cats. As medical advances have led to longer human lives, they’ve also led to longer lives for our pets, which means that frailty is becoming more common in cats that live beyond the 15-year mark.

In an article on the research in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the vet, Dr. Sheilah Robertson, says that one of the causes of frailty is a weakened immune system, which is less able to handle bodily stressors and infections.

“It really affects their ability to combat all the stressors of daily life, so they have higher vulnerability to adverse medical outcomes,” she says.

Loss of muscle is a common sign of frailty syndrome, and Dr. Robertson advocates for vets to score a pet’s muscle condition at each visit and track it as the pet ages. This could help them intervene and recommend diet and exercise changes sooner.

Dr. Robertson says that nearly half of all patients seen by vets are seniors. She says that vets need the same sort of frailty index that is used by doctors for older human patients. Part of her research with gerontologists at the University of Florida is to create a frailty index for senior cats.

Besides a good diet and regular veterinary care, Dr. Robertson notes the importance of environmental enrichment for senior cats. The researchers are studying whether senior cats can benefit from the same sort of activities and social interactions that help people remain healthy as they age.

For more information on caring for senior cats, check out our blog article HERE.