The best senior cat products for your silver-whiskered sidekick

Updated 27/02/2024

Gather round pet parents, whether your feline friend is reaching their golden years or they’ve already staked their claim to the senior club, they’ll have given you many years of love and laughter, and now it’s time to give back. That’s why we’re bringing you the best senior cat products to treat your feline friend to, not just for senior pet month, but for every month of their gray-whiskered years. While they might need a little extra care and attention to keep the good times rolling, make this chapter of their life the cat’s pajamas with our purr-fect picks! 

Toys for older cats

We’re starting this list of the best senior cat products with the most important ones first - cat toys for old cats! We’re sure by the time your senior kitty has reached their golden years you’ll have amassed a pretty hefty collection of cat toys, and while some of them will never get old, you may need to think about a little refresh. 

Your feline friend may be no spring chicken, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still love to play! The best cat toys for older cats are mentally and physically stimulating, but a little easier to engage with, ensuring your senior kitty enjoys playtime without any discomfort. Fur babies love swatting the colorful balls back and forth on the Petstages Tower of Tracks, and the fun doesn’t have to stop when they need a breather - they can keep the action going on their backs! If your furry friend’s a chewer, they’ll love the Petstages Crunchy Pickle, which is filled with catnip to entice your elderly cat to work their teeth on the different textures of the soft toy. And why not take your fluffy feline right back to their kittenhood as they chase after a little laser light just like they used to, if only a little slower? 

Food for senior kitties

It’s not uncommon for vets to recommend serving up some special food for your senior cat, especially for those that have special dietary requirements or health conditions like the following:  

• Over 60% of domesticated cats are obese, and no matter how healthy your furry friend might have been in their youth, it’s common for elderly cats to put on a little extra fluff as they become less active. If this sounds familiar, your vet may recommend a low-calorie diet like Hill’s Metabolic Dry Cat Food, which is available with a prescription. 
• If the opposite happens and your furry friend seems to be losing weight quickly, speak to your vet immediately. Depending on the reason for the weight loss, your vet may recommend calorie-rich food like Backcountry Real Duck Recipe Cuts, which is filled with high-quality protein.
• It’s common for older cats to suffer from chronic kidney disease, otherwise known as renal disease, which leads to a build-up of waste and toxins in their bloodstream. When this is the case, cats often need to be put on a special diet prescribed by the vet, such as Royal Canin Renal Support Dry Cat Food.
• Older moggies can also have a hard time chewing their food. This might mean swapping their usual crunchy treats for something softer and more manageable like Hill’s Science Diet 11+ Wet Cat Food. Alternatively, you can soak their food in water before you feed it to them to soften it.
• You may also decide to switch to a tilted feeding bowl, which makes it easier for your furry friend to access their food and water, or a cat water fountain, which provides your kitty with a constant source of fresh, clean water. 

Trusted Tip: As with any dietary changes, if you do decide to change up your senior pet’s diet, you’ll need to introduce them to their new food little by little.

Cat beds for mature moggies

While throwing out your feline friend’s most beloved cat bed is never a good idea, you may wish to invest in an extra bed to make their golden years as comfy and cozy as can be. Go for one like the Frisco Bolster Cat & Dog Bed, which is spacious enough for kitties to stretch out fully when arthritis makes it harder to curl up in a ball, yet still made cozy with the surrounding bolsters. Orthopedic beds are also perfect to snuggle down in, and the Calming Cloud 9 Cat Bed soothes joint pain with a contoured orthopedic filling. 

As well as cozy cat beds, your furry feline will need access to a number of safe spaces. It’s in a cat’s nature to love getting up high, but as they age, that space on top of your cupboards becomes more inaccessible. Sure, you can help them out with a set of steps like the Keyshawn Portable Senior Cat Tree, or you can just set up some new snuggle areas within easier reach of those graying paws. 

Litter boxes for aging kitties

As your golden oldy gets even older, the things they used to find so easy get harder and harder. Hopping into that litter box and turning round and round in circles until they find the perfect spot was once something our kitty cats didn’t think twice about, but this gets trickier as time goes on. You may need to move their litter box to a more accessible location or even opt for a different type of box that suits their needs better. The large, open Petmate Basic Litter Box gives them lots of space to turn around and find the right spot, and the KittyGoHere Senior Cat Litter Box has a low entry point for kitties to step right into - plus both are easy to clean. Consider also buying a special cat litter for senior cats like the one by Dr Elsey, which is specially formulated to be gentle on senior paws. 

Grooming gifts for older cats 

If your senior cat has stopped grooming, you may need to help them out a bit. This can happen for a whole manner of reasons; arthritis makes it painful to get to all the bits they used to and many common diseases can simply lead to a decrease in grooming habits. A gentle grooming tool like the Vetnique Labs Furbliss Pet Brush helps keep on top of fur while giving your feline friend a therapeutic massage at the same time. 

Caring for your senior sidekick 

Your feline friend may need a little extra care and attention in their old age, which makes getting an in-house cat sitter even more important. Older cats often have specific dietary and medication needs and our loving cat sitters are there to keep a watchful eye on your fluffy feline’s health while you’re away. It really is a win-win that keeps your senior kitty content and gives you peace of mind during your time apart. 

From cat toys for senior cats to the ideal cat litter for those geriatric paws, now you know what the best senior cat products are for your golden oldie. But before you kit your furry feline out with everything on this list of gifts for older cats, it’s always a good idea to speak to your vet about your furry feline’s health and tailor your approach to suit their specific needs. Here’s to many more years of happy and healthy purrs!

Meet our veterinary expert, Emma

This article has been checked by veterinarian Emma Chandley, BVetMed MRCVS PGCertSAS. Emma graduated from the Royal Vet College in London in 2011. She has a keen interest in surgery and went on to do a postgraduate certificate in small animal surgery and was then awarded advanced practitioner status in the same discipline.