A lot of them aren’t. Age does start showing in the hips and back legs (thighs) first, making the muscle mass disappear there, then the back bone starts feeling like rosery beads. The shoulders loose it next, making the shoulder blades and their bone structure very ’sharp’ as muscle mass disappears off there next. Sometimes the top of their head gets very bony with that sharp ridge.

But usually cats don’t show that till they get very old. My 19 year old Siamese and 20 year old half siamese never showed it.

Cats do indeed slow down with age, just like any other living creature. My calico Tasha (who was born in my closet) made it to 18 and got to the point where she could only eat canned food, and needed help to jump up on the sofa bed. She then started losing weight as she began to suffer from the kidney failure that ultimately led to her demise.

VERY elderley

One older cat I have (she’s 17) moves more slowly, but she can still jump up on things and get around. Her fur is losing its luster and her face looks a little wrinkled above her eyes. She also has chronic constipation which she has to take a daily laxative for.

Another older cat I have that’s 13 has diabetes, but she doesn’t look or act old at all. She just sleeps a lot and she’s kind of lazy.

Some older cats will develop dandruff and they won’t take very good care of their coats. They also tend to lose some weight.

My aunt actually has a cat that’s older than me, I believe its around 23-25 years old and it still looks like a much younger cat. Its only problem is that is has cataracts and some vision loss.

I wouldn’t say they visibly suffer, but if they do suffer, it might be that they’d have to be put down to put them out of their misery.

my cat just passed away in june when she was 20 and she just seemed to shrink the older she got , they just get smaller and frailer

Any animal will slow down a bit when they’re older and cats are no exception. They tend to sleep more and spend a little less time playing than younger cats. They’re generally not weak and sickly unless they have a medical condition that causes them to be that way. So, it really depends more on the state of the cat’s health than anything. Cats can have pretty long life spans, with some of them living well over 20 years.

I have a 17 year old cat and aside from being a little on the thin side, she’s just as annoying as she was at 17 weeks. My fiancee is completely convinced my cat will never die, that she’s a demon sent from hell to annoy him.