senses
Sleeping More With Age
Ageing & Rest
As your cat moves into its senior years it sleeps longer and more deeply, is slower to rise, seeks out the warmest spots, and plays in shorter bursts than it did as a youngster.
The Behaviour Behind It
Healthy adult cats already sleep twelve to sixteen hours a day, and older cats sleep more still. As metabolism slows and joints stiffen with age, a senior cat conserves energy, naps more often and chooses warm, easy-to-reach resting places over high perches it once leapt to. More time asleep and gentler, shorter play sessions are a normal part of growing old, not a problem in themselves.
The nuance is that ageing changes can quietly overlap with illness. Common senior conditions — arthritis, kidney disease, an overactive thyroid, high blood pressure or dental pain — can all show up first as a cat that is simply slowing down, sleeping in new places, or seeming a little withdrawn. Because cats mask discomfort so well, subtle shifts in a senior cat deserve more attention than the same change in a kitten.
What You Can Do
Make rest easy and warm: soft, low-sided beds in draught-free spots, a gentle heat source, and steps or ramps up to a favourite window save ageing joints. Keep offering short, tempting play to protect muscle and mind, and keep litter trays and water easy to reach. Most importantly, book regular senior check-ups — ideally twice a year — so that treatable conditions hiding behind all that extra sleep are caught early.
🐾 Most common in
Normal in cats from around eleven years old onward, and more pronounced in very elderly cats and those with early arthritis or other age-related conditions.
